People

Jobs to bring about peace

An article by: Cornelia Weber

Reading time: 5 min

Many people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo know nothing but a life afflicted by armed conflict and threats to their lives. The KfW Peace Fund is helping to build up a functioning civil society, offering alternatives to combat and crime.

null — Stable structures

In order to secure peace in Congo, stable structures must be created. This is where the KfW-supported Peace Fund comes into play, which has already been used to build health stations and schools.

In many Congolese regions, the civil population is suffering bitterly from fighting between government troops and various rebel militias. It is almost impossible to live in peace. In the eastern provinces like North Kivu for example, the rebels of the armed group M23 are active. Violent conflicts shape everyday life in the second largest country of Africa.

More than two million people flee from one crisis region to the next, and repeatedly have to start all over again. The situation remains difficult and unpredictable, with no prospects for the future. By necessity, many Congolese slip into crime, work illegally in mines or join one of the rebel groups.

Schools, roads, medical facilities: much has been destroyed by decades of war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and this applies both to the majority of infrastructure and to trust in state structures. This is where the KfW Peace Fund comes into play. Since 2007 and on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), KfW Development Bank has supported the population of the country to the tune of EUR 76.6 million together with the Congolese government.

Dangerous jobs

In many countries, development cooperation is associated with risks for aid workers. In our dossier we describe where the dangers are.

To the dossier

Working together with non-governmental organisations and local initiatives, infrastructure projects are financed that enable people to earn their own incomes, improve their living standards, and experience the direct benefits of community life without violence. The commitment of the German Federal Government is thus designed to create prospects for them to have a future in their own country.

According to Karin Derflinger, who headed up the KfW Office in the capital of Kinshasa for four years until autumn 2017, the main challenge is complying with the "Do-No-Harm" approach, which means selecting suitable projects that do not give preference to individual interest or ethnic groups. Measures therefore had to be designed in a manner that was "sensitive to conflicts", by involving local people for example. They can gauge what the people really need, and they know the motives of the individual groups. This means further conflicts can be identified early and contained.

Read more under the picture gallery.

Development cooperation projects in dangerous countries

Ranger with elephant — DR Congo - Poachers slaughter elephants in national parks, eat the meat and make a profit from the ivory. The population of wild animals like rhinoceroses, eastern lowland gorillas or okapis is dwindling, not least due to marauding rebel groups. There are repeated deadly attacks on park managers and rangers in the national parks. The photo on the left shows gamekeeper Erik Mararv, who was shot by elephant poachers. Three of his colleagues died. KfW supports the management of six nature conservation areas, in part, in cooperation with the WWF. “The projects are not just about helping to protect species. They are also about providing more safety and better working conditions for the rangers,” says Karin Derflinger from KfW. Better ranger training, equipment and measures for protecting the animals in their natural environment are supported.

Gang members in Central America pose for the camera — Central America - Criminal youth gangs, known as “maras”, prevent peaceful community life in many cities in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. Gangs wage war against each other, with the murder rates among the highest in the world. The problem: many young people have no prospects and join criminal gangs. Since 2014, KfW has supported the CONVIVIR project, which provides young people with alternatives so they do not slip into criminality. “It is remarkable to see how young people develop when they are given the opportunity to do it,” said KfW employee Kathrin Gütschow.

School in Syria — Syria - Students’ lessons temporarily take place in an old barn. In Syria, where bombs are still falling, schools must be built and furnished so that as many children as possible can continue to have access to education despite the civil war and do not become a lost generation. To support the suffering population, KfW, acting as a trustee, set up the international Syria Recovery Trust Fund (SRTF) in 2013. This instrument is used to facilitate local projects for the population at 150 sites. “The commitment and perseverance of our local partners is admirable,” says Gunnar Wälzholz from KfW.

Demonstration in Burundi — Burundi - Demonstrations, attempted coups and police violence: after the president sought a third term of office in 2015 despite legal restrictions, the security situation had deteriorated significantly. The KfW Office was temporarily relocated to the neighbouring country of Rwanda. “I was terribly afraid for my wife and my three children, who had to remain in the country for family reasons. They called me when shots were fired at night or people lay dead in the street,” Isidore Nzobambona says of the hard times he experienced when he was separated from his family for 20 months. He was able to return to Burundi this year.

South Sudan - Destroyed villages, mined roads und massive streams of refugees: five years after the country’s independence, civil war broke out again in 2016 — a humanitarian catastrophe. KfW is currently hardly able to work directly on the ground due to the tense security situation. Instead, it is involved through third parties like non-governmental organisations and the United Nations to rebuild the country with joint forces. “I am impressed that, after 30 years of war, people pull themselves up by their bootstraps time and again and believe in their country,” says Andreas Holtkotte from KfW.

A child in Nigeria receives Polio vaccination — Nigeria - For the vaccination team, giving children in north-eastern Nigeria oral vaccinations against polio means risking their own lives in many cases. Especially due to the terrorist group Boko Haram, which is active there and has repeatedly made targeted attacks on health centres. Polio now only exists in Nigeria, Afghanistan and Pakistan. KfW has supported the regional vaccination programme with EUR 116 million since 2005. “If the people who help administer the polio vaccine are able to eradicate the virus, that will benefit humanity,” says Julien Morel from KfW about their dangerous assignment.

Rain in Bangladesh — Bangladesh - Water is vital — sometimes it is also extremely dangerous, as it is for this boy in a refugee camp and his helpers. Floods destroy buildings and transform roads into rivers. Flooding — a dramatic consequence of climate change — means that many people live with danger to life and limb and risk losing everything they have. This is why KfW finances protective structures on pillars that serve as schools or market halls during everyday life and provide shelter in an emergency. “Infrastructure adapted to the climate is important for survival here and Bangladesh is a pioneer in the region for this reason,” says Regina Schneider from KfW.

DR Congo

Poachers slaughter elephants in national parks, eat the meat and make a profit from the ivory. The population of wild animals like rhinoceroses, eastern lowland gorillas or okapis is dwindling, not least due to marauding rebel groups. There are repeated deadly attacks on park managers and rangers in the national parks. The photo on the left shows gamekeeper Erik Mararv, who was shot by elephant poachers. Three of his colleagues died. KfW supports the management of six nature conservation areas, in part, in cooperation with the WWF. “The projects are not just about helping to protect species. They are also about providing more safety and better working conditions for the rangers,” says Karin Derflinger from KfW. Better ranger training, equipment and measures for protecting the animals in their natural environment are supported.

Open gallery

"There are many rebels on the move in regions such as North Kivu or South Kivu in eastern Congo; the security level for the area we work in here is critical," says Karin Derflinger, talking about the threats faced by the local staff.

But this work pays off: more than 60 projects have already been implemented by the Peace Fund, including the building of health stations and schools, the setting up of markets, the drilling of wells, and the cultivation of irrigated rice terraces.

"We need to have stable structures in order to guarantee long-term peace," says Karin Derflinger. "In doing so, we provide initial help, stimulate the economy and create short-term jobs." Foreign organisations are not the ones tasked with building the municipal infrastructure, instead, it is the Congolese; this means they earn their own money and become motivated to push forward with the reconstruction of their country.

In the next phase of the programme, KfW wants to focus on the provinces of Ituri, South Kivu and North Kivu, the area from which the M23 armed rebels were recently driven out.

Source

This article complements the picture gallery about development cooperation in the autumn/winter 2017 issue of CHANCEN "Mut".

To German edition

Yet the situation in the region remains difficult. "The Peace Fund will contribute to stability and peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the long run, boosted by improved earnings opportunities," says Karin Derflinger.

Published on KfW Stories: Tuesday, 12 December 2017

The described project contributes to the following United Nationsʼ Sustainable Development Goals

Goal 8: Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all

The economic growth of the past decades has come at the expense of natural resources and the global climate, and has long since reached ecological limits. If all people were to be given access to the quality of life that people accept as a matter of course in Germany, several planet Earths would be required to sustain it. Sustainable economic development reconciles social, ecological and economic development goals.

Open gallery
(4 Pictures)

All United Nations member states adopted the 2030 Agenda in 2015. At its heart is a list of 17 goals for sustainable development, known as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Our world should become a place where people are able to live in peace with each other in ways that are ecologically compatible, socially just, and economically effective.

Image-Reference

On our website, pictures taken, among others, by the following photographers/photo agencies are used:

Agentur photothek.net, Deutsche Messe Hannover, Andreas Arnold, Jörg Böthling, Dominik Butzmann, Carsten Costard, Susanne Esche, Charlie Fawell, Rendel Freude, Torsten George, Gaby Gerster, David Greedy, Peter Himsel, Barbara Högner, Frank Homann, Fred Hoogervorst, Steffen Jagenburg (BRANSCH EUROPE), Thomas Klewar, Studio Kohlmeier , Florian Kopp, Georg Lopata, Jürgen Lösel, Kirsten Milhahn, Rüdiger Nehmzow, Rolf Obertreis, Rubén Arnaldo Farina Ortiz, Holger Peters, Joachim Röttgers, Mika Schmidt, Bernhard Schurian, Jens Steingässer, Pietro Sutera, Uwe Tölle, Jan Zappner.

Fotolia.com: amandare, Yuri Arcurs, Kitch Bain, Ingo Bartussek, Sergio Donà, drizzd, Dmitry Ersler, eyewave, Zoltán Futó, Eric Gevaert, Fotolia XXV, Friedberg, goodluz, Dirk Hoffmann, imageteam, Christian Jung, Abdelhamid Kalai, Sergej Khakimullin, Vladimir Kolobov, krizz7, Kzenon, lumen-digital, marog-pixcells, Mindwalker, Miredi, mirpic, Nebuto, Tino Neitz, Christian Pedant, Franz Pfluegl, prognone, Gina Sanders, Henry Schmitt, spree berlin, SVLuma, Kheng Guan Toh, tom, Torbz, typomaniac, VRD, Joachim Wendler, Sreedhar Yedlapati.

societypeopleKfW Development BankAfricaCHANCENBMZinfrastructureeducationhealthflightSDG8SDG9SDG16

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