In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), rural communities of subsistence farmers struggle to provide basic needs for their families. But there are programs—like Promotion de la Famille Paysanne (PFP), a livestock asset transfer program that promotes income generating activities—that are breaking the cycle of poverty.
PFP’s goal is economic empowerment for improved health and well-being in families. PFP’s signature project, “Pigs for Peace,” provides a pig loan to families and mentors participants to care for, breed, and sell the animals as needed. The family repays the pig loan with two piglets when their pig gives birth, on average a pig has 6 piglets, so the remaining pigs are for the family to continue in the project. The piglets are then used by PFP to provide pig loans to other families in the village, supporting the sustainability of the project. Through Pigs for Peace, the families’ household incomes have increased, and women in participating households have reported being able to meet the nutritional, educational, and economic needs of the family. There is also a secondary project, Rabbits for Resilience, boys and girls ages 10-15 to raise rabbits to breed, sell, and eat. The youth program helps children contribute to their education, nutrition and the family’s wellbeing; their participation instills a sense of pride because they are able to earn on their own and make purchases.
PFP is a program that Nancy Glass, PhD, MPH, RN, FAAN, professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, and her colleagues in DRC created in 2009 to help families rebuild their lives post-conflict. Johns Hopkins School of Nursing worked with PFP’s local team to test the effectiveness of the “Pigs for Peace” project through a randomized controlled trial. The findings are being released to policymakers and practitioners through an infographic that details the projects and the significant improvements for participants in rural households in economic security, as well as physical and mental health.
You can find the infographics below.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: SYDNEE LOGAN
Sydnee Logan is the Social Media and Digital Content Coordinator for Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. She shares what’s going on here with the world.