18 June 2008

Bengo Province, Angola: A UNV volunteer's community development work in Angola aims to empower refugee communities in terms of self-help, self-management and self-reliance. These strategies are particularly necessary for women, girls and children, who constitute the majority of the refugees there.

Some 300 refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have been living at the Sungui refugee settlement in Bengo Province in the north of Angola since 2000. In partnership with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), UNV volunteer Community Development Officer Kirsti Mwandingi initiated the Self-help Agricultural Vegetable Cooperative project. The scheme solicited funds for the camp's women to construct a building for a shop, an office and a store-room in order to accommodate their small business.

"In order for these working women to move beyond their refugee status, the biggest battle was with the local banks," says Ms. Mwandingi. Initially the local banks refused the refugees access to savings accounts, a major obstacle for micro-credit programmes.

However, with persistence, Namibian national Ms. Mwandingi managed to bring the banks round and also negotiated with the Provincial Department of Agriculture in Caxito, Bengo, to recognize the Sungui refugees' agricultural cooperative. The women were given legal documents for their cooperative, and are now invited to seminars and workshops organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

Kirsti Mwandingi also provides ongoing training sessions on 'Grow your own Garden'. These lessons are focused on creativity and skill-gaining, under the principle that anything can change someone's life. "If you take anything of value, say some seeds harvested from your farm, and add some value to it, say by crushing and squeezing the seeds to produce oil and pulp, you have added value," she explains.

While UNV and UNHCR's community development strategy in partnership with the Angolan Ministry for Assistance and Social Reintegration encourages refugees to be self-reliant through small business and creativity, working together with local communities is also crucial: UNV has thus helped foster interaction between locals and refugees. Moreover, within the Sangui community, volunteerism is essential in dealing with vulnerable people. Older refugees now rely on fellow community members who provide not only physical help but skill in manual work.

"The real significance of volunteerism in Angola is when you do it with a happy heart and a happy mind, seasoned by determination, motivation, courage and peace. In the world of refugees, it is very important that a volunteer’s heart is circled by peace, no matter how harsh and hazardous the conditions may be," adds Ms. Mwandingi.