Mama Jose is the kind of person you want on your team. The good news is – she’s on ours. Mama Jose leads RDF – Reseau des Femmes – which is an all-women’s Congolese organization in Eastern Congo. And from Asili’s very first days, she’s seen opportunity in collaboration. Now, the women of RDF also help manage our water system, and Mama Jose herself serves as one of Asili’s biggest and most powerful loudspeakers. She’s the best marketer around. Although she’s the type of person who would never seek out praise or the spotlight, she deserves to be praised from the rooftops. So for Day 357, we wanted to do something to make the holiday season just a little brighter for Mama Jose and her family – a meal fit for a holiday dinner. Mama Jose is a good cook – she has her own style and way of doing things. So instead of preparing the food ourselves, we wanted to give her all the ingredients that she needed for her entire family. Some flour, beans, rice, soy protein, oil, and more. … [Read more...] about Home for the Holidays

Asili, our social enterprise project in Eastern Congo, is all about bringing many different types of people to the table to create something meaningful. And one of the most important people at that table are Congolese businesses, organizations, and individuals who have a deep belief in what we’re trying to achieve. ASUREP is a Congolese water management organization that we’ve worked with from the very beginning. Their goal is the same as ours – to get clean water to even the hardest to reach families in Eastern Congo. The leader of ASUREP is Roger. A great friend to Asili, he helped lay the foundation for Asili it its very first communities – now, he’s practically like family. So for Day 356, we thanked Roger and his family for being such dedicated supporters and pioneers for the people of Congo. We wanted to give Roger and his family a shopping spree, Congolese style. In Congo, getting a new outfit means buying fabric that’s then transformed by tailors to any style you’d … [Read more...] about Shopping Spree

Have you ever had that one friend who can seemingly do it all? For us, that’s Gracien. He’s the Director of Social Development for the King of Kabare, the traditional ruler in the region in Eastern Congo where Asili has taken root. But he’s also a historian, a writer, an expert on gorillas and other wildlife, and a very good friend of Asili’s. Gracien spends his free time – not that he has much of it! – on writing. “I love history, and I love Congo’s culture. I want to record some of these oral stories and traditions so that future generations will know them, too.” He’s already had a few publications, which students read in school. Gracien has been a steadfast supporter of Asili from the very beginning. We wanted to thank him for having our backs, for believing in us even when there wasn’t much in the beginning to believe in. So for Day 355, we thanked him with a gift that will help his work as a writer go a little smoother – a brand new laptop. “Wow!” said Gracien as we … [Read more...] about Write Away

We all know that person who has a great idea for a novel that never quite gets written, or dreams of making it big in music but sticks to karaoke instead. “Don’t quit your day job,” goes the age old adage. But quitting her day job was exactly what Delphie did. Delphie used to be a journalist for a local radio station in Bukavu, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. But, she had dreams of being a landscape architect – and starting her very own business. She tested out her skills with us, volunteering her time, energy, and talents toward designing the landscapes outside our Asili clinics. And, everyone who comes to the clinics remarks at how just very beautiful the landscapes are. People even take wedding and family photos there. A couple months ago, Delphie quit her job, deciding to pursue her idea for a business full time. So for Day 354, we decided to thank her for everything she’s done to make Asili clinics the incredible places they are – by giving her some seed funding to … [Read more...] about Seed Funding

After a long and stressful day at work, sometimes the nicest thing is to unwind – to read a book on a comfy chair, to sleep well on a comfortable bed, to feel at home in your home. But for many of our nurses at Asili clinics, this just isn’t really possible. All our nurses live in the communities where Asili clinics are located – even if they’re not originally from those places. They spend their weeks away from family and friends, only going home on the weekends. We have four clinics in four different locations, and our nurses rotate through them all. So for day 310, we’re turning one staff house into a home. We sat with Rachel, Valerie, and Pierre - all nurses – to talk about they needed. “Our living room is not very comfortable,” said Rachel. “We need someplace to sit at the end of the day.” “Somewhere to put plates would be good,” added Pierre. “Right now they have to stay on the floor.” We took notes - then we figured out a game plan. It was easy – they just … [Read more...] about Home Is Where the Heart Is

“Asili is a family.” These are the words of Abraham Leno, Asili’s Director. And he’s worked hard to stay true to their meaning. “We support each other. We check in on each other. And we want everyone who comes in contact with Asili to feel that love and support, too, even our staff’s kids.” So for Day 309, we’re doing a little something to make sure that those kids feel welcome, every time they step through the Asili office door. Abraham had the idea to create a play space for any children who visit the Asili office. “Sometimes it’s hard to get child care, and people have to bring their children to the office every once in a while. We want to both let the team know that this is ok, and make sure the kids have fun, too,” he said. So we got down to business, figuring out the things we’d need to make kids feel at home. We had a small table and chairs made from a local carpenter in town, got some toys, games, drawing materials, and a calculator – because it’s never too … [Read more...] about Just for Kids

Every day, Asili customers purchase thousands of liters of water at dozens of Asili water points throughout Eastern Congo. We’re a business. But there are so many people – mainly women – who travel past our water kiosks every day carrying heavy loads on their backs for great distances. And our kiosk mamas couldn’t see these women in the hot sun and not offer them a cool glass of water. But the question is – how do we show this kindness without putting the safety of our water at risk? With a limited supply of cups to go around, and a less than ideal way to clean them, the water mamas were struggling to keep up. The simple solution? A water fountain. The team decided to test out a water fountain design in Mudaka, Asili’s third location and the site of a busy market. There are over a thousand people who come to Mudaka on market days, and offering a drink of water is a show of goodwill to the community that’s welcomed Asili there. “With our cup solution, we were running … [Read more...] about A Little Goes a Long Way

Sometimes, life can be unpredictable. We don’t always know when tragedy might strike, and we’re hardly ever prepared for it. But for our Asili team in Congo, sometimes life can be particularly tough. “People here deal with sadness a lot,” said Abraham, Asili’s Director. “Maternal mortality rates are really high. It’s expensive to get surgery and extended stay healthcare. And for a lot of people who are already struggling financially, or just getting on their feet, one misfortune can throw them off completely.” For Day 307, we had an idea. Why not establish an emergency fund for the Asili team, that they can rely on in times of greatest need? We’re helping to kick start the emergency fund, but it will grow in time, with each person contributing as they’re able. “We accept people for who they are here,” says Abraham. “We’re a business, but we’re also good neighbors and friends.” Now, if a team member is dealing with a personal loss, we’ll have an extra cushion for … [Read more...] about In Case of Emergency

Without our drivers, we’d be lost. Literally. With Asili in Congo, and everywhere we work around the world, our drivers get us where we need to be. And they get us there safely, even when the road gets tough. But drivers are also too often out of the spotlight. They don’t get the recognition they deserve for spending time away from their families when they need to work weekends. Or for getting us home safely during a downpour, when the roads get slick with mud. Or allowing us to build more Asili clinics and water points, helping us go further and farther than ever before. So for Day 306, we’re showing our Asili drivers a little appreciation. We picked up some things that will make their lives a little easier – like a phone car charger, air fresheners, new tools, gloves, cleaning supplies – they take great pride in their cars! – and a backpack to put it all in. “It’s important to show them that we’re thinking about them,” said Abraham, Asili’s Director. “Without them, … [Read more...] about Taking the Wheel

At Asili, clean water is what we’re all about. And our water sales have been so popular in the rural areas of Eastern Congo, that recently we’ve decided to extend our business into the big city of Bukavu as well. Dozens of businesses, restaurants, and shops now buy our water. Patmos is one of them. Owned by a young woman named Joelle and her friend, it’s a brand new restaurant that offers everything from sandwiches, pizza, barbeque, and more. And now, they serve up cold glasses of Asili water, too. But Patmos was missing a few things – the walls needed painting, there were no table accessories (like napkin and straw holders), and worst of all, they didn’t have a sign. So for Day 305, in the spirit of friendship, mutual support, and recognition for the work that they’ve done to get their business off the ground, we’re giving the ladies of Patmos a little boost of encouragement. We spent some time in Patmos, chatting with Joelle over delicious chicken wraps. “We want to … [Read more...] about Good for Business