By Wilita Sanguma | Founder and Executive Director
Due to a brutal history of colonialism, exploitation, and marginalization, Congo continues to grapple with deep-rooted challenges like political instability, armed conflict, and widespread poverty. Despite the nation’s abundant natural wealth, over 70% of the population lives in extreme poverty, while a small portion enjoys access to wealth and the opportunity for a life of well-being.
At Lobiko, we are committed to addressing these challenges not by investing in projects but by investing in people and communities to create sustainable change. Instead of providing services directly, we partner with individuals and communities leading efforts to support vulnerable children, youth, and adults in extreme poverty in Congo. Through this people-centered approach, we collaborate with those on the ground to transform their communities and support their success despite a legacy of exploitation and hardship.
Meet Caroline, Starting Grade One!
This year, Caroline is starting grade one! She proudly wears her new uniform and shoes. Known for her contagious laugh and love for making friends, Caroline dreams of becoming a designer and creating fun clothes for everyone to enjoy. Caroline first arrived at Sabuli Children Center (SCC) when she was just 4 months old, weighing only 6.5 pounds—the size of a newborn—due to severe malnutrition. Her mother had passed away a few months after her birth, and her father, struggling with psychological issues, was unable to care for her. Caroline’s early days were difficult, but with lots of special attention and care, she regained her strength and weight. Now, she’s a healthy, happy young girl and one of the tallest children at SCC.
Meet Our New Program Partners
Children's well-being directly impacts their communities' social, economic, and cultural health. As they grow, they shape a better future, with their success closely tied to their communities' progress. We are thrilled at the opportunity to introduce to you our new Lobiko program partners. 
We would absolutely love it if you could take a moment to get to know our new program partners and learn why we are joining with them to transform lives in the Gemena region in unique ways.
Thank you, for choosing to connect with us, learn about our programs and for your continued support of Lobiko! Together, with local leaders, we are impacting this community one person at a time.
Mama Benie has a heart for vulnerable children, specifically those suffering with malnutrition. Growing up in Congo with humble beginnings Mama Benie understands the harsh realities children and families face to survive. She was influenced by her grandmother, Mama Monique, who was always serving vulnerable children in their community. Monique raised orphans in their home and always insisted her children be generous and bless others with whatever little they had. This way of life stuck with Mama Benie and continues to drive her desires to help children in her community today.
Catch the Vision: The roots of FMMH is love, solidarity, and development. The vision of FMMH is to change the lives of children affected by malnutrition by coming alongside primary caregivers and providing critical social assistance such as nutritional support, health care, medical care, and educational training to empower them for successful futures and lives of wellbeing.
Context: How is FMMH impacting Gemena? FMMH is unique in its mission to care for children, as they are focused mainly on eradicating malnutrition and providing education to primary caregivers.They have seen that even if you feed and love a child, who then heals from malnutrition, but you never educate the caregiver, the child is at high risk to fall back into the same patterns of malnutrition again because you have not dealt with the root cause.
Often the root cause of malnutrition is poverty, neglect, or lack of information. Therefore FMMH seeks to educate caregivers, provide training on healthy nutrition, and seek to provide small business education opportunities. FMMH provides a day-time care and nutrition program to the surrounding community, they are not an orphanage, providing full-time care for children but rather are focused on a food program, social assistance, and educational training, to target improving the wellbeing and lives of children (orphaned or vulnerable) affected by malnutrition
FMMH has a staff of 10 people and on average feeds 150 children (sometimes exceeding 200+) a day. They also run a training and empowerment program for 30 vulnerable women in the community and are working to develop and grow this initiative.
Coach is a husband and father of two children, who as a young child himself, adored football above everything else. After a serious injury he was no longer able to play professionally as he had always dreamed but instead invested in his coaching career. He saw the benefit of belonging to a team, having a vision for his life, and the skills he developed during his season in football and desired that all children have this opportunity. He knew that through sports education he could influence children’s attitudes and outlook at life by providing them a space to learn new skills, make new friends and achieve new dreams together.
Catch the Vision: Coach created a local football academy, GFA, which is determined to impact vulnerable children & youth in the Gemena area, building and transforming both football skills and character development. To raise a new generation of equipped, and capable young people who will have fresh skills to transform their own lives and their communities.
Context: How is GFA impacting Gemena?
As a brand new program, GFA already has 104 children enrolled and part of age-appropriate training and soccer teams. Their goal is to be near the 200 mark by the end of the year.
GFA has huge potential to have an incredibly positive influence by providing a safe, supervised, quality after-school program that teaches sports education, discipline, and teamwork skills which is deeply valued by the community. It can provide children with a unique service to develop and improve both football and character skills combatting the current negative peer pressure issues with substance abuse and gang activity.This program has the potential to shape the futures of the Gemena youth and to be replicated throughout the province.
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