KFM’s functional literacy project has delivered encouraging results in nine villages surrounding the mine. In just a few months, villagers with little or no literacy or numeracy skills have learned to read, write, keep basic accounts and manage community savings. With project support, participants have also launched small income-generating activities, including vegetable growing, poultry raising and baking, turning classroom learning into practical livelihoods.

The Literacy Project is one of KFM’s core initiatives under its 2024-2028 cahier des charges (commitment to social responsibility). Planned over four years, the project covers nine villages around KFM — Kisanfu Gare, Kisanfu Koni, Mushi Wa Mumba, Bwasalangana, Kalebi, Mayeba, Kawala, Dikanda and Mibanze — and is designed to support more than 400 villagers in achieving economic self-reliance through basic education and skills training.

At the outset of the project, KFM partnered with BDD, a non-governmental organization with professional expertise in adult education. The BDD team carried out community consultations and participatory surveys across the villages to identify local needs. “Preliminary research shows that most participants face difficulties in reading, writing and arithmetic. This severely limits their ability to manage daily life and engage in economic activities,” said Jacques Ngoy, head of BDD’s literacy program.

To address these needs, the project first tapped into the community’s own strengths by selecting literacy instructors from each village, providing capacity-building training and clarifying the distinction between functional literacy and traditional teaching. It also established a three-stage teaching model — initiation, assessment and evaluation, and deepening — closely aligned with the goal of empowering self-reliance. To ensure teaching quality, the project team distributed standardized learning materials to each participant, including customized textbooks, review guides and other supporting tools.

Beyond basic education, one of the project’s most innovative features is the establishment of community savings and credit mechanisms. Of the 27 mutual-aid outlets planned, 18 operated effectively during the 2025-2026 cycle, raising nearly 30 million Congolese francs in total. Managed entirely by the trainees, the funds are used primarily to provide microloans to members and support a range of income-generating activities.

Bibi Masengo, a participant from Mushi Wa Mumba, said: “Our village manages the mutual fund in an orderly way. It benefits every one of us and has also brought the village closer together. Now the fund is helping everyone expand their small businesses.”

Mako, a fellow member from the village of Bwasalangana, stressed that the more far-reaching impact of the project is to help the villagers to establish a scientific vision of the future and take control of the future, “Until now, some people would not even write their own names. Nowadays, we have acquired new core skills while mastering basic abilities such as reading and writing, calculation and saving. These skills give us the strength to promote family self-reliance and enhance family well-being.”

Relying on the newly mastered core skills, the recipient groups are actively planning and launching a number of localized entrepreneurial projects, mainly covering three pillar industries: poultry farming, field vegetable cultivation, and handmade baking. Up to now, the practical demonstration around the above-mentioned industries has been fully rolled out in various villages, forming a closed-loop project of "learning to use, learning to start a business".