Our
Projects
The workforce of tomorrow needs education and opportunities to grow, and Angola’s landscape needs healing so nature can protect us all in the future. Wakaya takes a holistic approach to community development and conservation.
Rural communities are stuck in a cycle of subsistence living, facing many challenges on a daily basis but without the economic or educational ability to change their circumstances. We aim to create better lives and choices where people live. Education, income generating activities, skills training, healthcare, hygiene and nature based projects which create wellbeing for people and the planet.
Thousands of trees continue to be cut down for charcoal and farming, every year.
Angola’s landscape is set on fire, devastating biodiversity.
Wakaya will help create community tree nurseries and gardens that can bring income through the sales of trees and produce. But also through environmental education and agroforestry techniques, soil and crop health and greater yields will bring more sustainable farming and food stability.
Education starts with excitement and engagement, as well as access to books and films and educational materials.
Wakaya will visit our key communities weekly, to share our own publication Trees for Life and exchange books but also teach a range of lessons around health, hygiene, agriculture, the environment, arts and crafts and any other topics requested by our community partners.
The challenges of bad hygiene, related diseases from a lack of clean water & soap, distance from hospitals, clinics, no medicine or bandages to treat even basic medical issues, illness and death from malaria and other parasites can all be prevented through simple health and first aid education.
Wakaya will work onsite in communities to tackle the issues which will bring immediate life changing results, healthcare knowledge, awareness & behavior change campaigns.
AI and other technological innovations are changing how the world learns and does business. There is no reason why rural people, with the right training and simple infrastructure, cannot tap into the digital revolution and use computers for work & learning.
From our computer lab at Wakaya Camp, We will take the first steps towards digital education, teaching computer literacy, finding solutions to working towards a longer term view of business partnerships, remote employment and online business.
Starting a small business which can bring in much needed income is often hampered by the lack of capital. Coupled with a lack of business and skills training, good ideas simply have no means of getting off the ground.
Wakaya is partnering with local communities to create small businesses which both develop useful skills which can be used for future employment as well as helping to create small enterprises with the possibility to grow.
Wakaya’s projects fall into three main themes, and our impact will be judged by how well we are delivering and the happiness of our community partners.
We are in our Pilot Phase now, and each project has a built in Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) system where we will regularly review our progress and make changes where needed. As we begin we know lessons will be learned and continued conversations with our community partners will bring issues to light which will need to be addressed.
Not simply ABC and 123, our skills training across digital, preventative health and agriculture all come under the heading of education, and every little bit helps and leads to knowledge and potential behavior change.
Improved agriculture techniques will create shorter term impact, but in the long term we hope to address more pressing issues like the yearly lighting of fires, cutting down of trees for charcoal and land clearing, the stopping of poaching and bushmeat, and a greater appreciation of nature and the natural world.
This will be seen in many ways. Not just microenterprises bringing in money, but fewer trips to the hospital saving money on transport and medicine, larger yields on farming meaning excess crops can be sold, and new skills development bringing in potential income from new jobs.
- Limited access to teachers and schools or digital education
- Limited access to healthcare facilities and hygiene products
- Limited understanding of sustainable agricultural techniques and the benefits of trees and nature
- No start up capital for businesses
- Create a learning environment with a library, mobile library and digital center
- Train community champions on preventative healthcare and hygiene issues to go on and train their communities
- Train people in better farming techniques, creating nurseries for the sale of plants and community use
- Create microenterprises, investing small start up capital and building skills for long term businesses
The Sustainable Development Goals are political objectives from the United Nations developed to try to ensure sustainable development on an economic, social and ecological level worldwide.
They act as a guide to our development and conservation projects, reminding us to aim big and that our work is feeding into a national and global agenda.
Join Us in Transforming Lives
Join us in our mission to bring opportunities and transformation where they are needed most. Together, we can create a brighter future.
Wa’kaya Camp will be the hub for Wa’kaya’s community development work and a center for learning through hands-on activities and creative skills development.
Featuring classrooms, workshops, a library and digital centre, a kitchen and dining hall, as well as sports and social spaces, a year-round schedule of activities will focus on our education, environment, and economic empowerment vision.
We are so thankful to already have been given support from many generous donors & collaborators.
