GLOBAL KINGDOM LIFE ASSEMBLY
Since 2018, we’ve been working alongside individuals, communities and local government to improve the lives of children, young people and families in Congo.
IMPACT
5,000
Children have access to education
900+
Women have been provided with tools to gain economic self-sufficiency
OUR IMPACT:
Partnering with communities for over 6 years to create long-term, sustainable solutions
Active Programmes
Co.Co.Pe vocational training centres
Since 2017 our Co.Co.Pe vocational training centres have witnessed more than 2,000 young people graduate with the skills, confidence and experience they need to build secure livelihoods.
The young people who access our support have been exposed to high-risk situations including child marriage, child prostitution, familial abuse and extreme poverty. Almost 80% of CO.CO.PE’s student populations are girls and young women, the majority of whom have not had the opportunity to attend secondary school.
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69% of Co.Co.Pe students were unemployed and ‘idle at home’ before joining a Co.Co.Pe programme
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20% of Co.Co.Pe students were engaged in casual labour before joining a Co.CO.PE programme
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86% of our graduates are currently employed or self-employed, 5% are in further education or training
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59% of our graduates have ‘no struggle’ to provide for themselves and their dependants
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89% of our graduates contribute to their family’s needs every month
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50% of our graduates are currently mentoring others in their community (of which 34% are mentoring 10 or more individuals)
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21% of our graduates are currently training others
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5% of our graduates are employing 1 or 2 people in their business
Completed Programmes
Sustainable specialist schools for children with disabilities
We have supported the establishment of two specialist education schools, Co.Co.Pe INGIE school in Pool District and Co.Co.Pe Pointe School in Kuilou District . offering specialist education to children with complex physical and mental disability. Having helped establish the two schools, we handed them over to the community and worked with local government to encourage local ownership.
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74% of students have improved communication skills since joining school
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71% of students have marked improvement in their mobility since enrolment
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60% of students have significantly better social skills
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99% of students have improved motor skills (61% rated significant improvement)
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78% of students are able to dress themselves – only 36% at enrolment
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91% of students demonstrate improved concentration
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92% of students show improvement in the ability to follow simple instructions
Between 2019-2021 we were privileged to work with Femeraid International and Malta Embassy Help Every Day to support these schools in the final stages of their journeys to full self-reliance. Final investments were made to infrastructure and each school was supported to establish a School Business Farm to grow food to supplement the feeding programme provided by the Government. A range of nutritious crops including oranges, mangos, tomatoes and beans are now on rotation at the schools. In August 2021 we were thrilled to see both schools finally fully self-reliant.
Self-reliant families
Historically, we worked to build the capacity and support the running of locally run children’s homes in Congo. In 2018 we made the decision to move away from this area of work and worked very purposefully towards deinstitutionalising these homes so that children might be better placed and cared for in loving families.
We are extremely proud that 63 children have been reintegrated to their families and we continue to support both the children and the families to ensure the re-integration is successful. In 2019 and beyond, we worked closely with each family on a self-sufficiency plan that allowed them to support the children in their care using their own household income. Through the provision of business and financial literacy training and the establishment of support groups all of these families are now running profitable businesses and are able to pay for their children’s school fees and basic needs.
Seven pillars of impact for Generations of change.
Our Seven Key Pillars:
Poverty is not the result of one single cause. Therefore, our model is neither a single solution nor a handout. Instead, it incorporates Seven key pillars of community life sustainability, to free themselves from poverty.
CO.CO.PE works in Seven key areas that together create transformative and lasting impact. Education. Health .Social Welfare . Bible outraces / Evangelion. water. Food distribution.Financial opportunity.
Our Seven-pillar development model starts with education:
empowering children with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to develop their capabilities to the maximum possible extent.
Ensuring a child have access to quality education is the best way to set them up for success and break the cycle of poverty, which is why our partnerships with communities start by building or renovating schools or school rooms (including classrooms, libraries, kitchens, teachers’ accommodations, and school offices), that are then supported by other infrastructure needs key to breaking the cycle of poverty.
Building new schools or school rooms (or renovating existing structures where needed) are not the only inputs into the Seven-pillar development model.
CO.CO.PE has also built and renovated schools in different municipalities and rural zones as well, Some of the school rooms are furnished with supplies denoted by Crossroads Foundation HK, such as chairs, libraries with English books, and other essential items for teachers’ offices which we still need more.
MEASURING SUCCESS
Global Kingdom Life Assembly :
In LIKUALA District :
Sponsorship program:
Ethical military conflicts in Congo. People affected and children in the pool district
by HIV/AIDS. We ensure that Camps receive medical assistance, food, clothing, and school supplies, and launch a Sponsorship program.
PATRICK SAMBA FARM / Madingou.
Patrick Farm in Envouba now includes 34 acres of land and 14 greenhouses, increasing its capacity to support student lunch programs (to date the farm has provided food for more than 2,000,000 meals) and providing agricultural training to community leaders. Community members now have a consistent source of healthy and diversified foods. Support for our lunch program also means better nutrition for students, leading to improved attendance and better concentration and productivity.
The maternity CO.CO.PE at INGIE has provided more than 3,000+ mothers with pre-and postnatal care, including ultrasound and diagnostic services. In 2019, it was named the best maternity wing in the central pool district. Quality Assurance Team. Clinic directly combats maternal and child mortality by providing preventative care and equipping mothers with the necessary services and knowledge to raise healthy children.
Clean Water / Mayanga and Pool District
In the community of MAYANGA two wells, one was built and another rehabilitated, providing clean water to over 800 families and ensuring access to water during the dry season. Family members won’t have to leave the community for a stable source of food and income, and they are less likely to pull their children from school to help with agricultural and livelihood activities.
CO.CO.PE PRIMARY SCHOOL / INGIE.
Since 2020, the attendance rates have increased by over 400%. The extraordinary increase in attendance at INGIE will lead to greater opportunities for the students and a brighter, healthier future.
We help through our Church missionary Team, the struggling families during the Great Depression support themselves with home gardening programs. We provide children with clothes, shoes, books and toys. And in schools, we serve hot lunches and build playgrounds.
we ensure children displaced from the Goma military conflict War receive much-needed aid, including food, medicine, clothes, and blankets. Our work expands to include education, health, and farming programs in Pointe Noir, madingo , nkayi pool and moyonzi
OUR TARGET :
By 2030, 1 million people can exercise their right to healthcare in Congo.
CO.CO.PE focuses on building resilient, equitable, and accountable healthcare systems that can respond to shocks and crises and that provide sustainable access to quality health services for all.
Globally, the right to healthcare is undermined by persistent economic and social inequities, as well as ongoing threats to health security posed by increases in the number, scale, scope, and duration of humanitarian crisis .
Restrictive gender norms and gender inequalities are replicated and reinforced in healthcare systems, contributing to poorer outcomes for women and girls in their health and lived experiences.
In Congo even before the COVID-19 pandemic, many health systems were struggling to adeqately meet the health needs, particularly the sexual and reproductive health needs, of the populations they were meant to serve. The pandemic’s impact has further strained these systems and put hard-won gains in health equity and gender justice at risk.
What is co.co.pe doing to improve access to healthcare?
CO.CO.PE’s added value continues to be its equity and rights-based approach to health and healthcare systems.
We seek to: Transform health and Education systems and structures to enable universal access to health in Congo.
CO.CO.PE and partners have helped over 3 thousand people in different regions in Congo exercise their rights to health, particularly for sexual and reproductive health. Looking ahead as part of our 2030 strategy, we aim to amplify our reach to 1 million people.
CO.CO.PE works with community groups and leaders and local health authorities to catalyze community-led collective action, mobilize public demand, build institutional commitments and to change institutional practices and policies in rural zones.
Our health work focuses on four areas:
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Strengthening local health systems in the communities
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Supporting marginalized groups, adolescents, to exercise their right to healthcare
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Increasing access to quality healthcare services.
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Preparing and responding to public health emergency preparedness
CO.CO.PE’s Fast and Fair Vaccine campaign
CO.CO.PE Fast and Fair Vaccine initiative currently supports privileged people inequitably by delivering COVID-19 vaccines.
Since the initiative started, CO.COPE CLINICS has worked to promote vaccine safety, organize vaccine delivery, train health workers and volunteers, help ensure access for people who need it most, and mobilize people to get the vaccine by helping those with no internet access register for vaccines and keep appointments.
That has resulted in thousands of people getting vaccinated in the rural places where co.co.pe is supporting vaccines. 1million people have had access to accurate information on vaccines through mass media and tailored vaccine messages.
SUSTAINABILITY PROJECT: A PERIOD OF FIVE YEARS
Projects are focused on Education. Health. Social Welfare. Bible outraces / Evangelion. Water. Food distribution and Financial opportunity empowerment.
CO.CO.PE’s seven-pillar development model empowers communities to break the cycle of poverty over, on average, a period of five to seven years of construction and local skill capacity building, with a goal of long-term sustainability.
This Sustainable model starts with education, usually building schools or school rooms (including classrooms, libraries, kitchens, teachers’ accommodations, and school offices), that are then supported by other infrastructure needs a key to breaking the cycle of poverty.
Building new schools or school rooms (or renovating existing structures where possible) are not the only inputs into the seven-pillar development model.
To date, CO.CO.PE has built or renovated over 50 schools or school rooms in rural Congo. Co.CO.PE has also built and renovated schools in different municipalities and rural zones, this model and needs extend to all the pillars, such as training for those maintaining water projects; education of community and family leaders on agriculture and healthy food; recruitment, training, and housing of medical staff; and the cost of economically empowering the women of the communities to ensure the development model is financially self-sustainable.
PHASE 1
PARTNERSHIP & FOUNDATION BUILDING
Before breaking ground on any project, we work closely with community members for a period of approximately one year to establish strong relationships, while building trust and collective engagement among key community leaders and the local government. The local community leads key decisions on their needs, assets, and multiple aspects of the development model.
PHASE 2
DEVELOPMENT & PROJECT DELIVERY
Building on the investment in Phase 1, we then begin the tangible execution of projects and programs across the five pillars, designed in partnership with the community. Infrastructure construction and capacity building are paced over, on average, five to seven years to meet community abilities and capacity training. During the program delivery phase, the community continues to take a leadership role in program implementation, problem-solving, and growth.
PHASE 3
TRANSFORMATION & SUSTAINABILITY
After, on average, five to seven years, CO.CO.PE exits day-to-day engagement with the communities, leaving the future of the projects under the leadership of the community members. Local community groups are established to manage key assets, such as a committee to manage the water projects and a committee for parents actively involved in school management. Co.Co.PE monitors the projects to ensure continued management and engages on a more infrequent basis. In this phase, evidence of transformation becomes apparent as communities and groups take their own actions with confidence and drive further development.
HEALTHCARE PROJECT: THE NEXT 5 YEAR
The right to healthcare is a fundamental human right to guarantee all people live in dignity. CO.CO.PE is committed to amplifying equal and just access to healthcare and education systems in the communities we work with.
Co.co.pe believes that everyone has both a right to healthcare and reproductive self-determination. CO.CO.PE’s multi-dimensional healthcare and education programs address barriers at the individual, social, and structural levels, and include scaling up our existing expertise on epidemics and diseases to meet the ongoing challenges posed by the pandemic
THE PROJECT OF HAIRDRESSERS
Empower 50 women with the skills, resources, and tools needed, so that by putting our time and skills to use with Just Peoples we can make a life-changing impact on the lives of some of the poorest people on the planet.
Women and girls living in the isolated Emvouba, face limited economic opportunities due to gender-based disadvantages and discrimination. single mothers, women abused during the ethical civil war in the district of the pool, Unfortunately, activities like commercial sex, earliest marriage, tribe sex slavery, or robbery to survive are usually exposing themselves to the exploitation of any kind of health risks. To be free from stigma and shame.
This project will help break the cycle of poverty. Women will be able to escape exploitation, improve their economic status, and contribute to their families and communities. There are also no hair salons in rural-urban places, so women either shave their heads, cover their hair, or use paper scissors for haircuts.
Empower 50 women with the skills
Women and girls living in the isolated Emvouba, face limited economic opportunities due to gender-based disadvantages and discrimination. single mothers, women abused during the ethical civil war in the district of the pool, Unfortunately, activities like commercial sex, earliest marriage, tribe sex slavery, or robbery to survive are usually exposing themselves to the exploitation of any kind of health risks. To be free from stigma and shame. This project will help break the cycle of poverty. Women will be able to escape exploitation, improve their economic status, and contribute to their families and communities. There are also no hair salons on rural-urban places, so women either shave their heads, cover their hair or use paper scissors for haircuts. To address these issues, Co.Co.Pe partners with the local leaders to set up multiple training and income-generating activities for women in the communities rural-urban - plans to establish three mix hair salons in strategic locations and train 100 women to become hairdressers. Over 6 months of training, participants will learn hairdressing techniques that meet the demands of local women and men, along with basic business skills. They’ll even learn how to make their own shampoo as it isn’t currently sold. In the process, three fully-fledged hair salons will be established where the budding hairdressers can practice their skills and start generating income. Others will be equipped to become mobile hairdressers, to provide flexible working conditions and reach customers in more remote areas. REMARK: Global Kingdom Life Assembly: We are working with the community leaders to establish school education; and our Pastors and bible teaching through the GKAL BIBLE SCHOLL, protection against early marriage, exploitation, abuse, and sexual violence; establishment of youth centers for girls; adolescent-friendly health care services; encouragement of healthy lifestyles; life-skills and sex education; livelihood skills training
COMPUTER SKILLS COURSE
We will be introducing a new low-cost Essential Computer Skills course for any members of the community to join. Classes will be for an hour a day (weekdays) and will run for 4 weeks. Teaching you everything you need to know to get started with using computers. We’ll update here with more information when they are due to start.
FREE SUPPORT
Everyone enrolled on a technical vocational course will also benefit from access to free counselling, a cooked lunch when learning on-site, menstrual hygiene packs for girls, limited numbers of childcare vouchers to support young parents and weekly life skills sessions which cover topics such as; wellbeing, nutrition, healthy relationships, gender equality, knowing your rights and how to assert them, menstrual and reproductive health etc.
ENROLMENT
Our courses will be available to 14-25 year olds and are free to access to anyone from a low-income household. Our courses begin in January and July. To find out more about the courses, or enrolment process, please contact info@gklife.org
FINANCIAL & BUSINESS SKILLS
Everyone enrolled on a technical vocational course will also have lessons on financial literacy and business skills so you have all of the skills and knowledge needed to secure employment or start a small business. Families of students are also invited to a family training day on financial literacy.