ACT FOR CONGO INC
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Mission Statement
The mission of ACT for Congo is to educate about the challenges and opportunities of partnership in DR Congo and provide opportunities to support innovative and integrated programs that cultivate community, empower women and foster health. ACT for Congo is a social justice organization providing critical support to local Congolese organizations. With 30 years of deep experience in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Act for Congo has developed a sustainable and regionally authentic model for accompanying Congolese programs that address environmental, education and health issues in their own community.
About This Cause
The Democratic Republic of Congo is a strategic country with a wide variety of mineral and natural resources. It has had a turbulent history, which has induced large amounts of foreign aid, humanitarian intervention, and international development projects. This has created successive waves of humanitarian intervention, starting after independence in 1960 and most recently from the spillover effects of the Rwandan genocide in 1994, which marked the beginning of a prolonged period of conflict that brought foreign militaries and advanced the aims of rebel groups throughout eastern Congo. In the same period, a volcano erupted in 2002 covering one-third of Goma, one of the major cities in the eastern DRC, and causing widespread migration and disaster. In 2007 renewed conflict doubled the number of permanently present international NGOs working to ameliorate the impacts of war and natural disasters, and address the most urgent needs of the population. In November of 2012, a rebel group operating in the expansive Congolese forested areas named the M23, took control of Goma for ten days, virtually unopposed by national soldiers or United Nations MONUSCO forces. They withdrew peacefully, but numerous militias continue to destabilize the east. These events have created a unique humanitarian and international development environment in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and while international NGOs have helped meet urgent health, nutrition, sanitation and security needs, long-term peace building and stability efforts spearheaded by outside organizations and without the support of the local population and grassroots organizations have shown little impact. Rather, Congolese working locally possess the knowledge, skills, resiliency, and ingenuity to develop, implement and scale-up programs, but are often unable to do so because they lack funding and support. ACT for Congo began working with leaders and grassroots organizations in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2013, although the leadership at ACT have had a long career in international development, having worked for major international organizations, family foundations, and on development projects in the Democratic Republic of Congo and beyond for over thirty years. Their expertise was sought after by our founding partner, the Humanitarian Organization for Lasting Development (HOLD-DRC). HOLD was founded by Congolese development workers, physicians, and other Congolese citizens with a desire to create an organization that truly reflected the Congolese perspective and needs. These individuals are leaders in their respective tribes and communities who came together with an understanding that Congolese must be empowered to be responsible, active citizens for change and peace. Their initial programs addressed an unmet need for support and accompaniment of young, single mothers in eastern Congo. This situation was the result of decades of violence, including sexual violence, chaos, and community disruption that left many young women and their children incredibly vulnerable. While their situation was largely beyond their control, women in these circumstances face severe criticism, stigmatization and are often ostracized to an extent that poses harmful health consequences for the women and their children. HOLD requested ACT’s support to help design and manage programs, as well as help them create new partnerships and connections for deeper impact. In 2021 AGIR RDC was created to continue the integrated approach in new ways. It began just before the volcanic eruption of Nyiragongo May23, 2021. Since 2013, ACT has provided our partners the following services: • help staff and the board strategically plan programs in both the short and long term • program monitoring and evaluation • quality improvement initiatives • create templates for reporting and ensuring quality and timely reporting for funders, • connect US and internationally based funders and interest groups with innovative and effective leaders and organizations in the Democratic Republic of Congo • networks and connections to individuals and organizations both locally and internationally, for mutually beneficial and more impactful work. HOLD trained 13 cohorts of vulnerable young women on important income generating vocational skills, health and nutrition topics, basic literacy, financial services, and individual and group counseling. This program is state-certified, and graduates who pass national exams receive a state-issued diploma. More than 1,400 women have graduated successfully. They have well over 6,000 children whose lives benefit from the training and support their mothers received. HOLD has provided critical early childhood education, nutritional support, and health monitoring to the children of the young mothers. HOLD, ACT for Congo and the University of Wisconsin/Madison followed these young women for 18 months to determine how the training, network and advocacy has improved their lives and that of their children. HOLD's director Modestine Etoy fostered relationships with important government and non governmental stakeholders and became a critical voice in education, health and gender policy in Congo. Training, networking and advocacy empowers young women, giving them a voice in decision-making circles that impact their life. Graduates of HOLD’s programs have returned to school, pursued university-level educations, run their own businesses, successfully reunited with their families, and have created and implemented programs in their community that increase knowledge on health, family planning, nutrition, and environmental conservation. HOLD’s success is not without great difficulty. Grassroots organizations like HOLD are unable to compete with larger, international organizations for the attention and support of donors. There also exists the perception that working directly with grassroots leaders and organizations is risky, as there have been many instances of fraud, corruption, or failure of these programs to deliver all elements of the agreement. Local leaders are often not educated about the standards of practice developed in the west, or lack the capacity to meet these high standards without critical support. ACT for Congo provides a liaison between the two worlds, works as a complementary organizational services and support group. We identify promising and demonstrated leaders and organizations in the community, engage them in an organizational planning and development process, help them to improve or grow the organization, and ensure US and international partners expectations and deliverables are met in a timely, accessible and appropriate way. In addition, ACT for Congo’s various strategic partnerships in the US and throughout Congo allow ACT to connect organizations doing synergistic work for greater impact. By working with ACT for Congo, HOLD has been connected and grown connections to both local and international partners. In 2017 a second partnership was added, Congo Nouveau, which trains youth leaders in civic rights and responsibility, nonviolence, community mobilization and entrepreneurship. It links groups in 19 cities around the country. DR Congo's population is 60% under 18 years old; it is important to provide support to this group of Congolese who face extremely challenging political and economic situation. And in 2021, AGIR RDC, created and led by Modestine Etoy, who developed the HOLD program and led it for 9 years. More on that soon!