D.R.Congo about the size of Western Europe, is the largest country of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Endowed with natural resources and holding immense potential for economic development, D.R.Congo presents a complex reality of having nearly 62 percent of its population living on less than $ 2.15 a day. About one out of six people in D.R.Congo live in extreme poverty. DRC with a population of 95, 894,118 continues to remain among the five poorest nations in this world.

Decades of political and social fragility have resulted in a low human capital index of 0.37 which is even less than the SSA average of 0.4. A child born in D.R.Congo has less chance of survival, a high chance of growing up stunted and malnourished, and an extremely high probability of not being able to realise his/her potential as a result of poor health, low access to quality healthcare and abysmal experience of formal education at school. In an economy driven by minerals and agriculture, the women also face significant barriers to economic opportunities, the stark disparity in wages and asset ownership, and high rate of gender-based violence.

In the midst of such complexities, RAF Global initiated work around wider array of issues in the Kinshasa province in the year 2017 and has demonstrated a long-standing commitment to work for the most affected, deprived individuals, families, and social groups.

Under the School Improvement component of the Education and Technology Programme, we endeavour to improve the critical infrastructure of Government schools by constructing school buildings with classrooms that are adequately furnished with blackboard, benches, and electricity/power backup and have toilets with running water. Besides, with your financial contribution, we aim to provide for drinking water coolers, an equipped science laboratory to support guided scientific inquiry, a computer laboratory, and trained instructor to deliver inclusive ICT education, functioning playgrounds, and sports equipment for joyful engagement, and well-stocked libraries to promote reading habit among students. We shall extend our focus also, to providing classroom books and stationeries for all students and conducting teachers’ training on pedagogy, differential learning, and attitude and behaviour change.

Through surveys conducted in four communes, we have a baseline of the present condition of school infrastructure and we will efficiently utilise your donation towards school infrastructure improvement in as many schools, as possible. Furthermore, we wish to adopt a Government school in Nsele to develop into a model in the region. We invite you to collaborate with us and give the gift of education to underprivileged children studying at Government schools in four communes.

The construction of water tanks has been one of the key initiatives of RAF Global in the communes of Nsele, Mont Ngafula, Selembao and Kimbanseke, in the Kinshasa province. Large parts of rural D.R.Congo is dependent on open source of groundwater such as the spring for daily purposes, in the absence of safe and reliable water infrastructure. Contamination of such sources often compromises people’s health, especially infants, young children, and the elderly with low immunity.

Since the year 2019, RAF Global has invested in a low-cost solution to make safe water accessible to the Congolese population, besides promoting the practice of water conservation and preventing contamination of freshwater sources. It has done so, by constructing water tanks (of 2000 litres capacity each) at the open-source of groundwater. A total of 357,575 rural residents have benefited from the 126 tanks constructed till March 2023. The initiative has checked the spread of waterborne diseases and thereby, addressed the larger issue of malnutrition and death among children and vulnerable groups. It has improved the safety of women and children also, so that they do not have to travel far distances, to fetch water especially, at night.

The unit cost per water tank construction is around USD 2000. A large population’s health and productive life are safeguarded for at least 7 years, at this cost. Any contribution you make towards this cause will carry the legacy of your benevolence for many years.