The Abbé MANGO Foundation (FAMA asbl) is the initiative of Abbé Joseph MULONDA KYATOGEKWA, a priest from the diocese of Uvira in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. He has been a subscriber to the Forum du Refus de la Misère for over a decade, and is very interested in the letters to Friends of the World that he regularly receives each year. Marked by the various experiences of the fight against poverty shared in these letters, he came to believe in the ability of every individual to change his or her own living conditions as much as possible. And so, on December 8, 2015, he gathered around him a group of vulnerable people to reflect on the vision of Abbé MANGO, the first Catholic priest to come from his living space. Indeed, this priest, ordained in 1959 and deceased in 1978, left his mark on the history of his community through his fight for the culture of the Lega people, of which he was a member, downplayed by the colonial powers of the time, in the case of the initiation practices of this people strictly forbidden by the Belgian colonial administration in 1948. There is therefore a need to inculcate self-confidence in vulnerable people, in the light of the socio-pastoral action of Abbé MANGO, who succeeded in putting an end to this ban, which was to derail the destiny of an entire people, but also in the light of various experiences shared in letters to Friends of the World.
“ACTING TOGETHER AGAINST SOCIAL AND INSTITUTIONAL ABUSE”. "This is a topical issue for us. Its use will undoubtedly have a positive impact on the daily lives of people in this part of the world".
I. Nature of the Association
The Abbé MANGO Foundation is a free, apolitical and ecumenical association open to all, regardless of sex, race, tribe or religion. It is not the offspring of Abbé MANGO LUTUMBIKA Barnabé’s biological family, but rather of people concerned with perpetuating his work to protect and promote traditional values, which they see as the key to the integral development of every man and every human being.
II. Head Office
The head office of the Abbé MANGO Foundation is located in the Centre Commercial district of the Commune of Bitanga in the town of Kamituga, in the Province of South Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
III. Mission and fields of intervention
As mentioned above, the Abbé MANGO Foundation derives its mission from Abbé MANGO’s vision, which was to protect and promote the positive values of the diverse cultures of peoples, leading to integral and sustainable development. Hence its areas of intervention:
EDUCATION : Promotion of customary values in schools, promotion of scientific research, if possible creation of traditional-modern schools that would take into account both traditional and modern values. Added to this is the provision of schooling for vulnerable children from poor families, and the granting of scholarships to university students from poor families.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION: Reforestation and other environment-related activities.
CONSTRUCTION AND EQUIPMENT OF BASIC SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL INFRASTRUCTURE: agricultural feeder roads, schools, markets, hospitals, playgrounds, museums, etc.
PEACE PROMOTION: sports and cultural activities to promote peaceful cohabitation between different tribes in our conflict-torn region.
AGRICULTURE AND BREEDING: Food crops, industrial farming and livestock breeding to improve nutrition and boost farmers’ economies.
HEALTH: Medical care for vulnerable people.
HOUSING: Promote new housing construction technology.
IV. Range of action
Founded in the town of Kamituga in the province of Sud-Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Abbé MANGO Foundation (FAMA asbl) is open to the entire Congolese nation. If need be, it can extend its actions even outside the DRCongo. It is currently present in the town of Kamituga, in the Territory of Mwenga and, in the process of being set up, in three of the country’s cities: Bukavu, Goma and Uvira.
V. Some activities in progress
From its inception to the present day, the Abbé MANGO Foundation has been active in four areas: Agriculture, Environmental Protection, Education and Peace Promotion. Here are a few of its activities:
Thanks to market gardening (amaranth, eggplants, cabbage and onions) carried out by several peasant members of the association in Kamituga and Mwenga, there has been an improvement not only in the diet of certain poor families, but also in their economic conditions. Whereas many children from these families were unable to go to school for lack of financial means, today this concern has diminished to some extent thanks to the sale of agricultural produce.
Since July 2024, the Foundation has initiated reforestation activities in Kamituga and Mwenga to help combat global warming.
As Kamituga is a mining town, many young girls and boys are dropping out of school en masse to take up artisanal gold mining. This jeopardizes their future. To get around this obstacle, the Abbé MANGO Foundation has set up a school for apprentices in several trades: carpentry, masonry, cutting and sewing, fitting and welding, plumbing, culinary arts… Thanks to this school, which has already been in existence for 3 years, there are already over 500 young girls and boys trained and well established in their trades in Kamituga or elsewhere.
« We are currently preparing for the World Day to Overcome Extreme Poverty on October 17, 2024, which coincides with the 25th anniversary (silver jubilee) of the innocent people buried alive in Mwenga on October 17, 1999. They were 14 women and 1 man, victims of human wickedness. Members of our association from Kamituga, Bukavu, Goma and Uvira will gather in Mwenga to celebrate both the memory of these innocent victims of war and of more than eight million other Congolese victims of war, and to raise their voices to the higher authorities to demand justice. It is astonishing that such an act should go unnoticed for 25 years, without any prosecution of the perpetrators ».
Contact : +243 979090311
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