Our Impact

Blocks built from the lava rock of Nyiragongo’s eruption, Knitwear for students.

Through these two new social enterprises, sixteen full time jobs have been created, generating steady and strong income. 2,580 sweaters were made for school uniforms and over 25,000 blocks for construction projects. Within their first year, and a production period of only 9 months, the project’s net was $11,490. This project is also a 2023 grant recipient and is currently growing faster than anticipated with new brick-making machinery and orders of over 3,000 knit uniforms for schools and government offices.

Tele-advisory, systems upgrades, and land to build.

Looking for stability and longevity, DFJ approached ECI with a business plan. The first priority was a way to increase income and expand services–a purchased office with rentable income space.

DFJ, after raising funds beyond ECI’s grant, is now the proud owner of a 22-office building in Goma with space to expand.

Second, COVID-19 drove companies all over the world to streamline services with electronic systems and online consultations. Converting all 18 clinics to electronic record keeping has improved efficiency and lessened operating expenses for over 1,700 cases.

Six legal clinics take services to rural women.

Implemented in South Kivu, mainly Kabare (Kavumu), Kalehe, Idjwi, Walungu (Kaziba), and Uvira (Uvira and Luvungi) where violent conflicts are widespread, these clinics received people daily for consultations with legal defenders and paralegals.

The legal clinics received 898 cases of sexual and gender-based violence in addition to land right disputes and other mediations. They also did public education sessions around women’s rights and positive masculinity, serving 4,782 women and 2,464 men.

In providing these public education spaces, local teenagers gained interest as well. Seeing the importance of their messages, six public schools started student-led groups and events.

Land for an antenna and a marketing plan toward self-sustainability.

With land purchased and antenna built, AFEM, a radio station and news outlet dedicated to gender equality and empowering women, is now available to 7.2 million people. The second phase of this service extension and ownership is generating revenue for the station. The management team has developed a business plan and is working to increase ads and antenna rental. ECI and Asili are now engaging AFEM as a marketing partner.