About Wokovuway
Bringing hope, restoring dignity, changing lives.
"Wokovuway" is a name derived from Swahili, meaning "to save." It is much more than an organization—it’s a movement dedicated to supporting vulnerable individuals and victims of wars, natural disasters, and social injustices. Deeply concerned by the devastating consequences of armed and unarmed conflicts, we operate in areas like the war-torn streets of Goma, DRC, and beyond, to create a framework for meeting, exchanging, sharing, and building capacities, in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals.
We are committed to responding to acute humanitarian crises caused by community division, mass population displacement, the destruction of socio-economic infrastructure and the environment, as well as human rights violations, particularly against women and children. Through concrete actions, we provide:
- Health Support: Access to emergency medical care, mental health counseling, and efforts to combat epidemics such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, or malaria.
- Food Security: Nutritious meals and resources to fight hunger and support affected families.
- Shelter: Safe temporary shelters for people displaced by conflicts or disasters.
- Education and Training: Learning programs for children and training in conflict management and positive masculinity for youth, women, and men.
Aware that peace is the foundation of all development, and that racism, xenophobia, and intolerance fuel violence, we work to rebuild human harmony and offer a better future. With our partners and donors, we restore hope and dignity—one person, one family, one community at a time.
Our Mission
We harness the strength of community, compassion, and resilience to transform lives and break the cycles of conflict, poverty, and displacement.
Our mission is to empower vulnerable populations—especially women, children, people living with disabilities, internally displaced persons, and victims of natural disasters—by contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals and developing alternatives to social injustice. We provide accessible healthcare for all, significantly reduce maternal and infant mortality through education and preventive medicine, ensure vulnerable and orphaned children access schooling, and strengthen the capacities of organizations defending human rights and children’s rights worldwide, in line with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and international conventions.
Our Vision
We aspire to a world where every individual, especially the most vulnerable, can live with dignity and self-sufficiency, protected from injustice and poverty, on a planet whose abundant natural resources are mobilized to ensure their survival.
At WOKOVU WAY (WOW), we envision resilient and thriving communities built on the foundations of peace education, democracy, good governance, and comprehensive, sustainable development. By promoting human, civil, and political rights, we aim to create lasting peace in the Great Lakes region and across the world. We strive to be the voice of the voiceless—those thousands of destitute individuals—by overcoming the complex challenges of an unstable environment. Facing the urgency of poverty and threats to peace, we mobilize resources, potential, and knowledge to provide concrete solutions to their causes and consequences, so every person, without distinction, can fully realize their potential and contribute to a fairer, more equitable society.
Our Role
- Train in conflict resolution and promote democracy.
- Educate orphans in arts and crafts.
- Improve social well-being and reproductive health.
- Advocate with governments on conflicts.
- Educate on citizenship, peace, and elections.
- Sanitize urban and rural environments.
- Fight HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria.
- Protect human rights and reduce poverty.
- Promote gender equality and empowerment.
Our Values
- Justice: Ensuring the effective enjoyment of human rights, the cornerstone of our work for vulnerable people.
- Commitment: Working for and with beneficiaries in poverty, involving them in long-term planned projects.
- Professionalism: Combining expertise and agility to address challenges with tailored and relevant solutions.
- Independence: Acting without reliance on social, economic, religious, or political groups.
- Participation: Promoting participatory processes with beneficiaries and partners to transform reality.
- Plurality: Collaborating with diverse actors, regardless of cultural or religious differences, for change and development.
- Sustainability: Ensuring lasting results socially, economically, and environmentally.
- Accountability: Being transparent and accountable to all—donors, partners, beneficiaries, and society.
Our Strategies
Our motto is “Building Their Future.” We mobilize the strength of community, compassion, and resilience to transform lives and break the cycles of conflict, poverty, and displacement.
Our mission is to empower vulnerable populations—especially women and children—by providing access to quality education, comprehensive healthcare, and sustainable solutions that foster long-term development and autonomy.
Our Strategic Approaches
- Promote leadership and empowerment.
- Educate on the Sustainable Development Goals.
- Raise youth awareness of peace and development through action-research.
- Inspire urgent and powerful action for change.
- Implement human, child, women’s, and environmental rights.
- Encourage well-being and initiative.
- Foster personal development aligned with our values.
- Support a social and solidarity-based economy.
- Train engaged global citizens for peace.
- Communicate our goals and objectives.
- Equip youth for participatory action.
- Place humanity at the service of its environment.
Our Achievements
Through our activities, we have made significant progress in supporting vulnerable communities and promoting a better future. We work tirelessly to transform the lives of populations affected by conflicts, disasters, and poverty, emphasizing concrete and sustainable initiatives that strengthen their resilience and autonomy.
Among our efforts, we have organized training workshops and participatory community diagnostics, provided regular assistance to disaster victims and primary care in displacement camps, supported host families to school over 300 orphans in Beni and Masisi, and launched awareness campaigns against schistosomiasis around Lake Kivu in Goma and Nzulo. We have also built children’s capacity on hygiene and Ebola and COVID-19 prevention, raised awareness about menstrual hygiene in Goma, Munigi, Bukumu, and Nzulo, promoted gender equality and sexual health in schools in Goma and Masisi, developed urban agriculture and fishing on Lake Kivu, advocated for rights to autonomy and bodily integrity in the DRC, and deployed a mobile clinic in Lushagala to provide primary care and prevent gender-based violence through family planning and positive masculinity.