Mama Lufuma Congo

Mama Lufuma is a Congolese-Flemish non-profit organisation that supports single mothers in the south of Matadi, a large port city in Congo DR. The project, which they have been running for 20 years now, ranges from cooking and sewing lessons to learning PC skills and even shelter for those who need it. All these activities obviously require some basic necessities, such as water and electricity. Less obvious is the provision of these. Although the relief centre and accompanying classrooms are connected to both the water and electricity networks, these are hardly reliable and even dangerous. Many blackouts and a difficult journey to drinkable water make life unnecessarily difficult. It is with this question in mind that Mama Lufuma approached Humasol.

The goal of our project is independence from the current ‘supply’. We try to achieve this in a sustainable way. With the help of solar panels, we are installing a complete internal electricity network to enable all the activities to run smoothly. On the other hand, we are using the solar energy generated to power a pump and in this way bypass the dangerous slope to the water source, which is used by some 5,000 people every day. A sanitary block will also be connected to make this basic facility available. However, sustainability goes beyond green energy. An important aspect is therefore to transfer the necessary knowledge to the local community so that they can be truly independent..

 

Adriaan Lamote

Student

Elisabeth Depla

Student

Julian Roba

Student

Lars Baert

Student

Senne Strobbe

Coach

Blog

Panels, pipes and party

The last few weeks have been all about hard work. The water pipes on the site of Mama Lufuma, those to the other side of the vally and the suction pipe of the pump line are just about finished. The basins on the roof and across the street are connected. The homemade...

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Keep up the good work (and take enough rest)

Keep up the good work (and take enough rest)

Hi there! We have been here for three full weeks now, but it feels like three months. Every day is an amazing adventure full of surprises and new experiences. Just to sum up a few that stuck with us:  driving through Congo as a 'mundele' (Lingala for white (wo)man)...

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First impressions, impressive start

First impressions, impressive start

Here we are again! After our arrival a couple of days ago, we were focused on getting settled. The first remark: there is no wifi. This blog will be written on a hotspot from our smartphones on a veeery slow laptop. We thank you in advance for your understanding ;)....

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On the road!

On the road!

Hello everyone! Welcome to our first blog post written on African soil. Our adventure started one week ago, with a huge layover in Cairo, Egypt. After some consideration and multiple offers, we decided to take the leap and go for a visit to the pyramids. There are...

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Mission pyramids & last preparations

Mission pyramids & last preparations

Only 72 hours to go... We can't wait to leave for Congo and see if our first African adventure ends well. Because no, those pyramids in the photo are not just ideal clickbait. Due to an unfortunate cancellation of our (cheap) Rwandair tickets to Kinshasa, we now have...

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Meet & greet team Mama Lufuma

Meet & greet team Mama Lufuma

"What are you going to do in Congo? Who is going with you? Why are you doing this? How can we follow your adventure?" These are questions that all four of us have been asked many times. The answer to the last question is easy: here! (and via our instagram...

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Humasol