Congo

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"My work with Handicap International is more dangerous than office work, that is true, but I think of my children. If I, as a Congolese person, do not dedicate myself to them and their future, then who will? It is not the task of foreigners to handle this. And because I think of my children, I am very careful."
Mimi, deminer for Handicap International

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, Handicap International works on improving the treatment of disabled people and provides mine risk education.

CONTEXT
A vast country with immense economic resources, the Democratic Republic of Congo has been at the centre of what could be termed Africa's world war. The 5-year conflict pitted government forces, supported by Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe, against rebels backed by Uganda and Rwanda. But despite a peace deal and the formation of a transitional government in 2003, the threat of civil war remains.
In 2005, the process of disarmament and the reintegration of the armed groups was expanded to include the entire country. Nevertheless, fighting continued in the eastern districts and the socio-economic situation also remains especially tense. In the 2006 UN Human Development Index, this country ranked 167 out of 177 countries, making it one of the poorest countries on the planet.
Handicap International has been present in the Democratic Republic of Congo since 1995. After a number of campaigns in the province of East Kasai (Mbuji Mayi), Kivu (Goma) and Bandundu (Kikwit), present development projects focus on the cities and the surroundings of Kinshasa and Kisangani. Handicap International is also running emergency projects in the region of Kinshasa, South Kivu and Bunia.

ACTIVITIES

1) Improvement of living conditions for disabled people in Kinshasa
This project started in 1998 and covers 22 neighbourhoods of Kinshasa. This community-based rehabilitation project aims at supporting the inclusion of disabled people in their community and their access to greater autonomy by using local resources. The project has three components:

• Information, education and communication
  Nurses and midwives receive training on how to prevent, identify and treat difference types of disabilities so that a disabled baby can be looked after as early as possible. In Kinshasa, 53 nurses received this training and now work in 23 maternity clinics and 25 health centres in Kinshasa. In turn, these 53 nurses trained themselves 373 other nurses directly in their workplaces.
  
• Community-Based development
  Community-Based Rehabilitation Committees, consisting of disabled and non-disabled volunteers, identify families with a disabled member and refer them to an adequate care structure (e.g.: health centres and schools). Handicap International has worked to strengthen these Community-Based Rehabilitation Committees (i.e. 704 local supervisors) so that the latter can have a key role in the inclusion of disabled people in their communities.
  Local supervisors have already identified 7,897 disabled people, who consequently received appropriate follow-up in their own community.
  
• Children and disabilities
  This year, Handicap International paid special attention to the Community-Based Rehabilitation Committee's capacity to accompany families through the appropriate steps and to investigate whether they need financial support, after the child's need for a special school or health structure has been identified. If necessary, the Committee finances 90% of the expenses and helps the family find funding for the remaining 10%.

This approach is also facilitated by both our partners, the Bondeko Villages (15 centres providing special education to disabled children in the most underprivileged areas of Kinshasa) and the Association des Centres pour Handicapés d'Afrique Centrale (ACHAC).

2) Rehabilitation centre for people with a physical disability in Kinshasa
End of the institutional support project

The rehabilitation centre for physically disabled people (CRHP, Centre de Réadaptation pour handicapés physiques) is a socio-medical initiative of the Brothers of Charity. From 2002 to July 2005, Handicap International provided institutional support to help this centre improve the services offered to disabled people in Kinshasa and its surroundings and to strengthen its links with other centres.

By helping the CRHP, Handicap International contributed towards improving the living conditions of 9,500 disabled people every year.

The CRHP benefited from:

• Training for physiotherapists (2 years), orthopaedic technicians (3 years) and for technicians from the walking aids workshop (3 months)
• Setting up tools to manage the stocks, patient files as well as IT and proposal writing training
• Physiotherapy equipment for the production of orthoses, prostheses, tricycles and walking aids, as well as IT material, a technical library and a walking track
• Consumables for physiotherapy, orthopaedics, tricycles and walking aids to ensure that there will be no disruption once Handicap International has left.

3) Community support on landmine and UXO issues in Kisangani
Two devices to prevent accidents: awareness-raising and clearance

The region around Kisangani has repeatedly been the stage for armed encounters and violence. In addition to the permanently tense situation, the fighting also brought a huge number of anti-personnel mines and UXOs that seriously jeopardise civilians' lives in the region.

The current phase of Handicap International's intervention in Kisangani began in November 2003 with a project, based on previous experience, aiming at expanding the geographical scope and diversifying the activities.

The ultimate goal is the removal of all mines and UXOs. However, given the time needed to achieve a 100% clearance, local people must in the meantime learn how to live with this danger and to avoid these devices.

This project has four sub-components:

• Impact analysis
  Studies were conducted at the most dangerous sites, along the major road to Ituri.
  
• Information
  Handicap International's teams organised awareness-raising campaigns to inform people about the dangers of landmines and other unexploded ordnances. These activities are managed by a young Congolese woman specialised in Mine Risk Education and whose competences have been certified by the UN accreditation agency.
  
• Community aid
  This eight-people team was set up by an expatriate specialised in community work. The team has worked on strengthening the villages' capacities in identifying the needs and in setting up micro-development projects.
  
• Mine clearance and destruction of stockpiles
  The collection of information and the campaigns enabled the systematic clearance of 18,000 sq meters polluted by landmines and 93,000 sq meters of roads and fields polluted by landmines and UXOs. 2,992 ordnances, amounting to 4,488 kg of active explosive material were destroyed.
  Many suspect areas were cordoned off. This year many areas were isolated, especially those where feasibility studies established that mine removal would be impossible or ineffective.
  The collection of information and the campaigns enabled the systematic clearance of 18,000 sq meters polluted by landmines and 93,000 sq meters of roads and fields polluted by landmines and UXOs. 2,992 ordnances, amounting to 4,488 kg of active explosive material were destroyed.

4) Emergency action: Support to refugees and/or displaced populations

For the region of Kinshasa

• Support to Angolese refugees through the distribution of food and the rehabilitation of roads and bridges
• Management of all the means of transportation available on the Bas-Congo where all operations necessitating the use of vehicles are organised conjointly with the HCR in Kimpese and Atlas Logistique (which became part of Handicap International in 2006) in Kinshasa and Kimpese
• Management of the vehicles of the HCR and partners in Kinshasa, Kimpese and Kahemba through a garage located in Kinshasa and advanced bases in Kimpese and Kahemba
• Rehabilitation of roads and bridges to transport food supplies in the Bandundu

For the region of South Kivu

• Assistance to repatriated population: construction and rehabilitation of infrastructures to host the refugees
• Repatriation logistic
• Cleansing of sites after closing (securing or closing latrines, planting vegetation…)

For the region of Bunia

• Rehabilitation of the axis Beni-Bunia to open up the city and to promote access to aid stakeholders. This is done through a “cash for work” system  which allows many families to touch an income and to demobilise former militias.
• Rehabilitation of infrastructures allowing the employment of demobilised people
• Rehabilitation of several health centres

BENEFICIARIES

• Disabled people in Mbuji Mayi and its periphery and in Kinshasa
• Physiotherapy personnel and orthoprosthesists in the various centres
• Para-medical personnel in the units being supported
• Associations run by and for disabled people
• Centres for disabled people
• The community of Kinshasa
• 72,000 people took part in mine risk education sessions in 2003
• The population of Kisangani and the surrounding area (approximately 500,000 people), particularly those living adjacent to mined areas.

RESOURCES
In Congo, Handicap International team is made up of 94 national staff, 11 international staff and 700 volunteers in Kinshasa.