PYGMY SURVIVAL ALLIANCE
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Mission Statement
Pygmy Survival Alliance enables indigenous pygmy communities to transform their health and welfare for a sustainable future.
About This Cause
Since 2009, we have operated the Community of Potters Health and Development project in Ndera Sector, Gasabo District, Rwanda, also known as "COPHAD", in conjunction with our Rwandan national partner, Health Development Initiative-Rwanda, https://hdirwanda.org/ . We began in the village of Bwiza, which is now re-built as the new village of Cyaruzinge. We have also been working in Masoro Village and made outreach to other villages. We began by providing shoes, clothing, food, shelter, medical care, education and jobs. We established a Village Council of an equal number of men and women. Our interventions are led by a Rwandan Field Manager who operates within an administrative oversight of a well-established and successful Rwandan NGO, ensuring compliance with all local regulations. Food security was job #1 because we found infant deaths were directly related to malnutrition. We improved agricultural methods by providing tools, fertilizer and training on terrace-building. We promoted the introduction of livestock including goats and cows. We provided training on reproductive health, childbirth, HIV screening, nutrition, sanitation and hygiene. We built water harvesting and storage systems, pit toilets, and new roofs for homes. We recruited support within the local Rwandan government at the Sector, District and National levels. We coordinated volunteer efforts among Philanthropic, Diplomatic, Educational, International and Business allies. We organized worker Cooperatives for agriculture, basket-making and performing arts. We advocated for and coordinated access to water and electricity. We started a Nursery School at the request of the mothers. At present, we are combining the concept of a Traditional Arts Cultural Village with a new Early Childhood Education Center and we have bought two parcels of land to build it. The new facility is planned to be known as the Amakondera Institute for Culture and Early Childhood Education. It is named after the traditional flutes of horn or wood played exclusively by the "formerly marginalized people known historically as the Batwa." We have a strong base of 16 years of mutual successful collaboration with our Rwandan NGO colleagues and staff; and, a positive reputation in the region as a development partner who has accomplished changes at the grassroots level that many thought were impossible. The local governing District has Tweeted about our work to share it with other local affiliates, and have pledged to support further community infrastructure and economic development. We have a growing administrative capacity for fundraising based in the USA, together with partners in Belgium and Japan. We are building an endowment and continuing to plant seeds, such as collaboration with other Seattle NGOs and Global Community Leaders. We have begun planning for construction of the new Institute and completed a one-year organizational development process that enhanced our volunteer and fundraising capacity for future sustainability. During the Covid-19 pandemic we distributed more than 6 metric tons of food aid to the villages we support as well as instituted upgrades to the water supply and delivery infrastructure. We are raising funds for a community kitchen to support nutritional needs of the students, while at the same time supporting village brickmakers and creating new jobs. Each year, we gather in Rwanda with our Field Manager and meet in the village where are efforts are focused to review our work, assess our progress and challenges and work for making the coming year better. Our annual visit in 2023 lead to increased partnerships with other NGOs working with Batwa people in Uganda and Congo. Our food program is expanding, our early childhood program is thriving and our vocational training work now includes hairstyling, electronic, tailoring and soap making. Milestones that we can easily track include progress towards construction of the new school, number of students in each year’s class and funds raised for further development. We post photos and videos on our Facebook page to easily maintain a highly-visible public record of our progress. Before we started, more than half the babies born in the Batwa Pygmy village of Bwiza died before they were 5 years old. Today, most are surviving past 5 years of age. The population of the village has increased from about 120 to over 400, as in-migration has occurred owing to the reputation of the village as a good place to live. This influx has created opportunities for the original villagers to become landlords, further increasing their economic stability. Also, before we started, the women had less social status than men; now, the men and women have more equal social status. Before we started, people were dying of malnutrition and at risk of extinction. Now, they are surviving, and many are thriving. Before we started, the Batwa of Bwiza were not singing and dancing because they were hungry. Today, they are performing at weddings, public locations such as the Marriott Hotel and the Embassies of Germany and the USA. We hope to eventually extend our efforts to nearby Batwa communities and recruit in-country resources at the government level to sustain the progress we have begun to realize with this new generation of children.