Kyezie Bwanangela, ’20, founded Miracle Hunger and Trauma Solutions.
Kyezie Bwanangela visits school children during a trip with Miracle
Hunger and Trauma Solutions.
Kyezie Bwanangela, ’20, makes regular trips back to his home country
of the Democratic Republic of Congo to support prisoners, students and
orphans through a nonprofit organization that he established.
Founded last September, Miracle
Hunger and Trauma Solutions is dedicated to reducing hunger and
improving food security for women and children in the Sub-Saharan
African region. Bwanangela's organization includes funding tuition for
children and orphans and supporting recovery efforts for individuals
dealing with trauma.
“The idea came from my issues at home and with my family on the
eastern side of Congo where I grew up,” said Bwanangela. “My brother
almost died of starvation when I was younger, and I dealt with mental
trauma from experiences like a large earthquake that struck my home in
the night, eventually leading to sleep problems and nightmares caused
by my stress.”
After immigrating from Congo as a young man, Bwanangela attended
Grand Rapids Community College before transferring to Grand Valley.
A TRIO McNair scholar while at GVSU, Bwanangela graduated with a
bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, then earned a master’s degree
from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He is currently there
working on a thesis for his doctoral degree in Francophone studies.
“My degree from GVSU taught me a lot, it was the first step in
founding my nonprofit. I understood the scale of the problems in my
country and how I could start with local issues, before, hopefully,
moving on to larger issues like politics once I acquire my doctorate,”
said Bwanangela.
Bwanangela returned from a trip to Congo in July. He helped feed
prisoners at the Bukavu Central Prison and traveled to a school and
orphanage to provide tuition, clothing and school supplies. Students
at the school are educated on mental trauma and disorders like PTSD in workshops.
“Mental trauma is not something that is a part of the common
knowledge in Congo. This lack of education and understanding causes
those with trauma to not seek the proper specialists. Typically, they
drop out of school and continue the cycle regarding that lack of
knowledge. We are hoping to break that cycle,” said Bwanangela.
To provide a more stable and regular point of support for these young
students, Bwanangela and Miracle Hunger are recruiting local trauma
specialists and social assistants to provide instruction and care on a
regular basis.
“Thinking of my own childhood and past, I find it necessary to help
all of those that might go through the same things I did. I want to
prevent that, and make sure no one must go through these struggles
without any help or guidance,” said Bwanangela.
— Thomas Garrett earned a bachelor's degree in writing from GVSU
in April.