ACT for Congo gets several kinds of reports from AGIR every month. These include their program activities, photos, stories and financials. This is an example of an activity report for the month of March 2023. Please check their website for more details.

AGIR RDC March, 2023 Monthly Report

Context:

Despite a ceasefire scheduled for Tuesday, March 7, 2023, the month of March was characterized by violent fighting and a massive displacement of people from villages in North Kivu province. The M23 rebels continue to gain ground at the expense of the loyalist army. Camps for displaced persons continue to grow on the outskirts of the city of Goma and some surrounding cities.

From the economic point of view, we have witnessed a surge in food prices because these displaced populations who are in the camps are those who once produced the food that served the province and surrounding provinces. Accessibility by road is also a problem due to lack of security, and the roads are not maintained in war zones. There is ongoing depreciation of the Congolese franc against the US dollar; on February 9 the government announced the publication of the exchange rate and now US $ 1 is trading at 2,308 Congolese francs.

Emergency Project —Tusiwaachiliye Bulengo I

For two months now, we have accompanied the war-displaced people of Bulengo through awareness-raising, mental health and other targeted actions.

A) Community Mobilization

Living in crowded, inhumane conditions, the displaced people of the camp are likely to catch several diseases; our community animators, through sensitization and guidance, do everything possible to ensure that these displaced people know how to protect themselves from diseases in the camp because the cholera epidemic is already present and has already caused several deaths.

Thus sensitizations on hygiene in general and hand hygiene is our primary tool to fight waterborne diseases. We went door to door but also held public sessions to get our message across.

Bulengo Camp, March 22, 2023: Mrs. Sezarine, one of AGIR-RDC's Psychosocial Assistants in a listening session with a displaced woman.

B) Psychological follow-up

Traumatized by the war but also by the difficult situation in which they live, the displaced people of the Bulengo camp have many psychological disorders, which our Psychosocial Assistants do their best every day to limit the damage.

Through psychological listening, home visits and follow-up of clinical cases, we help the displaced people of the Bulengo camp on a daily basis to overcome their psychological problems through our psychosocial assistance:

  • Active listening: Through active listening, our psychosocial Assistants exchanged with more than 54 displaced people to help them address and understand their present situation to create resilience.

  • Home visits: In March our psychosocial assistants made more than 52 home visits for psychological or holistic follow-up but also for referrals and active listening.

  • Referrals: More than 15 cases were referred for medical care. The majority suffered from cholera as the epidemic is too present in the camp.

  • Clinical follow-up: In March 2023, we referred some people to the hospital and ensure their medical care, we especially chose cases that are not taken care of by other structures and organizations in the camp. For example, RIZIKI is a woman who had an accident while fleeing the war and who was without support in the Bulengo camp. We sent her to a referral hospital in Goma for surgery.

  • Holistic follow-up: Other people arrived at the camp too depressed or too weakened. We assisted most of the pregnant women we saw by giving them nutritional meal for porridge, soap, clothes for them and for the newborn babies. Some received money to facilitate their daily lives in the camp because they are often forgotten by other organizations because they are not able to go and stand in the queues every day for food.

A note from ACT for Congo:

AGIR’s volunteers wear credentials and khaki vests so people can identify them in the camps. It is important to have professionals in the camps who know what resources are available in Goma and can triage and connect people to the appropriate services for care.

International organizations have clinics in the camps to treat a certain number of specific diseases common in the camps and provide first aid for minor injuries. AGIR will take people that the clinic cannot easily treat such as complicated childbirth, serious injuries like broken bones, or acute psychiatric care.

AGIR takes care of people like R … who suffered a serious injury to her jawbone while running from violence in her village … AGIR took her to a hospital in Goma, paid for her surgery and supported her inpatient care until she could return to the camp. If not for this, she would not be able to talk or eat normally again.

At Kyeshero Hospital in Goma, March 29, 2023, R, a displaced woman from Bulengo camp, 3 days after her mandible surgery.

March 21, 2023, R, an emergency project beneficiary sitting in her makeshift home at Bulengo Camp.

Helping Domestic Workers Work Safely And With Dignity

As part of this project, several activities were carried out during the month of March, including:

Two radio programs during the month of March — One program dated March 20 on the radio Pole FM at 14 hours (GMT+2) in which we invited a woman domestic worker on the set to talk about the rights of domestic workers but also the abuses that are committed against them. And the other on the radio Kivu Stars dated March 23, 2023 at 13 hours (GMT+2) in this program we talked about the empowerment of women with our focus on the women domestic workers.

A conference with students — As of March 16, 2023, we held a conference debate with students from the University of Goma, a conference on the rights of domestic workers, how society regards them and what is really its place.

16 March, 2023: Modestine Etoy, Executive Director of AGIR RDC speaks to a panel of University of Goma students on the values of the domestic worker.

16 March, 2023 at University of Goma: Overview after a session on labor law in the DRC.

TWAWEZA SHINDA II

Launched in September 2022, the Twaweza Shinda II project is progressing rather well. For this month of March 2023, we have turned our gaze to literacy where more than 46 people are now able to read and write in Swahili; Kabuo Riziku, one of our beneficiaries in Buhene, told us that she was now able to speak with her husband by phone message.

Goma, 24 March 2023, a literacy session in a church in the Buhene neighborhood.

a. Support groups

The support groups of the TwaWeza Shinda 2 project are progressing well, in Beni, Mujoga, Buhene and Mugunga. This month of March we reviewed all the sessions learned since the launch of the project in September 2022.

Themes such as:

  • Awareness on how to prevent HIV/AIDS,

  • Awareness on peaceful coexistence,

  • Community Animation Session on the management of an Income Generating Activity,

  • The fight against violence based on gender,

  • Respect for the rights of women and girls,

  • Awareness of members on the theme of fetal alcohol were at the center of activities during this month of March 2023.

b.  Literacy 

In Mugunga, Buhene and Mujoga the literacy training continues with the reading of complex sentences as well as other reading exercises. On the faces of the beneficiaries, we can see a joy and pride to be able to read and write.

R.K., one of the 46 beneficiaries of literacy shared her testimony with us "My father died when I was still young, it meant that I did not go to school. My mother did not have the means. Growing up I had always felt inferior to those who can read and write, in church when I saw my neighbor reading the Bible I felt without value. I sometimes gave my phone to a third person to read me the messages, today that I can now read and writ,e I feel confident. I thank the organization AGIR DRC for offering me this chance."

She is also a member of our Buhene support group, where she testifies that the teachings of the group and also the psychological follow-up, she receives brings her a well-being that she does not know how to describe.

c. Tailoring

There are more than 42 in the Tailoring training class distributed in two sites, Mugunga and Buhene, for this month of March 2023. The training was devoted to African designs of clothing, and 6 types of skirts. Each session was composed of two parts, the theoretical part and the practical part.

KF shared with us her impressions of her current knowledge in Tailoring, "I always dreamed of being a seamstress only I had never had the chance to learn. Today with the little I have already learned in this training, I manage to make children's clothes that I sell to the neighborhood, and I find something to eat with my six children. At the end of this training, I would like to open a sewing workshop and thus send my children to school.”

d. Mental Health

Restoring stolen mental health is executed by our partner UFEDOC, so this month of March was devoted to home visits, active listening and mediations.

Goma, March 24, 2023: A Tailoring session in a church in the Buhene neighborhood

Mujoga, 25 March 2023, right, Zawadi, Mujoga's psychosocial assistant at home with two of the members of her support group.

Activities in Beni: Working with people displaced by violence.

The activities in Beni are going as smoothly as possible, the activities of psychological follow-up in schools and in the group, socio-economic reintegration, members of the support groups continue to contribute and give credits to the members of the group.

For this month of March 2023, it was a question of raising awareness with:

  • The members of the support groups on life as a whole,

  • Pregnant women on prenatal care, essential hygiene, and reproductive health,

  • Members of support groups on peaceful coexistence,

  • Members of support groups on the importance of saving,

  • Members of Mangothe's support group on Waterborne Disease and Pandemic Preventative Measures. (The photo below was taken at a March 18, 2023 awareness session on the prevention of waterborne diseases in the Mangothe site in Beni.)

TWAWEZA SHINDA I

Entrepreneurship

The TwaWeza Shinda I project ended almost a year ago now. On the other hand the entrepreneurial activities, the support groups for psychological and social mutual aid for the promotion of peace and peaceful cohabitation have continued. The meetings in support groups, almost all the members of these three support groups have already created an income-generating activity. Also, all members continue to contribute to their Village Savings and Loan Associations (VLSA). In March we visited some beneficiaries of Mujoga to talk about the impact of the TwaWeza Shinda I project.

March 25, 2023: Zawadi, Psychosocial Assistant, in a visit at JN’s home in Mujoga..

Evaluation Meetings and Social Issues

During this month of March 2023, we did only four debriefings, due to the fact that most of the staff of the office is assigned to Bulengo as part of the emergency project. We held 12 inter-departmental meetings and three meetings with implementing partners.

Nevertheless, on March 02, 2023, we took advantage of the debriefing time to do a capacity building session on the organization's management manual.

Celebration of International Women's Day

On the occasion of International Women's Day, we discussed "the emancipation of Congolese women, what do we understand?"

The staff of AGIR RDC and UFEDOC (a partner organization) discussed, made recommendations and made personal commitments on the attitudes to be taken for the promotion of the emancipation of women and the attitudes to be promoted for a positive masculinity.

Professional Ethics Training

On March 02, 2023, the AGIR DRC staff and UFEDOC were trained on professional ethics by our Beni staff, a moment of exchange and commitment seized by the AGIR administration to reinforce the values and principles advocated by the organization.

Goma, AGIR DRC Office, 02 March 2023, capacity building session on the management manual of the AGIR DRC organization.

Goma, AGIR DRC Office, 02 March 2023, capacity building session on professional ethics.