Democratic Republic of Congo - Augustinians Across the World Foundation

We can no longer speak of child labor, but rather then unacceptable exploitation of our children
(one person involed in the investigation conducted in Kinshasa in July 2015)

The friars, because of the conditions of the local population, have concentrated their presence in this area and have developed social projects in Dungu, Poko and Amadi, above all for supporting the local indigenous population. In 1991 the decided to open a community in Kinshasa, capital of the state with almost 11 million inhabitants. Despite the considerable richness of the subsoil, the country is in the third from the last place for poverty with 62% of the population below the poverty level and with a life expectancy of 56 years. Child labor is a very common phenomenon and involves more than 8 million children, equal to 42% of the total population.

The Augustinian friars, in collaboration with the Foundation Augustinians in the World and the Curia, have decided to concentrate their own operation in the educational sector and in that of community development, with a special program that opposes the exploitation of minors.

Our Projects

JUVENAT Centre: a concrete contribution for the reintegration of child soldiers and vulnerable young people

The goal of the project is to build a residential center to help the social and economic reintegration of vulnerable children in Dungu with particular reference to child soldiers.

A women’s cooperative in Kinshasa

A cleaning cooperative was created in Kinshasa to provide jobs for parents of poor families and avoid child exploitation.

A school in Kinshasa that makes differences: first the Poor

The overall goal of the project is to contrast the social and economic disparity in Limete, suburb of Kinshasa, thanks to a program of development in the educational sector (infrastructural and high-quality teaching) with particular attention to the problem of child labor.

Training for Augustinian missionaries in the DRC to improve their social impact

Thanks to the training programs developed by Osafund, missionaries manage social projects using models from the European Commission.

Hope in the Kaka 1 refugee camp in Dungu

The project plans to develop a health program and support for production activities in the Kaka 1 refugee camp, established in September 2017 in the outskirts of Dungu, where around 600 South Sudanese, who have fled from their country where the war has already caused millions, find shelter of deaths and 2.5 million refugees.

Support for agricultural cooperatives in the Haut-Uelé and Bas-Uelé districts of Dungu-Donoma

The project aims to promote a support program for small Congolese farmers, in order to improve their production capacity.