“It always seems impossible, until it’s done.”
Nelson Mandela
As we all know, fragile Infrastructure challenges the quality of life, this is unfortunately the case in the DRC where rural areas constantly struggle with irregular water and power supply, lack of facilities for transportation, poor road conditions and more. This has a massive impact on people’s health and educational status, taking a toll on their socio-economic progress. With a growing sensitivity to these issues, we continue our mission to provide improved infrastructure in various localities by increasing access to potable water, while offering safe and clean environment to enhance hygienic living conditions. Our team has worked on rehabilitating dilapidated roads, improving connectivity and has constructed well-equipped schools, hospitals, bridges, and police stations. Together, we are committed to removing all the obstacles of the people of DRC for an empowered life.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- Construction of a bridge in Kimin linking Dikanda and Kawala villages. This facilitates economic growth with ease of travel by road, particularly during the monsoon season. Children in the area now have easier access to school due to the bridge as well.
- Construction of one borehole and water tank with attached solar panel at the Lupoto clinic.
- Manual boreholes and installation of taps for access to potable water constructed in schools in the Lupoto region.
- Construction of 10 borewells for provision of potable water in villages around Lupoto and Kimin.
- Construction of one brand new police station in Commune Annexe, Quartier Somika.
- Construction of one dispensary in Lupoto, second dispensary is under construction.
- 50 road signs installed in accident-prone areas at Munia road (30 kms approximately) to provide directions and ease the flow of vehicles. Also includes road maintenance (30 km stretch) activities carried out every year.
- Rehabilitation of the HewaBora school in Kolwezi as the building was burned down by fire. This was followed by donation of diverse supplies such as computers, musical instruments, and more. The foundation worked with MES, which is a unit of the Somika Group.
- Construction of market in Kisanfu area to facilitate sales for local vendor.
- School constructions underway in both Kisanfu and Lupoto.
- Hospital constructed near Kipushi Road. The 44 bedded hospital is intended to provide better health care facilities to the community.
IMPROVING ACCESS TO WATER
The recent years have witnessed our Potable Water Projects through the construction of borewells accompanied by the installation of water tanks, solar panels and pumps that run on solar energy.
Water plays an important role in the way lives are led, hygiene practices that are followed and in building healthy habits for the prevention of diseases. Lack of access to clean drinking water has created difficult conditions for a lot of local communities. That is the reason why we envision providing ease of access to such a crucial resource. This led us to the construction of borewells powered by solar electricity with well-equipped tap systems at village centers, dispensaries, markets and schools.
Meanwhile, the installation of taps for potable water brought relief to the residents of Lupoto. This is a small step we’ve taken to support families to live in a clean environment with daily access to safe drinking water. In the coming years, we plan to spread our reach to strengthen the underprivileged communities with a healthier approach to life.
| Year | Number of Projects Completed |
|---|---|
| 2018-2020 | 5 borewells |
| from 2021 | 20 borewells (2 manual and 18 solar pumps with tap) |
LATEST ESTABLISHMENTS
Infrastructure plays a vital role in enhancing the standard of living of the native population.
The people of the rural DRC regions face certain barriers that include schools with inadequate facilities, lack of medical clinics, poor quality of roads without sufficient signboards and more. The Vinmart Foundation endeavors to curtail the gaps in the DRC healthcare and education sector by constructing well-equipped primary and secondary schools, clinics, dispensaries and hospital while providing easy access to the rural population for affordable – quality education and treatment.
Primary schools at Lupoto and Kimin; clinic and dispensary at Lupoto and Hospital at Kisengo are some of the sites wherein the vision of Foundation has been realized. We also worked towards the installation of 50 road signs to increase safety on accident-prone routes and the construction of a bridge in the Kimin region. The team was actively involved in the construction of a well-equipped police station in Commune Annexe, Quartier Somika, to create a safer environment for the community.
Market places were constructed in Manano and Mitwaba in the past years. A marketplace with an expanse of 105 sq. m. and with an occupancy of around 40 grocery sellers has been built in the Dikanda village in the year 2021. This market is equipped with an administrative block and appropriate sanitation facilities along with a solar-powered borewell, which fulfills the water demands of the village community.
We are striving to provide this set of fundamental facilities to ease difficulties faced by community members to accelerate their progress and development.
ENVIRONMENT
“Environment is no one’s property to destroy, it’s everyone’s responsibility to protect.”
Mohith Agadi
With its 167 million hectares of forest representing nearly 10% of the world’s tropical forests, the DRCis the second largest tropical forest country in the world. This rate represents a major challenge for the mitigation of emission reductions. The trade-offs made by the country today in terms of the exploitation of its natural resources and the use of its land will determine its future development trajectory and will directly impact the ecosystems of the region and even of the planet. Therefore, our Foundation attaches great importance to the protection of the environment and the conservation of biodiversity. We carry out strategic programs aimed to protect the environment directly and indirectly. Our programs, carried out by our dedicated teams, are aimed at the populations of the territories where we operate, but also through our key partners and certain local NGOs that we support.
REFORESTATION DRIVES
Abundant in nature – the DRC is home to over 50% of Africa’s tropical forests. A land rich in its natural wealth, deforestation remains to be an ongoing problem in the DRC with increasing cases of deforestation and soil erosion, depletion of natural resources, loss of habitat, climate change and more. The result has been an imbalance in the biodiversity of the region. The Vinmart Foundation has been actively working towards reforestation programs to restore areas that may be affected due to increasing industrial activities. The foundation has therefore devised reforestation programs with the plantation of 7000 trees in and around Lupoto and Lubumbashi in 2019 and 2020.
Currently, we are intending to plant around 4000 trees which include specific medicinal ones such as the Indian Lilac (Azadirachta indica) that wards off mosquitoes that spread malaria.
It also includes fruit trees to promote small-scale earnings while increasing its consumption and flowering plants that add to the elegance of the area.
These tree plantation projects are aimed to restore the green cover, improve soil fertility and rectify the effects of deforestation in order to restore the natural balance in life.