Democratic Republic of the Congo | Developing local agriculture to alleviate the food crisis
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Humanity & Inclusion is working alongside local farmers to help communities cope with the threat of a food crisis.
More than 35% of the population in the Kasaï-Central province in the Democratic Republic of Congo is severely food insecure, leading to increasing levels of malnutrition. Action Against Hunger, Humanity & Inclusion and other partners are implementing agricultural recovery and food aid activities, funded by USAID, in the Dibaya area that will reach more than 32,500 people.
In March 2022, Humanity & Inclusion distributed vegetable growing kits to 4,700 households. These kits contained a spade, hoes, a rake, a watering can and seeds for vegetables including cabbage, okra, eggplant and tomato.
Supported by state technical services, Humanity & Inclusion teams have trained 63 “relay” farmers in vegetable-growing practices. The training is designed to strengthen the farmers’ skills while teaching them eco-friendly farming techniques, such as growing crops without the use of chemical pesticides and producing natural fertilizer. These farmers then relay their newly acquired knowledge to their communities, transferring their skills to more people.
Agnès Nkaya, pictured above, lives in Kabenguelé and completed the training.
“This is the first time we have had this kind of training in the village,” she explains. “It’s very useful because we have problems making our farmland fertile enough, and protecting our crops from pests and diseases. As part of the training, the Humanity & Inclusion teams taught us how to prepare a vegetable garden, how to recognize soil suitable for vegetable production, how to make the beds and how to plant the seeds.”
One goal of this training is to make agricultural activities sustainable by encouraging the use of fertilizer made from locally available products, such as plant debris, ash and manure.
“For me, the most interesting module was the one on natural fertilizers, especially the 7-day compost,” Nkaya continues. “This is the kind of knowledge we are looking for to improve our practices and production. We have all the raw materials we need in our villages, but, until now, we didn't know how to use them. Thanks to this training, I won’t have problems with my production anymore because I’ll make my own natural fertilizers."
Nkaya looks forward to sharing these new techniques with her neighbors.
“I’m well-equipped now and ready to pass on what I’ve learned to other people in my village,” Nkaya adds. “This will also be an opportunity for me to improve my own grasp of these techniques. As well as sharing knowledge with us, Humanity & Inclusion has provided us with equipment—waterproofs, rubber boots, rope and logbooks—to help us when we train other people. I will make good use of it!"
GREEN Initiative: Humanity & Inclusion is committed to reducing the adverse effects of climate change on populations worldwide. We help communities prepare for and adapt to climate shocks and stresses, and we respond to crises magnified by environmental factors. Applying a disability, gender and age (DGA) inclusion lens across all our actions, we advocate for practitioners and policy-makers to embed DGA in their climate work as well. Humanity & Inclusion is also determined to reduce its own ecological footprint by adapting and implementing environmentally conscious approaches to humanitarian action.
Climate | Environmental changes and disability
The negative consequences of environmental and climate changes have a greater impact on vulnerable populations and people with disabilities.
In the event of an environmental or climate-related crisis, people with disabilities risk being left behind or missing out on humanitarian aid intended to help people cope. Emergency supply distributions after a powerful hurricane may take place in facilities not accessible to people with limited mobility, or information about the distributions may not be accessible to people with visual or hearing disabilities.
In some cases, people with disabilities are intentionally excluded from resources by the community, as they are not seen as a priority in times of scarcity. This is linked to attitudinal stigma and extensive discrimination faced by people with disabilities. Women and girls are even further excluded.
“If a family has five children in a famine and one of them has a disability, typically this child will not be the one who receives food first,” says Ruby Holmes, Humanity & Inclusion’s inclusive Governance Global Specialist.
When natural disaster strikes, many are left without accessible evacuation routes or secure shelters to seek safety. In the long-term, they could be left in an area where resources start to disappear as climate threats become more powerful. By 2050, 200 million people are estimated to be climate refugees—around 30 million of whom would have specific needs.
“When climate issues or disasters become chronic to a region, people are more likely to move away from the area,” Holmes explains. “But, people with disabilities might not have the opportunity, resources or community support to move, so they can be left behind in areas where the teachers, doctors and employers are all leaving, and remaining services are rarely inclusive or accessible.”
In cases where people are able to flee, they often leave behind necessary medications and assistive devices, such as canes or walkers.
Livelihood opportunities threatened
Sources of livelihood are directly threatened by the impacts of climate change and environmental degradation. Changes in water supply leave farmers unable to feed livestock or grow crops, and natural disasters cause destruction to infrastructure and facilities that employ entire communities. People who work in handcrafted good, sewing, or commerce often lose their supplies and structures in events such as cyclones or heavy flooding.
“People with disabilities are more at-risk of losing livelihood opportunities,” Holmes continues. “Droughts and flooding, for example, cause significant environmental degradation, leaving less available land for agriculture or bodies of water for fish farming. When you look at who is going to gain access in these shrinking spaces, it is unfortunately rarely people with disabilities, especially not women and girls with disabilities.”
Rising health needs
Growing air pollution is leading to higher rates of asthma and other respiratory issues, primarily among children.
“When you pair disability with a chronic illness like asthma, for example, then there is an added need for health services for that person,” Holmes says. “But people with disabilities already face significant obstacles accessing these services.”
Not only do some people face physical obstacles accessing care due to limited mobility or lack of transportation, attitudinal barriers and discrimination also cause people with disabilities to be refused appropriate care or receive inadequate or ill-adapted services for their needs. People with disabilities are three times more likely to be denied health care, and four times more likely to be treated poorly by the health care system than people without disabilities. As more and more individuals develop additional health conditions due to environmental pollution, people with disabilities will be no exception, but will still face significant barriers.
Magnifying vulnerabilities
In certain circumstances, environmental changes can indirectly magnify the vulnerabilities linked to certain disabilities or conditions.
As ultraviolet rays from sun exposure become more intense, people with albinism across eastern Africa are experiencing higher rates of skin cancer. People with albinism have little or no melanin in their skin to protect them from the sun, and they are also prone to visual disabilities. Blindness and low vision are particularly common among people with albinism, and more sun exposure further reduces their sight.
“Because people with albinism often face extremely high rates of stigma, discrimination and risk of danger, they are often hidden by their families for protection,” Holmes explains. “This decreases their access to lifesaving services needed to treat rising skin cancer rates from sun exposure, but also reduces access to basic protective tools such as sunscreen, hats or sunglasses.”
Increasing temperatures from global warming also put vulnerable populations at risk.
“We have seen cases of nursing homes and institutions for persons with disabilities where air conditioning units break, or there is no air conditioning,” Holmes adds. “The rising temperatures create an unlivable environment for residents in fragile conditions, and there is an increase in deaths.”
Disability and development
In some instances, environmental hazards can even lead to the development of long-term disabilities. Agricultural degradation caused by drought, frequent flooding, or extreme temperatures can lead to situations of food insecurity for entire communities, where families cannot find enough food to feed their young children.
Malnutrition in children and babies can interfere with their development and growth, which can lead to long-term disability without proper intervention. There are also higher rates of disabilities in newborns if their mother experiences malnutrition or high pollution during pregnancy.
Green Initiative
Humanity & Inclusion is committed to reducing the adverse effects of climate change on populations worldwide. We help communities prepare for and adapt to climate shocks and stresses, and we respond to crises magnified by environmental factors. Applying a disability, gender and age (DGA) inclusion lens across all our actions, we advocate for practitioners and policy-makers to embed DGA in their climate work as well. Humanity & Inclusion is also determined to reduce its own ecological footprint by adapting and implementing environmentally conscious approaches to humanitarian action.
Somaliland | Drought threatens agricultural communities
Amina, 55, comes from a long line of herders. Years of insufficient rainfall and climate change have put her work and family at risk, forcing them out of their home and altering their way of life.
Like the majority of people from Decarta, Somaliland, an agro-pastoral community, Amina and her family are herders. She has been rearing animals since she was a child and supported her family until recently. Unfortunately, the growing effects of climate change have brought serious consequences to her livelihood.
“There has been a huge impact on my family and my whole community,” Amina says. “I once owned 20 cows and 20 goats, but we have lost them all in the drought.”
Amina used to depend solely on her animals for income and food to care for her three children and husband, who is Deaf and has a mental disability. A long period of dramatically reduced rainfall and extreme temperatures made it impossible to feed livestock or keep the animals hydrated, affecting many pastoral families like Amina’s. At least one person in the Togdheer region has also died of dehydration.
Families forced to flee
Without their animals, Amina and her family have been forced to leave their rural home and move in with her older son in a camp for internally displaced persons in Hargeisa, a city over 30 miles away.
“It has been very difficult,” Amina explains. “Life in the city is very tough and expensive. We cannot work because we never went to school. We cannot go back because the drought is happening every year and nothing is going to change that.”
For now, her oldest son is working odd jobs to cover their basic needs.
The drought is worsening and continues to spread across the country, causing further displacement and putting millions at risk. Amina pleads for the government and institutions to develop a clear plan to minimize the impact of recurring droughts, and wishes people would build wells and water reserves to cope with the change in rainfall.
After generations of herding, Amina may be the last in her family to raise livestock for a living. She now plans to settle in Hargeisa and enroll her children in technical schools so they will develop skills to thrive in the city.
Supporting affected communities
Humanity & Inclusion supports Amina’s family by financing transportation costs for her husband’s care and services at a specialized hospital. They are also being referred to a public hospital in Hargeisa to access free services.
Working in Somaliland for 30 years, Humanity & Inclusion has been providing support to communities affected by severe droughts since they began in 2017.
Teams provide cash assistance, access to water supply and help assure the survival of livestock for pastoral communities alongside specialized partner organizations—including Veterinarians Without Borders, Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe. The organization also works to ensure that vulnerable populations, displaced individuals and people with disabilities have access to humanitarian aid, as well as rehabilitation and psychosocial support services.
Green Initiative
Humanity & Inclusion is committed to reducing the adverse effects of climate change on populations worldwide. We help communities prepare for and adapt to climate shocks and stresses, and we respond to crises magnified by environmental factors. Applying a disability, gender and age (DGA) inclusion lens across all our actions, we advocate for practitioners and policy-makers to embed DGA in their climate work as well. Humanity & Inclusion is also determined to reduce its own ecological footprint by adapting and implementing environmentally conscious approaches to humanitarian action.
Madagascar | The humanitarian impact of climate change
As increasing exposure to weather-related hazards creates significant needs in Madagascar, Humanity & Inclusion supports development of adapted solutions.
Madagascar is one of the most prone countries to extreme weather hazards in the world, and the third most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Frequent flooding, tropical storms, cyclones and droughts have devastating impacts on the population and humanitarian needs throughout the island. Climate change is expected to further increase both the frequency and strength of extreme weather events over time.
Five storms, two months
Madagascar’s annual cyclone season spans from November to March. During this time, at least one or two cyclones are expected to cause heavy rains, winds, flooding and rising sea levels. In early 2022 alone, the country experienced five tropical storms, including two intense cyclones that occurred only two weeks apart and followed similar paths of destruction.
Between January and March, over 200 people died from these storms. Around 420,000 have been affected, and more than 169,000 people had their homes damaged or destroyed. Families were left without access to food, drinking water, electricity, shelter, or basic hygiene supplies following each storm. Hospitals, schools and farmland were largely demolished, leaving populations without medical care, children without education and entire agricultural-dependent communities without food production or livelihoods, all of which will have long-term consequences. Around 150,000 acres of rice fields were flooded twice by the back-to-back cyclones and some areas lost as much as 90% of food production sources.
The worst drought in 40 years
While the northern and eastern regions of the country have faced flooding and heavy rains, the south has been experiencing the worst drought in 40 years. Following several years of below-average rainfall, approximately 1.5 million people in the region are now alarmingly food insecure.
“The population relies heavily on subsistence agriculture and rain-fed crops,” explains Lili Bazin, Humanity & Inclusion’s Disaster Risk Reduction technical referent. “So the drought has dramatic impacts on their food security and livelihoods.”
Between 2018 and 2021, the price of water increased by 300%. Some families have reported eating dirt or boiling strips of leather just to get by. The alarming lack of food puts pregnant people and children under the age of 5 at heightened risk of malnutrition, which could result in developmental complications.
Compounding vulnerability
Such dramatic meteorological events feed into a vicious cycle: natural disasters create humanitarian need by causing destruction, while pre-existing sources of vulnerability magnify the consequences of those disasters.
Madagascar is one of the poorest countries in the world, making the population that much more vulnerable in times of crisis. When faced with the stresses of food insecurity or disaster, many are forced to sell their assets or pull children out of school. Education dropout rates have increased since the drought began, as have rates of gender-based violence and early marriage. With resources and infrastructure frequently threatened, rebuilding becomes increasingly difficult, and needs continue to grow.
Populations with the greatest needs are often left behind in at-risk regions, as many cannot afford to relocate from isolated regions or lack the resources to do so, such as information or transportation. Impacts are even greater on older populations, pregnant people, people with disabilities, and people from minority groups who may face discrimination or physical barriers to accessing aid.
Reducing the impact
“200 deaths this year is of course 200 more than we want,” says Olivier Benquet, Humanity & Inclusion’s geographic director for Madagascar. “But there is some good news: This is a relatively low number considering the scale of these disasters. That is the result of improving disaster risk reduction.”
Humanity & Inclusion has implemented disaster risk reduction projects throughout the world, and in Madagascar specifically, for years. To better prepare communities faced with climate shocks and events, the organization strengthens local structures, supports education services, raises awareness of risks, implements monitoring and early warning systems, and assists individuals in making their livelihoods more sustainable, among other initiatives.
“We can’t prevent the wind, and we can’t prevent the rains,” Bazin adds. “But we can keep natural events from becoming natural disasters by predicting where they may strike, anticipating their impacts on lives and livelihoods, and by acting accordingly ahead of time to prepare communities.”
Inclusive proactive planning
In January, Humanity & Inclusion launched a three-year disaster risk reduction project to put inclusive anticipatory action in three countries prone to natural disasters: Madagascar, Haiti and the Philippines. The initiative uses the science of weather and climate to anticipate possible impacts in risk-prone areas and mobilizes teams, materials and practices to enact early action protocol and mitigate potential impacts before they can be felt. Through the initiative, Humanity & Inclusion will conduct studies to better understand associated risks on vulnerable populations, locate affected communities, reinforce community capacities to respond, run simulation exercises and ensure the inclusion of marginalized groups in these efforts.
“With today’s technology and meteorological forecasts, we can see a cyclone coming in advance,” Benquet explains. “When we see that, we can start to move our teams to the targeted areas, stock supplies, warn communities, evacuate people, and reinforce structures. We know these events are going to happen more often, so it is critical that we adapt and further develop our risk reduction efforts in the face of environmental changes.”
In Madagascar alone, the project targets nearly 330,000 people. In Haiti, it aims to benefit over 200,000 and another 200,000 in the Philippines.
“We will always support communities recovering from disaster,” Bazin says. “But at the end of the day, if we can prepare ahead of time and prevent the disaster from occurring, that’s the real goal."
Green Initiative
Humanity & Inclusion is committed to reducing the adverse effects of climate change on populations worldwide. We help communities prepare for and adapt to climate shocks and stresses, and we respond to crises magnified by environmental factors. Applying a disability, gender and age (DGA) inclusion lens across all our actions, we advocate for practitioners and policy-makers to embed DGA in their climate work as well. Humanity & Inclusion is also determined to reduce its own ecological footprint by adapting and implementing environmentally conscious approaches to humanitarian action.
Going Green | HI commits to reducing its carbon footprint
Humanity & Inclusion and fellow humanitarian actors have created the CHANGE consortium to determine standards, measure and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Climate change is a global issue, one that contributes to humanitarian need worldwide. However, the operations and processes involved in humanitarian action have their own environmental impacts. In order to respect our commitment to “Do No Harm,” NGOs must take appropriate steps to reduce our carbon footprints as much as possible.
In December 2020, Humanity & Inclusion signed a commitment alongside nine other humanitarian organizations——to integrate climate change accounting into its operations.
In 2021, Humanity & Inclusion signed the Charter on Climate and Environment for Humanitarian Organizations, formally committing to:
- Measuring the environmental and carbon impacts of its actions
- Reducing its carbon footprint
- Adapting its humanitarian action to meet climate-related challenges
- Communicating progress made and actions taken
- Encouraging other actors to do the same
To implement these commitments, and as a member of the Humanitarian Environmental Network, Humanity & Inclusion and nine other network partners created a consortium called CHANGE (Consortium of Humanitarian Actors and Networks Engaged in Greenhouse gas Emissions reduction). Through CHANGE, Humanity & Inclusion and its partners aim to measure the current carbon footprint of their activities, and ultimately reduce the impact of humanitarian action on climate change.
Humanity & Inclusion is partnering with Action Against Hunger, CARE, Doctors of the World, Electriciens Sans Frontiéres, Islamic Relief France, Oxfam Intermón, Premiere Urgence Internationale, Red Cross France, and Solidarités International.
Developing common standards
Presently, there is no requirement for humanitarian organizations to measure their carbon footprints. For those that choose to do so out of their own initiative, there is no uniform system, meaning that each organization measures differently resulting in inconsistent reporting across the sector.
“Currently everyone is using different parameters and ways of counting,” says Denis Bedjai, Humanity & Inclusion’s Logistics Advisor and Environmental Agenda Project Manager. “But it doesn’t make sense to compare different kinds of measurements. We want to create one method that is common to all NGOs.”
Humanity & Inclusion and its fellow CHANGE members are working together to determine common accounting parameters for their greenhouse gas emissions, with support from Citepa, an organization with over 60 years of experience in air, climate and energy. Getting a clearer idea of our impact will enable the organizations to develop reduction plans for the future.
What makes up the carbon footprint?
There are numerous parameters to account for when measuring greenhouse gas emissions. Most organizations measure emissions that come from lighting and heating the office, or from driving organization vehicles, but many indirect emissions go unaccounted for. Any energy purchased through external providers, waste generated, transportation, distribution, production of goods, or even investments are just a few of the many factors that contribute to an organization’s overall carbon footprint. In humanitarian contexts, the supply chain may comprise a large part of the greenhouse gas emissions, so accounting for each step is crucial.
“If we purchase buckets for hygiene kits, we need to know where that bucket comes from, how it was made, how it was transported, how the waste was managed, etc.,” Bedjai explains. “Even though we didn’t produce the bucket itself, we have to take into consideration its entire life cycle as part of our carbon footprint when we buy it.”
Creating an emissions factors database
Once the standard of accounting parameters is set, the consortium members must conduct the actual measurements. However, measuring greenhouse gas emissions is even more difficult in low-resource or economically developing nations.
To simplify the process, the CHANGE consortium and its partners plan to continue the development of a database specific to the humanitarian sector. Initiated by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the emissions factor database will be adapted to intervention locations, free to users, and will enable organizations to more accurately track the greenhouse gas emissions associated with their frequent actions or service providers.
Adopting action plans
Once Humanity & Inclusion has a clearer vision of its current carbon emissions, the organization plans to set targets to reduce those emissions by implementing adapted action plans.
“For example, if we see that travel from flights is a major source of our greenhouse gas emissions during the auditing phase, we would determine steps to reduce that where possible,” Bedjai says. “Only sending people when absolutely necessary, using flight routes with the fewest legs, making sure to send groups together—these are all best practices for keeping those emissions as low as possible.”
In the long-term, Humanity & Inclusion aims not only to reduce its own carbon footprint, but to support local humanitarian actors in doing the same. By implementing projects that reinforce organizations’ skills and capacities to introduce conscious ecological measures, Humanity & Inclusion will be able to further its goal of lessening the ecological impact of humanitarian aid on local and international levels.
GREEN Initiative: Humanity & Inclusion is committed to reducing the adverse effects of climate change on populations worldwide. We help communities prepare for and adapt to climate shocks and stresses, and we respond to crises magnified by environmental factors. Applying a disability, gender and age (DGA) inclusion lens across all our actions, we advocate for practitioners and policy-makers to embed DGA in their climate work as well. Humanity & Inclusion is also determined to reduce its own ecological footprint by adapting and implementing environmentally conscious approaches to humanitarian action.
Rehabilitation | Going green with assistive devices
When creating artificial limbs and braces, Humanity & Inclusion uses alternative, innovative solutions to limit negative environmental impacts.
Artificial limbs and braces can be life changing for many people. They open the door to countless opportunities and contribute to the invaluable autonomy and independence of their users. However, making these devices often requires an incredible amount of energy and materials.
“To make an orthopedic device, we need a lot of plastic, metals, water, plaster, carbon, resin, and more,” says Abder Banoune, rehabilitation specialist for Humanity & Inclusion.
“It takes a lot of energy, and a lot of people to make one simple device,” Banoune continues. “Each one is custom-made for the user, and new ones must be made as people grow or their bodies change. For example, many adults change prosthetics every five years, but amputation is for life. So you can imagine how many devices one person would have in their closet after 40 or 60 years. Children need to change even more frequently (every six months or a year) since they grow more. This results in a lot of waste.”
Humanity & Inclusion is committed to making quality rehabilitation care accessible to people all around the world, while remaining conscious of its ecological impact. Low-income countries, where Humanity & Inclusion primarily operates, are disproportionately affected by the negative consequences of waste, climate change and environmental neglect, all of which magnify humanitarian needs. As part of Humanity & Inclusion’s commitment to the communities it serves and to their environments, the organization takes a three-prong approach to limit waste and energy use in creating assistive devices: reuse, reduce, recycle.
Reuse
After seeing old assistive devices going to waste, Humanity & Inclusion’s Rehabilitation Director Isabelle Urseau had the idea to reuse second-hand artificial limbs and braces. Banoune has seen the same thing.
“When I was working in Africa, the centers all had huge piles and containers full of destroyed or rusted devices that could not be re-used,” Banoune explains. “They are just dumped in the backyard where they would stay forever.”
In Lyon, France, Humanity & Inclusion operates a second-hand prosthetics workshop called “La Poudrette.” It’s run by retired prosthetics and orthotics professionals. The workshop receives used devices and dismantles them, conserving all of the re-usable components that can help construct new devices.
“About 50-60% of the device can be re-used,” Banoune explains. “Sometimes, if you need to repair a device, you only need one part. Instead of buying new components or having to make an entirely new prosthetic, we can still use the parts that are good quality from the old ones.”
La Poudrette has grown significantly since its creation and is now dismantling as many as 1,500 prosthetics each year, with plans to double or triple their actions in the near future.
Reduce
In 2016, Humanity & Inclusion became the first NGO to use 3D printing to make braces in low-resource settings. In Uganda, the organization uses the innovative technology in refugee camps to scan individuals in need of orthopedic devices, and send the digital files off to be 3D printed in a separate location, without the recipient needing to travel to a rehabilitation center. By doing so, Humanity & Inclusion can reach more people in isolated areas while using less energy and fewer materials than the traditional method of making these devices.
When making devices the traditional way, a cast of the body is first made out of plaster, which is difficult to recycle. Plastic is then heated to 392 degrees Fahrenheit to be shaped onto the plaster cast, before later adding components such as metal joints, foam, resin laminate and others. The process requires thousands of gallons of fuel, a powerful generator, and a large center to house the equipment.
“3D printing is a unique approach to making orthopedic devices without needing huge equipment, lots of energy, or a lot of materials,” Banoune says. “It’s all virtual, so instead of using plaster, we can just scan the limbs. We don’t need a huge space and the printer only uses a small amount of energy—about three or four times less than the traditional method. In the future, I think we can power them by solar panels, which would not be possible traditionally. It’s ecological, and it is inexpensive.”
Recycle
Though 3D printing is emerging as a possible solution, plaster-based creation is still the norm for most devices. The plaster required to make artificial limbs and braces is often shipped internationally and can only be used once before being thrown in the trash. Gypsum, from which plaster is made, makes up 400,000 tons of waste worldwide. Humanity & Inclusion alone creates 5 to 10 tons of gypsum waste per year through prosthetic creation, and is determined to find a solution.
Humanity & Inclusion has partnered with the National Institute of Applied Sciences, an engineering school in France, to conduct research to solve this problem. A program at the institute is performing experiments and studying efficient ways to re-use and recycle the plaster needed for the prosthetics process.
Another research program is looking at ways to locally source and recycle materials such as plastic bottles or vegetable fibers to create the filament used in 3D printing.
“It’s important to find adapted, local solutions,” explains Magdalena Szynkowska, Humanity & Inclusion’s Innovation Development Officer. “Every context might have different materials available, different vegetable fibers, and variety of types of plastic used in plastic bottles, so there may not be one single answer. It is complicated work, but I am confident that we will find solutions.”
GREEN Initiative: Humanity & Inclusion is committed to reducing the adverse effects of climate change on populations worldwide. We help communities prepare for and adapt to climate shocks and stresses, and we respond to crises magnified by environmental factors. Applying a disability, gender and age (DGA) inclusion lens across all our actions, we advocate for practitioners and policy-makers to embed DGA in their climate work as well. Humanity & Inclusion is also determined to reduce its own ecological footprint by adapting and implementing environmentally conscious approaches to humanitarian action.
Rwanda | Working with refugees to protect the environment
Humanity & Inclusion is training refugees in the Congolese and Burundian camps on how to make money from waste materials.
Since 2016, Humanity & Inclusion teams in Rwanda have been strengthening environmental protection actions in Congolese and Burundian refugee camps by initiating an Appropriate Paper Technology (APT):
This program helps community members transform waste paper, such as cardboard, into useful products that can be used for commercial purposes. Humanity & Inclusion also teaches them how to recycle waste paper to produce equipment for rehabilitation.
Humanity & Inclusion has trained at least 210 refugees to manufacture rehabilitation equipment including special chairs, corner seats and standing frames. Refugees also produce chairs, stools, cupboards, ceilings, tables to build and equip their homes.
Thanks to the initiative, waste paper is better managed in the overcrowded camps and its impact on health and environment is reduced. It also creates an opportunity for families to generate income and improve their daily routine.
