CONGODORPEN dreams of a sustainable world in which human dignity is the norm for everyone. For more than 50 years, the NGO has been supporting vulnerable rural African communities in meeting economic, environmental, social and cultural challenges.
Vision
CONGODORPEN strives for a form of solidarity that promotes people and nature in a sustainable way. Essential to this is the close cooperation with the communities themselves, in which the organization is active. Together, they strive for local, autonomous, sustainable and inclusive regional development. CONGODORPEN focuses on three pillars: (agricultural) entrepreneurship, education and health. In addition to increasing the supply and improving the quality of basic services, they strive for better accessibility and higher community participation, in the organization of these services.
Mission
CONGODORPEN opts for an integrated community approach in which the needs, aspirations and strengths in the community are the source of their projects. Through established committees (a farmers' union, parents' committee and health committee), members of the community are given a say in the implementation, execution and monitoring of the projects. They work together with civil society organisations in the DR Congo and Morocco, partners of CONGODORPEN. This way of working stimulates cooperation, dialogue and collective decision-making and gives solidarity a sustainable character.
In addition to a number of projects in Belgium, CONGODORPEN is active in the DR Congo, in South Ubangi, as well as in Morocco, in Drâa-Tafilalet and Fès-Meknès. In the DR Congo, CONGODORPEN reaches some 130.000 people in 75 different communities with its projects; in Morocco almost 10.000 people, within 10 communities.
What do the projects entail? The common thread is empowerment. As far as agriculture or entrepreneurship is concerned, the organisation mainly fulfils a facilitating role: it supports farmers who apply for a micro-project with resources and to guide them in continuing their projects. For example, CONGODORPEN is currently working on the reconstruction of the coffee sector in South Ubangi and the formation of an optimized value chain around it.
Secondly, in the field of education, CONGODORPEN not only builds or repairs schools but also provides them with trained teachers and the necessary materials. Girls are also encouraged to go to school through awareness campaigns and the organisation of extracurricular activities specifically for girls. In addition, CONGODORPEN supports the operation of adult literacy centres through materials and training of monitors.
Finally, in the field of care, CONGODORPEN mobilizes the community for health care, through awareness campaigns or through the creation of community health insurance funds that people can join. Also, the organization offers training and materials both to the community and to the medical staff in the health centers.
For more than 50 years in the DR Congo, and for the past 2 years in Morocco, this triptych of regional development has contributed to moving rural communities: enterprising, a sense of initiative and cooperation. Ensemble, agissons!
