Civil Society Mobilizes in Pointe-Noire
The salty scent of the Atlantic still hung over the Tié-Tié neighborhood on December 30, 2025, when activists unveiled the coordination team of the Lamuka Collective, a newly registered civil society platform determined to defend the rights of women living with disabilities in Pointe-Noire and Kouilou.
Surrounded by municipal officials and social affairs agents, the departmental coordinator Pouliguen Maya told the audience that too many women with disabilities still face gender-based violence, economic exclusion, and a lack of information about their own bodies, and that silence, not disability, is the true barrier.
Her statement, warmly applauded, drew on the collective’s motto—Solidarity, Justice, Development—a phrase she described as “a moral oath and a daily roadmap” rather than a slogan. The assistance, she stressed, must serve as a lever for empowerment, enabling women to produce, decide, and contribute.
The five-member bureau pairs Maya with Léopold Ngoulou, Secretary General, Uldevert Massanga, Communications Officer, Djaf Biboka, Financial Officer, and Chérubin Miemo, Monitoring Specialist. Their first term runs until 2026 and aims for quick results that can be measured by the city’s social affairs coordination unit.
A Program Named “Tchicol Ti Buzimbu”
At the heart of the collective’s roadmap is Tchicol Ti Buzimbu, which translates from Vili as “school of the forgotten.” The 2025-2026 program bundles social inclusion, equitable education, and support for marginalized people into a single framework designed to inspire action at the neighborhood level.
Planned activities range from sign language tutorials in public schools to mobile legal clinics explaining inheritance and land ownership rights. A pilot incubator will also facilitate access to microcredit for market gardening projects run by women with disabilities, in partnership with local microfinance institutions.
“We want to transform every sewing workshop or vegetable garden into a classroom for rights,” explained Ngoulou, noting that economic empowerment often determines whether survivors of abuse feel free to report incidents. Initial funding is expected to come from member contributions and a modest grant promised by the department.
Alignment with Congolese Disability Law 18-2025
Government social affairs agent Marie Victoire Mitolo Koumba welcomed the birth of Lamuka and urged its leaders to embrace Law 18-2025 of July 25, which protects and promotes the rights of persons with disabilities in the Republic of Congo. She promised institutional support as long as procedures and hierarchies are respected.
The legislation requires public buildings to adopt universal access standards, mandates inclusive programs, and guarantees quotas in public employment. Civil society monitoring, Koumba argued, ensures these provisions move from paper to practice, especially in coastal districts where infrastructure gaps remain more visible than in Brazzaville.
For Maya, alignment with the law is strategic rather than symbolic. By documenting each activity and its beneficiaries, the collective hopes to unlock additional support from international partners who often calibrate their grants based on national policy frameworks, including the government’s Social Development Plan and the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
Mentors and Allies Bring Credibility
Gaston Yomo, president of the Pointe-Noire-Kouilou network for persons with disabilities, accepted the role of patron and promised to share two decades of advocacy experience. “My task is to open doors, while the new generation pushes them wide open,” he told the assembly.
The collective also relies on the thematic expertise of Dr. Nadège Ibata, a gynecologist at Loandjili General Hospital, who will oversee workshops on sexual and reproductive health. Her presence, Yomo stressed, reassures potential beneficiaries that interventions are based on medical rigor as well as activist zeal.
Local businesses, including the Autonomous Port and several offshore subcontractors, indicated their willingness to allocate internship quotas under their corporate social responsibility charters. Confidential negotiations could result in placing a first cohort of ten interns by mid-2026, according to communications officer Massanga.
Outlook for Sustainable Impact
Over the next six months, Lamuka’s steering committee will map priority schools, health centers, and markets using open-source geographic tools. The data will guide an action schedule coinciding with national commemorations, such as International Women’s Day and the upcoming disability census.
Success indicators include the number of survivors receiving legal support, school enrollment rates for girls with disabilities, and the amount of radio airtime dedicated to disability rights. Quarterly dashboards will be shared with district authorities to ensure transparency and facilitate technical guidance.
Although challenges related to infrastructure, stigma, and funding remain substantial, stakeholders left the launch optimistic about the possible convergence of collective will and legal frameworks. As Maya summarized, “Our bodies may be different, but our aspirations are the same: to learn, earn a living, and belong to society.”
Regional analysts note that the initiative aligns with the 2021-2027 CEMAC Strategy, which encourages member states to integrate disability into development planning. By situating its work within this regional framework, Lamuka could access multilateral windows such as the Economic and Social Development Fund.
In the coming weeks, the collective will launch a digital portal where beneficiaries can anonymously report abuse, track service availability, and even co-create transportation solutions. The platform, built by young coders from the Polytechnic Faculty, is designed to be compatible with screen-reading software and low-bandwidth networks.