The Spring 2024 call for projects has been officially open since 1er February 2024! The main novelty of this session lies in the broadening of the scope of application to the International Solidarity Volunteering (IVS) system. This extension aims to further highlight the VSI by financing certain associated costs. As a reminder, the VSI represents a mission of general interest carried out outside the European Union, focused on the areas of development cooperation and humanitarian action.
To begin this series of exchanges, we are heading to the Congo River and more precisely to M'Bamou Island of approximately 180 m² nestled upstream of the two Congolese capitals Brazzaville and Kinshasa. Located on the territory of the Republic of Congo, it now hosts one of the micro-projects financed by La Guilde, led by the French association Pot@maï in partnership with the Children's Aid association located in Brazzaville.
Maguelonne C., project leader of the French association, presents this initiative and her experience with a VSI hosted for 1 year on site:
« Pot@maï is an association created in 2015 in France to carry out an energy access project for rural development. […] Given the speed of the Congo River at this location, we decided on a floating tidal turbine solution […]. The essential service unit (USE) is a multifunction space to provide what residents of neighboring villages need. On Mbamou Island, the electricity produced is dedicated to the production of drinking water and the cold chain, food processing equipment, bakeries, mills, communication equipment, charging lamps, etc. USE is intended to be a training center for young people from the village […] Ultimately, we hope that each USE workshop will be managed by residents of neighboring villages. This is what was done with the support of La Guilde: we were able to train seamstresses, agro-food processing agents, and a baker, so these activities are now managed by residents of Mbamou Island. . ».
« The M'bamou Island USE was commissioned in 2021 […]. After commissioning, training took place from February 2022 until November 2023 […]. We were able to graduate 1st promotion in November 2023 and it is now that the 3 USE workshops are managed by people from the village. This was positive because it was work on skills transfer and empowerment. What is important is that with funding from La Guilde, we now have a USE which functions thanks to the people of the village and which still continues to operate, despite a suspension of activities for a month due to dramatic floods. this year on Mbamou Island. An awareness campaign is underway to launch a new promotion of professional training. The USE is made to last in the long term ».
To support this initiative, Pot@maï has decided to use an International Solidarity Volunteer. The association went through France Volontaire for the procedures: “ The procedures were quite simple because France Volontaire has offices in Congo so we were able to have face-to-face discussions. There was a form to fill out, it wasn't very complicated. I carried out 3 interviews with candidates who had been pre-selected by France Volontaire remotely. They did a lot of selection work because I only had to speak with 3 people, and not consult 45 applications. ».
For this project, the VSI’s missions took two sides: “ He was very involved in operations. He participated in the launch of the USE, the choice of equipment, and quotes with the local team. A large part of his mission was also on the establishment of monitoring mechanisms, the format of reports ».
It also represented a definite advantage for the implementation of the project and the various activities linked to the launch of the activity: “ He also participated in the installation of solar panels, he got involved to understand. No one in the on-site team understood the remote monitoring mechanism for energy production data. It's a small piece of equipment that works with a computer and the Internet and he was the only one who understood. So he wrote up little notes so that someone coming up behind could understand and get things back on track. For example, once I returned on site, I was able to regain control easily: I had the tools […]. Now the people on the team understand but initially it all happened at once and we didn't have time to train the staff in IT. […] For me, it was very useful that he was there for a year, since he worked from September to April, then in April, I returned to France, and his presence on the ground allowed me to know what was happening on site […] He was very dynamic in terms of installing equipment, in terms of communication […]. He transmitted information, he looked for a solution, he repaired so that the young people who come to learn at the USEr could have the equipment and electrical energy necessary to work. On the food processing side, he did some experiments with local products and that was very interesting […]. These are activities that had never taken place on M'bamou Island so it was necessary to think about the organization, to do tailor-made ».
However, Maguelonne is also measured in terms of the VSI system. She would like to place it in a more sustainable development approach at the level of reception structures: “ The person must be able to bring me something that I am sure I cannot find on site, and at least 50% of the work on site must be in transmission. I am clear with people who apply to join us. Some people want to do missions because the Congo is beautiful and they want to see monkeys, but that is not possible with us […]. It's really very important that the person who comes knows what they have to do, and what deliverable they have to leave so that things continue to work behind them. […] An organization receiving a VSI must think strategically about “why is he/she there?” and especially on why he/she will no longer be there in the future. He must bring something that cannot be found locally. Otherwise it doesn't make sense [...] ».
As this project is essentially based on the production of clean energy, Maguelonne is also considering other perspectives that do not necessarily include international travel: “ Pot@maï is an association that works on renewable energies: the tidal turbine produces 10 kW of carbon-free electricity. If each time we install a USE powered by a tidal turbine we fly 10 times, that doesn't make much sense in terms of carbon footprint[…]. This is why you need to think carefully before recruiting outside the country. I know that France Volontaire is developing a local volunteer program in Congo. I find this very interesting, because international VSIs can be mixed with national volunteers for activities. It’s something that appears more sustainable. For local associations, it also offers the possibility of recruiting more easily following a volunteer mission.you”.
