Kujitegemea (self-sustenance)
Kujitegemea, a Swahili word which means “self-sustenance”, is an approach that emphasizes the growth and economic independence of Congo for Christ Center by having different investments to support it activities.
In its community development approach, Congo for Christ Center works to address challenges of insufficient funds to support it budget, the high rate of unemployment among the youth and the high rate of school dropout. The ministry invests in the transportation sector both road and marine, agro-pastoralism, agro-forestry, environmental protection, construction, etc.
These aforementioned interventions are necessary not only to contribute to solving community problems but helps the ministry become economic independent through the income that is generated. In partnership with the Motoskate Foundation and Global Outreach, we have 3 motorcycles and 6 Bajajs (tuk-tuks) and one lorry which works in the public transportation around the city of Uvira and helps to create employment to many unemployed people in the community and enable them become self-reliant and meet the daily needs of their families. Also, Congo for Christ Center invest in agriculture where we do some small farming and the harvest helps to feed the kids in the center and the surplus is sold to the community small business women at a lower price and this helps to create employment for them and at the same time help CCC to generate extra income.
Farming and food production are fundamental to the function of society. The major global trends which are driving growth, innovation and opportunity for this sector include population growth, increasing demand for protein food sources, and technological change and sustainability.
Investment in agriculture may produce returns in the form of both income and capital growth and is a proven tool to protect investment portfolios against inflation. With the current inflationary pressures caused by fiscal and monetary stimulus, supply chain disruption, and geo-political events, it is timely to consider assets which might offer inflation protection.
Congo for Christ ministry invest in farming to help produce enough food for the kids and this helps to minimize some of their budget.
And also, the surplus is sold to the community and this create employments to the community people and also helps CCC to generate some extra income for it activities.
Currently, the CCC ministry is doing small scale farming which helps to produce extra food and mostly vegetables and fruits for the kids but in our future plans we are thinking of doing large scale farming which will help the ministry produce enough food to feed the kids. The ministry too has a vison to do cattle rear, pork farm and goat keeping and this will help the ministry in so many ways.
Also, this will help to create employment to the unemployed in our community since some will get the opportunity to work in the farms and others will sell the surplus from the farms and be able to meet their family expenses.
Congo for Christ Center have future plans through it Kujitegemea department (Self-sustenance) to invest in marine transport, animal rearing, environmental protection and buying more motobikes, bajajs and lorries to reinforce the road transport and all this is to make the ministry become economically stable and be able to meet some of the percentages of it budget and bring a solution to the high level of unemployment among the people in our community.
The generated income also helps to support some of the orphanage’s monthly budget, provide scholarship for some community kids at Mango Tree School and provide medical care for the orphans. investing in any Kujitegemea (self-sustenance) activities is feeding an orphan, educating a community kid, provide quality medical care for orphans at Congo for Christ Center and creating employment to unemployed in our community.