Our running projects in the DR Congo !
Location
The project is carried out in three different cities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), namely in Kinshasa, in Kikwit and in Lubumbashi. Kinshasa is the vibrant capital of the DRC with more than 17 million inhabitants. Kikwit is the main city of Kwilu province, located east of Kinshasa. The capital of the province of Upper Katanga, Lubumbahsi, is located in the south of the country, near the border with Zambia.
Current situation
The DRC counts nearly 77 million people and there are major gaps in the provision of health, education, infrastructure and energy. Life in the three cities is not easy, many people do not have access to vocational training and therefore have difficulties in finding a job. Lack of education leads to particularly high unemployment rates (more than 46% in 2018).
Some statistics:
Despite the enormous wealth of the DRC in raw materials (coltan, diamonds, copper, etc.) and despite a drop in the poverty rate from 71% to 64% between 2005 and 2012, the country is ranked only 176th out of 188 in the Human Development Index (UNDP, 2016). It is a particularly vulnerable country that lacks coping mechanisms. Life expectancy at birth is 59 years and average years of schooling are 6 years (UNDP, 2016).
Description of the project (download FLYER)
The project aims to strengthen the capacity of the local population through vocational trainings in 7 different areas: health, social economy, computer science, sewing, hairdressing, agriculture and renewable energies. The project also offers trainings to trainers who will then teach young trainees and entrepreneurs in these different fields. These trainings will be held in Kinshasa, in Kikwit and in Lubumbashi. The purpose of the trainings is to enable the population to start income-generating activities.
Across the three cities, a total of 1.482 people will benefit from this project, including girls and boys, young entrepreneurs, medical staff, teachers and trainers. The number of beneficiaries per area of intervention is: health (126), social economy (66), computer science (606), sewing (156), hairdressing (156), agriculture (306), renewable energies (66).
375.527,68 EUR : Budget allocated to the project
277.890,48 EUR : Contribution of the Luxembourgish Government
97.637,20 EUR : Contribution of Action pour un Monde Uni asbl
Local partner at DR Congo : AECOM.
Co-financed by the Luxembourgish Ministry according to the framework agreement signed between the Luxembourgish Ministry and the NGO Action pour un Monde Uni on 11.01.2018.
Since 2009, the KPMG Luxembourg Foundation supports projects working towards achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Their aim being to build more sustainable and resilient communities by investing in people rather than in “Brick and Mortar”. We are delighted that in 2020 KPMG Luxembourg Foundation has chosen to support our capacity building project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) with a donation of 21.200 €!
Our capacity building project in the DRC works towards achieving UN SDGs 1, 4, 8 and 17 by offering free vocational training classes to teenagers and adults who didn’t have the opportunity to finish their schooling. The trainings are offered in the domains of health, economy, informatics, sewing, hairdressing, agriculture and renewable energies. The project offers trainings to trainers who will then teach young trainees and entrepreneurs in these different fields. Upon successful completion of the trainings, the trainees receive a diploma. The trainings were held in Kinshasa during the first two project years 2018-2019, in Kikwit in 2020 and in 2021 in Lubumbashi. The purpose of the trainings is to enable the population to start income-generating activities and to earn decent living wages.
As many people in DRC do not have the opportunity to complete primary or secondary education, they often lack specific competences to find decent work. Unemployment rates throughout DRC are particularly high (more than 46 % in 2018). From 2016-2019, AMU carried out a project in a primary school in Kikwit with the same partner. However, it was noted that many projects focus on primary and secondary education for children but that projects tackling the issue of youth and adults who cannot find a job due to lack of education is often overseen. To respond to this need, our local partner AECOM together with its beneficiaries developed this project to ensure continuous education for adults. The project runs over 4 years and aims to have successfully trained 1.480 young adults by the end of the project.
In order for the trainees to make direct use of their newly gained capacities and to assure they can gain autonomy in generating an income, so called departure kits are distributed among those who successfully complete the trainings. Departure kits are distributed for trainees in the domains hairdressing, sewing and agriculture and include supplies such as a sewing machines, scissors, spades, etc.
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the KPMG Luxembourg Foundation for supporting this project in 2020, a year filled with unexpected challenges for everyone. Merci, Botondi!
Action pour un Monde Uni asbl - NGO accredited Non-Governmental Organization in Luxembourg