My Nonprofit Reviews

Congo Education Partners supports the Djolu Technical College in the heart of the Congo Rainforest. The college is educating local men and women to become stewards of their rainforest home. Djolu Technical College has recently expanded to serve more students living in remote areas through satellite campuses. In addition, students are being offered more opportunities for field research training and engagement in outreach to small holder farmers to protect biodiversity and increase their food production. This is an important nonprofit partnership serving both the global environment and improving the quality of life in the community.

I applaud Congo Education Partners and Djolu Technical College for continuing to promote education for women. The proportion of female students enrolled and graduating has increased, and CEP has supported three young women faculty members to increase their academic qualifications. More female faculty strengthening in ongoing. In addition, CEP has broadened their funding sources which enables the College to expand student research and outreach to smallholder farmers who are predominately women. In the remote Tshuapa Province where CEP's partner Djolu Technical College is located, food insecurity is high and there is need for climate-smart agricultural extension to help farmers enrich their soils and increase productivity while at the same time protecting the Congo Basin Rainforest for the local community and all of mankind. Promotion of regenerative agriculture that CEP and Djolu Technical College are now able to conduct will expand the knowledge of female and male farmers who can reduce practices that harm the environment and contribute to deforestation, and instead use sustainable farming techniques. Women graduates and faculty are on the frontlines of regenerative farming and many other strategies to protect the Congo Basin Rainforest, their home, while leading communities to improve their quality of life. Congo Education Partners continues its fruitful partnership to create leaders from the local community, educated in conservation and sustainable development, who are making lasting change.

I belong to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) who have always been passionate about helping educate those in need. Today with the internet and communications to the most remote villages, we have an opportunity to even help educate those in the middle of the rain forest in the Congo. What a privilege to be able to donate to Congo Education Partners. Their site keeps us informed about new projects and about a world we know little of. I was hooked as soon as I read the mission statement. What a great organization. Jane Kaufmann, Exeter, NH

Congo Education Partners (CEP) is a small non-profit helping to support Djolu Technical College (DTC) located in the Congo River Basin. I continue to be impressed with the steady growth of the College in educating students to become leaders in their community, slowly expanding the infrastructure and serving the people in the surrounding rural area. This partnership aims to protect one of the world's largest rainforests, which stores more carbon than the Amazon and Asian rainforests combined, and to preserve its rich biodiversity.

The Covid pandemic has added to CEP's challenges as well as DTC's. The College is in a remote area which complicates the logistics of hauling in construction materials; but, the leadership is managing with the ongoing assistance of CEP. They took advantage of a pause in student attendance to make 100,000 bricks for a new classroom building. The bricks were made one by one from termite mound earth by local workers and work-study students during the Covid-related school closures in 2020.

CEP is determined to continue helping educate young stewards of the rainforest who are leading climate change mitigation by influencing rainforest carbon storage and preserving the rich biodiversity of the rainforest. This affects all of us, including generations to come.

I have been a supporter of Congo Education Partners and its partner, Djolu Technical College, in DRC since its inception in 2013. Congo Education Partners and Djolu Technical College are working hard to meet the challenges of climate change through education, research and community service. Supporting these efforts is something concrete I can do to improve our global environment.

Our mission is to reduce poverty and decrease pressure on the rainforest and wildlife in this region, which encompasses vast swaths of intact rainforest and all or part of five nature reserves. Rainforest conservation efforts can only succeed with well-educated local leaders and professionals who care about local communities, and have the knowledge and skills necessary to promote sustainable agriculture and conservation of the natural environment.

DTC’s students learn about climate change and protecting biodiversity. They incorporate what they learn in extension services, public school education, and community engagement programs.

I am especially proud of the focus on building the capacity of female faculty and increasing the enrollment of women students. Female DTC graduates are equipped to work with local and international conservation and development organizations, to train local farmers in sustainable agriculture and forest conservation, and to bring healthcare to vulnerable mothers and children in remote areas. Women represent 73% of farmers, and produce 80% of food crops for household consumption. Through the College’s Lokangi Research and Extension Program, women are introduced to improved seeds, technologies, and sustainable farming techniques, thereby enhancing their productivity and incomes.

I joined the Congo Education Partners (CEP) Board because I believe that education is fundamental to development in Africa, and the application of science and technology are key to making agriculture sustainable. I believe that CEP and Djolu Technical College have a critical role to play in community development and in increasing food security in Djolu Territory through its academic and practical programs that reach out to farmers.
I feel it is important for individuals like us to do our part to stave off climate change and keep our planet healthy for future generations. One way we can do that is to support the health and safety of our world's rainforests. CEP supports Djolu Technical College to educate community leaders, advocates, and conservation specialists to protect the Congo River Basin Rainforest, its people and animals. Djolu Technical College is also training nurses who are providing much needed health care to the people of the area.