Destabilized by the Rwandan genocide of 1994 and the following exodus, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), formerly Zaire, has lived through 10 years of war and anarchy. The eastern part of the country, especially Southern Kivu, has been through violent confrontations, during which civilian populations were systematically targeted. Such violence has disorganized economic and social life, leading to rural depopulation and settlement in towns, lack of medical care, precarious operating of schools… The DRC is now the poorest country in Central Africa.

Since 2003, the country has tried to turn the page through its commitment to pacification and democratization. Crucial steps were reached in 2006, when the President of the Republic was democratically elected andthe National and Regional Assemblies were set up. Congolese associations have had a leading role in the process of pacification. They meet the primary needs of the population concerning access to education, professional training and support for economic activities... In this way, they enable a civil society to emerge, which is a prerequisite for building up democracy and development in a country where risks of destabilization are still quite real. As so many men have disappeared or find themselves jobless, such a revival relies mostly on women’s capacity to organize themselves in order to develop income-generating activities. RDC1.jpg

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To create a boost in development and autonomy

With its local partner APEF (Association pour la Promotion de l’Entreprenariat Féminin), Frères des Hommes has started a huge programme of sustainable development in the Southern Kivu region. The object is a consolidation of the democratic process by making women effective participants in economic, social and political local power. This three-year program helps the most destitute women gain access to training and micro-credit in order to develop viable micro-businesses and provide for their families’ future. The first repayments will support other projects, which will progressively lead to a boost in development and autonomy.

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© FDH

• Develop economic sectors Through a lack of local production, the DRC often has to import expensive produce, which does not always meet the needs of the population. With our partner the APEF, we decide which activities might be developed by local micro-businesses. In towns, laundries, embroidery, knitting, soap manufacturing, trade in second-hand clothing and shoes. In the country, tomato processing, poultry breeding, the transformation of palm oil and palm kernel oil for soap-making.

• Train women who wish to start an income-generating activity
  The APEF is the partner of the 84 women’s associations in Bukavu and of 120 rural groups whose aim is to promote and support local initiatives. Women and families aiming to set up a micro-business receive technical, commercial and accounting training, as well as personalized support, thus enhancing their chances of success.

• Access to microcredit When their training is completed, the beneficiaries have access to micro-credit in order to rent facilities, buy equipment and start their activity. Once the business works, the profits allow them to repay their credit, which will be used at once to promote new economic activities.

• Set up a marketing network
  To sell their products, the women and families that we support can use the network of APEF partners. In this way, producers of palm oil and palm kernel oil can sell their production to soap-making units, which can then sell their soap to small partner shops. As for locally-dyed material, it can be sewn and embroidered by units of the network and then sold by partner stores.