Action Kivu

“Wherever I go, I am not afraid. I can work. I am empowered. I feel like when I am successful, I can lift up the entire Congo in my hands.”

– Justine, 22, Sewing Workshop Class of 2018

Action Kivu is a civil society group which is a U.S. non-profit that partners with a Congolese organization in providing direct assistance to survivors of the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Eastern Congo through entrepreneurial training and educational projects that are rooted in peace and equality. Pour Les Femmes and Action Kivu collaborated on the construction of the Congo Peace School.  Once the school is fully funded, it will serve 480 students grades 1-12. The Peace School has a peace-centered curriculum based on the teachings of Martin Luther King Jr.  The school serves vulnerable children and orphans, preparing them for constructive, peaceful leadership to influence the future of their nation and our world.

GIVE WORK

1 Item = 1 Day of Work

Our partnership in Eastern Congo supports an initiative called Give Work to give purpose in a place associated with limited opportunities. This initiative creates jobs to support artisans, allowing them to break the cycle of poverty and bring peace back to their war-torn communities. 

More than 200 people have been trained as embroiderers and tailors and the workshop in central Goma produces work to a high professional standard. Each year Pour Les Femmes collaborates with GIVE WORK to produce exclusive designs for a portion of our collection. The embroiderers beautifully hand-stitch our travel and make-up bags and the tailors made a capsule collection of pajamas from luxurious European cotton piped in traditional Congolese fabric. This exquisite detail reminds the consumer of their direct participation in building economic opportunities for women, their families and the communities in this troubled region.

GIVE WORK is helping women, mainly but not exclusively, learn how to sew—a trade that earns them personal income, providing a means to send their children to school and save money for their future.

At the core of GIVE WORK lie values that are close to Pour Les Femmes’ heart: empowerment, quality, and sustainability; keys to developing safe and stable communities.

GIVE WORK is represented by three different projects: the embroiderers of AGAPE, based in Goma, the seamstresses, made up of the widows of the Virunga Park soldiers, based in Rumangabo (60 km North of Goma), and the tailors of KUMITH, based in Nyiragongo (outskirts of Goma). The program has allowed them to set up and continue to support the workshops that create our special “Made in Congo” capsule collection that feature the beautiful handwork and intricate detailing that each of these women create. The workshop helps to empower these women to not only learn a new trade but also, with that trade, live their lives independently.

Learn more about the Give Work initiative here.