PIFEVA, Pillar to Vulnerable Women Active in the DR of Congo, is a non-profit association of support for women and local communities against poverty and injustice, created June 4, 2004 in Bukavu.

The context of the DRC is one of widespread poverty, malnutrition, sexual violence against women, exploitation and abuse of women and children especially in the mining squares, by armed forces and groups.

Also, the spread of HIV/AIDS and the massive displacement of populations following repeated wars, which occurred in the eastern part of the DRC in particular and in the DRC in general, create a particularly tough situation for these vulnerable groups of society.

 

Celebration of International Women's Day of March 8, 2014 in Bukavu

 

PIFEVA also realizes annual general meetings to guarantee accountability to African women, together with the production and publication of its activity reports in the media and on its blog.

 PIFEVA's Annual Meeting

 

Vision

PIFEVA’s vision is to bring women, children and the local community together to become competitive and most importantly architects of their own social advancement and economic, legal, cultural and political development in the DRC.

 

Mission

PIFEVA's mission is to support women, children and local communities in the fight against poverty and injustice in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

PIFEVA’s goal is to contribute to the reduction of poverty and violations of rights of women and children in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

 

Areas of expertise

1) Fight against Sexual Violence Against Women and Girls;

2) Promotion of Peace, Gender and Leadership of women and girls;

3) Promotion of formal and non-formal education for vulnerable girls;

4) Promotion of Sexual and Reproductive Health for Women, Youth and Local Communities;

5) Early Literacy, adult women and socio-professional reintegration programs;

6) Food and Economic Security of low-income women;

7) Advocacy for the rights of women and children.

 

Intervention strategies

1) Raise awareness and accountability of target populations on the principle of self-management at the local level;

2) Capacity building (training of Beneficiaries in our Areas of intervention);

3) Action Research at the base;

4) The development of the spirit of innovation and women's entrepreneurship;

5) The involvement and active participation of Beneficiaries in the Fight against all forms of violence and women towards children.

 

Target groups:

1) Women and girls victims of violence;

2) Women Living with HIV / AIDS;

3) Illiterate women;

4) Aboriginal women;

5) Low-income women;

6) Unschooled and idle girls;

7) Female sex workers;

8) Youth and children in vulnerable situations;

9) Potential women leaders;

10) Local Communities in times of conflict and post-conflict.

 

Women at one of PIFEVA’s seminars

 

Key successes:

1) Bringing awareness among women and girls on sexual violence in Bukavu and achieving participatory analysis of the vulnerability of women and girls on sexual and gender-based violence in South Kivu:

About 2,100 girls and 1,200 women have improved their knowledge on the guiding principles of the law n ° 06/018 and Act No. 09/001 and on the procedure to recognize and denounce sexual and gender-based violence (2013-2014 data).

Working with primary, secondary schools and women’s organizations, another activity was to raise literacy related to Sexual and Reproductive Health of young girls.

 

3) Support for the political participation of women in decision making bodies in the Shabunda in South Kivu;

 

4) In the HIV field, the main components addressed by PIFEVA were as follows:

Reduce the risk of HIV transmission from mother to child and increase family planning rate in the health zones supported. In this component, the results achieved have consisted in operating the new PMTCT sites. The desired effect was to increase the participation of pregnant women and their male partners in PMTCT services targeted sites (Kadu, Bagira and Ibanda). Only in 2014, 1.245 pregnant women were screened against HIV.

 

5) Promotion of women's right to inheritance and land ownership in the Kalehe territory in South Kivu and Idjwi;

 

6) Support activities for women in food security through the "Farmers Field Schools (FFS) approach in South Kivu:

The goal of this project is to provide the women of the town of Bukavu with means to ensure food security to them and their families by giving them the opportunity to establish themselves as small entrepreneurs.

 

 

7) Social Reintegration of Children exploited in the construction business:

In this regard, 600 children exploited in Construction are in the process of benefit of the program, which entails learning new skills such as carpentry, welding and fitting, computer, cutting and sewing, as well as hairdressing. This program, funded by the ICCO project of professional reintegration through the employment reintegration Centre (CRSP), is running in Bukavu for a period six months. It is accompanied by advocacy activities aimed at spreading awareness through traditional media (radio) and social media against the exploitation of children in the construction of houses business.

 

Challenges met:

1) Difficulties of access to finance multi-annual programs with donors;

2) Reaching Women with poor access to new technologies of information and communication;

3) The continuing insecurity in some areas where we operate.

 

 

You can follow and get in touch with PIFEVA at:

Blog: www.pilierauxfemmesvulnerables.eklablog.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100009420935483