AFRICA
“Food Security for All: SAT” – Nutrition
Country: Burundi
“I am a widow and mother of 6 children. Thanks to the SAT project, I am proud to be able to feed my children without having to beg.”
As a result of an extensive awareness-raising campaign on the conservation of agricultural products, 1,050 families now use sheds to conserve their maize crops, which has helped stabilize the price of maize and now enables many vulnerable people in this region to feed themselves. Many young people have been invited to join agricultural production cooperatives to grow staple crops, and intergenerational cooperatives have been created to promote inclusive economic empowerment. Read more
Community orchard – Sustainable development project
Country: Cameroon, Yaoundé
The project consists in creating and maintaining a nursery of 2,000 fruit trees (avocado, plum, orange and mandarin). By setting up a community orchard, AIC volunteers help to improve the living conditions of vulnerable elderly people, people living in poverty or with disabilities. Fruit tree seedlings are distributed to members of the local parish who wish to take part in the project, and surplus fruit and seedlings are sold to raise funds for beneficiaries. The fruit trees, which absorb CO2 from the atmosphere, contribute to reducing global warming. Read more
‘Taking care of people with epilepsy’ – Health
Country: Cameroon
For several years, the AIC volunteers from the Bangante region have been supporting around 40 people with epilepsy. “Epilepsy is not an ordinary illness” a volunteer explained to us, “people who have fits are considered to be possessed”. Caring for and helping each other, becoming independent and raising awareness of the condition are therefore the challenges that the project seeks to address. Read more
TSIRY – Education
Country: Madagascar, south-east region
“Now, I am able to read and write. It’s so nice to feel valued and to be considered as a full citizen!” Since 2010, 5509 adults – mainly women – and 2180 children have taken part in the literacy program run by the AIC volunteers in the south-east of Madagascar.
This project aims at the development of the human person in all his or her dimensions. It also aims to promote a change of attitude in society in general, notably through an awareness of the importance of working in collaboration and in networks to enable the development of all. Read more
‘Education, school canteens and training centre’ – Education
Country: Madagascar, Fianarantsoa
The AIC volunteers from Fianarantsoa have been working to help vulnerable children since 1990. They have always focused their projects on empowerment through education. They are convinced that to educate a child is to promote change in the community.
Alongside their school support, the volunteers have opened a canteen because “you can’t learn on an empty stomach”. The children receive a meal, often their only meal of the day, which motivates them, improving both their health and their school results.
Since 2015, their actions have been made possible thanks to the partnership with the French association MADIA. Read more
“A roof first” – Networking with international organisations
Country: Madagascar, Manakara
The project “A roof first” was set up in Manakara to support widows who, according to tribal laws still applied today, cannot inherit from their deceased husbands. To enable these women and their children to provide for themselves, volunteers offer them a small house and a mutual health group. They also offer literacy training for the women and access to schooling for the children, with a daily canteen at the school. AIC Madagascar was able to share the widows’ testimonies at the United Nations in 2022, demonstrating the importance of AIC representatives’ advocacy work within international organisations. Read more
‘Fighting Poverty and Promoting Sustainable Development’
Country: Madagascar, Manakara and Vohipenho (south-east region)
For many years, AIC volunteers from Manakara, mothers and older children have been growing rice, with the advice of technical staff, in order to protect the environment and achieve good yields.
The AIC Ambolosy Vohipeno group has encouraged the growing of staple foods and fruit trees. Each family also raises chickens, whose manure can be used, to make organic fertilizer, among other things.
The 2 AIC groups work with the green diocese, a project by the Farafangana diocese, aimed at protecting the environment. Read more
Empowerment of women through improved cassava yield – Sustainable development
Country: Nigeria, Nduhobokwe-Uzoagba
The aim of this project is to improve cassava yields, enabling 25 families to combat hunger and poverty. AIC volunteers trained 25 women farmers in the cultivation and processing of improved cassava, and set up activities to promote good health by purchasing and administrating malaria and typhoid medication. The additional income generated through cassava cultivation enables the women to feed their families, buy clothes, pay for health care and fund their children’s education. Read more