\u2018Those who sow in tears will reap in joy\u2019. (Ps126, 5) This age-old maxim, rooted in the human experience of work, effort and also laziness, has been put into practice in the project to promote rural women, developed in our Kikonka presence in the Democratic Republic of Congo. And what about the ironic exclamation of this old man during the photo session during the groundnut harvest. \u2018The injustice has been righted\u2019. He didn’t mean it so well: poverty is an injustice. It’s like a photo shoot where some people are forgotten. ITAKA went to see these forgotten people in the village of Kimayala.<\/p>\n
Women from the village, accompanied by a few men, organised themselves into an agricultural cooperative and, for the first time, set up a community groundnut and maize field. The ambition was modest, but the challenge was great in this dry season. In addition to the hot climate, they also had to meet the challenge inherent in all group work: to facilitate cooperation between members and pool intentions and strengths.<\/p>\n
The project was a success, but not without its difficulties. The banks of the Gueba river, which flows through the village, were chosen. Once the process of renting the land had been completed, the clearing, ploughing and sowing followed. For these women, all cushioned by the harshness of life, it was necessary to brave the fatigue of the days and the difficulties of working in a group. The gamble paid off, and the breeze from the River Gueba was able to caress the maize plants, which soon began to look their best.<\/p>\n
Three months later, it was harvest time. The tom-tom hasn’t sounded, but it’s beating louder in people’s hearts, giving way here and there to smiles and bursts of laughter that have given way to initial doubts. The harvest is beautiful and promising. Sales are encouraging us to repeat the initiative on a grand scale; the enthusiasm is perceptible in this isolated area where men and women aspire only to a better life. Itaka’s project is the bearer of a new imagination that destructures the structures of poverty. In Kimayala, small shoots of Itaka are taking small feminine steps.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u2018Those who sow in tears will reap in joy\u2019. (Ps126, 5) This age-old maxim, rooted in the human experience of work, effort and also laziness, has been put into practice […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":326012,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[337],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-325315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-r-d-congo"],"yoast_head":"\n