The Blue Community network is proud and honoured to welcome a new partner in French-speaking Africa. The organisation MAPROFAM – Mouvement d’Appui pour la Promotion de la Famille (Movement for the Promotion of the Family) was designated a Blue Community on 28 February 2026.
MAPROFAM is a Congolese non-profit development NGO founded in 1998, with its headquarters in Mbanza-Ngungu in the province of Kongo Central.
More than 50 volunteers work there, developing projects together with a holistic approach rooted in local communities to ensure the relevance of the actions undertaken and their long-term viability.
‘As we are an integral part of the rural dynamic, we invest in people in relation to their immediate environment, starting with the earth, our nourishing mother and provider.’
In its commitment, MAPROFAM states: As a non-profit association fighting socio-economic injustices, one of our objectives is to enable disadvantaged and marginalised populations to have access to safe drinking water, running water and sanitation for food and health security. To better meet this vital need of the population, it is not only essential to have water and sanitation service infrastructure in place, but it is also necessary to acquire the knowledge needed to raise awareness and train populations and water users in good practices and uses of water services (environment, sanitation, recycling, agroecology, etc.). Otherwise, it becomes a danger to the population itself (waterborne diseases and others, erosion, landslides, etc.). As an association, we would like to be connected to public and private organisations and donors who can support us in this mission. Our contributions will be to share local experiences and realities with others.
Emmanuel Gombo, Secretary General and Project Manager, notes:
Together with local authorities, we are conducting awareness campaigns for sustainable access to drinking water and running water, sanitation and the fight against open defecation. Information sessions and advocacy campaigns will be conducted on a large scale to involve public authorities and international institutions in investing more in policies to combat inequalities in basic services (water and sanitation) for vulnerable populations.
We have set up a project to provide sustainable access to drinking water and sanitation called ‘VITAL’H²O’. We have built several springs and boreholes for drinking water.
As a Blue Community, MAPROFAM is committed to
- creating and promoting local Blue Communities.
- raising awareness among local communities and water users (schools, hospitals, prisons, universities, associations, public authorities, etc.) about the wise, equitable, sustainable and responsible use of this resource. Let water become a value to be defended and promoted by all! Let water be a resource accessible to all on an equal footing, let it be an instrument of socialisation and social inclusion.
- Fight against social inequalities in access to water, because in the region, it is women, girls and young children who are responsible for fetching drinking water, walking for miles on foot and exposing themselves to all kinds of risks, including sexual harassment. This has consequences for their health, education, family finances and community life. The lack of safe drinking water also has major consequences for the menstrual hygiene of women and girls in the region and for infant mortality.
«Water is like blood in the human body. When it is lacking, life stops. Let us make water a resource accessible to all on an equal footing, a tool for socialisation and social inclusion. Our mission is to make it accessible, affordable, sustainable, productive, inclusive and sociable. Because water and life are ONE. We are committed to better understanding and raising awareness of the issues related to water and sanitation and their services in our communities. To this end, we are committed to participating in community, national, regional and international debates in order to benefit from exchanges in international forums on water, sanitation, hygiene and food. We remain open to any partnership related to water and sustainable development»
Souleymane Guindo, coordinator of the Blue Community in French-speaking Africa, welcomes MAPROFAM to the global Blue Community:
«We share the same vision: we want a world where drinking water is accessible to all.
Welcome to MAPROFAM in the large family of the West African community.
Water is a common right! Long live the Blue Community!»
