Welcome To The New Banro Foundation Blog
This new blog is dedicated to discussing the challenges of community development in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and projects undertaken by the Banro Foundation to address those challenges.
The Banro Foundation is a registered Congolese charity, founded in 2005 and based in Bukavu, DRC, and funded primarily by the Canadian-based exploration and mining company Banro
Corporation. Its mandate is to improve the lives of thousands of people living in South Kivu and Maniema provinces of the eastern DRC through strategic investments in education, health and infrastructure development and to provide humanitarian assistance as needed.
Approximately 55 projects costing a total of $2.5 million were completed to the end of 2011 – with 2012 shaping up to be the most active year to date for the Foundation, with planned spending of $2.1 million of new projects.
Martin Jones
Chairman, Banro Foundation
The new Makwale Burhinyi Primary School was inaugurated in a public ceremony hosted by the Mwami (chief) of Burhinyi and Banro Foundation on January 30, 2013. With the completion of the school, the Banro Foundation has constructed a total of 10 new schools and rehabilitated an additional two schools, which together serve 4,000 primary and high school students in South Kivu and Maniema provinces.
Basketball is a tremendously popular sport in the DRC. On December 8, 2012, the community of Bagira in the city of Bukavu and the Banro Foundation celebrated the official opening of a new basketball court. This is the third basketball court built by the Foundation for use by the youth of Bukavu. The Banro Foundation also donated new basketball uniforms
Le basketball est un sport extrêmement populaire en RDC. Le 8 décembre 2012, la communauté de Bagira dans la ville de Bukavu et la Fondation Banro ont célébré l’ouverture officielle d’un nouveau terrain de basketball. Il s’agit de la troisième Cour de basket-ball construite par la Fondation pour une utilisation pour les jeunes de Bukavu. La Fondation Banro a également fait don de nouveaux uniformes de basket-ball
The new Mulangane Ngweshe Primary School is a modern facility for 240 students. The ninth new school built by the Banro Foundation, the facility was handed over to the community of Ngweshe on January 30, 2013 in a public ceremony hosted by the Mwami of Ngweshe and the Banro Foundation. The school is located north of the Company’s Twangiza project.
A Congolese women’s NGO, Secours aux Femmes Victimes de Violence Sexuelle et aux Orphelins, did a tremendous job of collecting new medical equipment for use in the province of Maniema, but lacked funding to ship it from Kinshasa to Kindu. The Banro Foundation, together with Banro’s Namoya development team, underwrote the cost of transporting the six tons of medical equipment to Maniema Province. The arrival of the equipment was celebrated in a public ceremony in Kindu, Maniema’s capital city, on September 10, 2012.
The Banro Foundation has a tradition of providing humanitarian assistance as needed. Most recently, the Foundation and Banro came to the assistance of people displaced from the North Kivu city of Goma and surrounding area following the M23 conflict in November 2012. In mid-December, the Foundation delivered 24 tons of food and non-food aid to the Bulengo refugee camp. At the time, the camp, located about 10 kilometres from Goma’s city centre, was providing shelter for 15,000 individuals. This represented the first delivery of food aid to the refugee camp by any NGO.
What is the Banro Foundation Doing for Women?
The plight of women in the eastern DRC is a serious issue known around the world, with the situation being especially tragic for poor women in rural areas. Often denied access to education and other opportunities, women in the eastern DRC are also vulnerable to sexual violence.
Banro Corporation and the Foundation are often asked what we are doing to assist women. Given the extent of the problem, any response seems little more than symbolic. Nonetheless, there are several programs dedicated to supporting women. Here are four examples:
1. In constructing 11 new schools and rehabilitating two schools, the Banro Foundation is also addressing the challenge of low enrolment levels for girls. Parents must pay teachers’ salaries and often cannot afford to pay for daughters. Other obstacles to female attendance include a lack of proper school latrines and the role of girls in performing household chores such as fetching water. In tackling this challenge, the Banro Foundation in 2012 introduced a “teacher tuition” program which pays a basic salary to teachers employed in schools built by the Foundation. We also build proper latrines at each new school and invest in potable water projects, which help relieve girls from household chores, thus freeing up time to attend school.
2. In the remote town of Lugushwa, at the request of local women, the Foundation in 2011 built a women’s resource centre, which today offers courses in basic literacy, sewing, bread making, soap-making and hair dressing. The women run the centre and those with skills do the teaching. Well over 130 women have graduated from course so far. We believe this centre could serve as a model for other such centres across the DRC.
3. In 2012, the Banro Foundation built the new $121,000 multi-purpose women’s health unit at the world-renowned Panzi General Referral Hospital in Bukavu. The Panzi Hospital treats an average of 3,500 women each year, free of charge. The multi-purpose women’s centre supports prenatal consultation, family planning and HIV sensitization, child health and other activities related to women’s health. It was built using funds raised through a charity golf tournament held near Toronto in 2011.
4. Community initiatives undertaken by Banro’s Twangiza Mining operation include adult literacy and numeracy training. A total of 1,896 residents in the chefferie of Luhwindja successfully completed two literacy training phases of six months each. 95 percent of the beneficiaries are women. Phase III of the program is mainly numeracy training, with 272 individuals completing the program by the end of 2012. The same program is offered in the neighboring chefferie of Burhinyi, whereby 1,210 adults have been enrolled in literacy training phase and another 445 adults in numeracy training.
The Banro Foundation has set as one of its eight guiding principles the promotion of social and economic opportunities for women. We appreciate that initiatives such as the above, and others which Banro and the Foundation have undertaken, are only a start in dealing with a very difficult challenge. We plan to do much more in the years ahead to support local women.
Martin Jones
Chairman, Banro Foundation
Building potable water systems has been a long-term focus of the Banro Foundation. The most recent such project is the rehabilitation of the Nfunu water delivery site, which serves 10,000 people in the Kadutu community of Bukavu. The number of water stations was increased from 20 to 50 and solar panels were added to power public lighting for night use of the system. The expansion and upgrade of the potable water system was celebrated in a public ceremony in Bukavu on December 8, 2012.
The Banro Foundation hosts a community office in each of the sites where it has ongoing programs. The most recent Banro Foundation office to open is the Kamituga office, which was inaugurated in a community ceremony on February 4, 2013.
On February 4, 2013, the community of Lugushwa and the Banro Foundation celebrated the achievements of approximately 100 women graduating from courses at the Makalanga Women’s Centre. The Banro Foundation Centre built the Centre in 2011 and continues to finance its operations. The Makalanga Women’s Centre offers courses in basic literacy, sewing, bread making, soap making and hair dressing.
Development through education and skills development, improving health care, evolving infrastructure and encouragement of local business – leading to long-term, enhanced opportunities and quality of life for local Congolese communities.
