Program Goals

Health

• To reduce mortality rates resulting from complications during child birth.
• To reduce the spread of malaria by the Anopheles mosquito prevalent in the region to pregnant women and children.
• To improve the overall health of children through better nutrition.
• To reduce disease from water-borne contaminants.

Education

• To improve access to education. Pamoja Tujenge has enabled the construction and staffing of a multi-use building that houses a kindergaren school which is helping children develop language, and mathematics skills.

• To promote self-sufficiency and sustainability in agriculture.  The multi-use building includes an agricultural center and fields where local people plant seeds and harvest peanut, soya and vegetables for the local community.

A measure of stability is returning to south-central Congo, and we have good partners in the people of  three small villages: Katebi – average population 320, Nzilo – average population 235, and Kazembe – average population 150. Our focus is extremely local, however, the villages typify the needs of many rural communities in Katanga. They lack an adequate source of fresh drinking water. Food production is insufficient to supply a nutritious diet. There is no access to medical care. Women receive no special care during pregnancy and babies are delivered by mid-wives with no access to sterile birthing equipment. Malaria is endemic. The closest hospital is located approximately 35 km away in the city of Kolwezi (population 1 million). The rudimentary school serves 200 children from the area and is staffed by a single teacher who has no source of educational supplies. The local economy is minimal. Adults in the villages travel to larger urban centres via routes that are in very poor shape and often, especially during the rainy season, impassable to sell charcoal or fish or to find employment and send cash back to their families. The local economy is dependent on these sales for the funds needed to buy clothing, food, and other necessities and on the infusion of cash from villagers working outside the area. While there is commercial fishing, pollution levels in the lake around which the villages are situated make this an undesirable source of income. There is an opportunity to develop the economy so that income earned by the local citizens remains in the community.

The government has limited capacity to ensure the security of the citizens and provide them with health, employment, education, water, and sanitation services, particularly in rural areas such as Katanga. However, due to the history of volatility in the region, many international agencies remain reluctant to provide assistance to the DRC. The risks are great, however, stability is starting to prevail and there is a lower incidence of violence prevalent in the Katanga province in which Pamoja has strong partnerships at the grass roots level. This has contributed to its successful performance in achieving its program objectives.

Get involved! Write to us at volunteer@pamojasolutions.org.