Saving for a better future in the Republic of the Congo

On a remote, but highly trafficked stretch of highway in the Republic of the Congo, lies a bit of an oasis—a roadside restaurant offering hearty, homemade meals and an array of refreshing drinks. It is a much-needed respite for many truckers and other drivers who spend hours each day on the road.  

The restaurant was built and is now run by Les Abeilles, or The Honeybees, a savings group in Kintamou village. For more than a year, the 30-member group, so named because the president of the group, Jean Nkbunkou, says they “work together like a colony of bees in a hive,” met each week and contributed savings to the group account. In their first year together, they saved around $6,500. 

Rather than split the money among the members or give out individual loans, as many savings groups do, Les Abeilles wanted to do something big, and they wanted to do something as a community.  

“I’m very happy with the group initiative,” group member Jean Diamesso says. “Individually, we only would have small amounts, but together we saved enough to build a restaurant … We invested together. This also helps with community unity because we must work together.” 

Unity is particularly important in the district, as many communities there were affected by violent conflict from 2016 to 2017. For many years, there were deep divisions within villages and distrust among neighbors.  

Jean Diamesso tends to a corn field that he and other savings group members planted together.

Photo by Jennifer Lazuta/CRS

 

To help restore peace and reconciliation, Catholic Relief Services, in partnership with the Episcopal Commission for Justice and Peace, built a social cohesion component into the USAID-funded Bisalu Bia Kidzunu, or Works for Peace, project. Before even introducing the idea of savings and lending groups, the community was invited to take part in a series of trainings over the course of six months, which focused on trauma and recovery, problem resolution, forgiveness, mutual understanding and acceptance.  

“This was the first time we learned about these things,” says Jean Nkbunkou. “I learned a lot because of the way they trained us to love each other. How I see people now is very different than before. I am conscious of not qualifying someone on their appearance. I need to consider them as a human being like me. We might have some differences, but we are all people.”  

All the group members agree that without this training, they never would have believed that peace within their community was possible, let alone coming together into the same savings group or working together to build a business. 

Following the social cohesion training, community members then learned about what savings groups are, how to save, how to invest and how to budget.  

From the profit Les Abeilles earn, part of the money is used to reinvest in the restaurant and the rest is shared among members. Many say they use the extra money to pay for their children’s school fees, make home improvements, buy farmland or even start their own side businesses.  

“This project is a chance for me because at my age this is not the first time I’ve had money. But now that I’ve learned to manage money, I have been able to buy land in the city,” says Claire Loumpangou. “Having land is a guarantee for your children. I worked all my life but never could save for it.” 

 

Members of a local savings group construct the frame of an outdoor seating gazebo behind the roadside restaurant they built in Kintamou, a village in the Republic of the Congo.

Photo by Jennifer Lazuta/CRS

 

Since the restaurant opened, Les Abeilles began the second phase of their project. They are building a small hotel behind the restaurant where tired drivers can rest on long trips. Falling asleep behind the wheel is one of the leading causes of accidents in the Republic of the Congo. Together, they have so far made more than 6,000 bricks by hand to construct the building. To furnish the rooms, they will use money from the current saving cycle.  

The group also bought a cornfield that they farm together and are building a small gazebo to serve as an outdoor eating area between the restaurant and hotel. They eventually want to buy the adjacent land create a small parking area for guests. 

“When you have knowledge, you are saved. When you don’t, you are blind,” Hilert Samba says, regarding the social cohesion and savings group trainings.  “I never could have imagined we could develop this type of project or that our eyes could be open like this to togetherness and reconciliation. Before we were blinded by the past. Now we look toward the future.” 

 

 

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