Projet Fiondo was founded in 2025 by Jean Luc and Rebekah Kalambayi to honour the life and legacy of their mother, Marie-Jeanne Mbuyi Tshuinza Kalambayi—a woman who dedicated herself to family, her local community, her passion for education, and her faithful Saviour, Jesus Christ.
The work of Projet Fiondo currently centres around the Kalambayis’ ancestral village in Mande. This rural community is located about 100km southeast of DR Congo’s second-most densely populated city, Mbuji-Mayi.
In Mande, livelihoods are overwhelmingly dependent on subsistence agriculture. Despite fertile land and strong community knowledge, farmers face structural constraints: lack of storage and processing infrastructure, price volatility, and minimal access to formal markets.
These challenges result in low incomes, food insecurity, and seasonal poverty cycles that negatively impact education, nutrition, and long-term resilience.
Our mission
Projet Fiondo was founded on our conviction that lasting social change can be achieved through local empowerment, access to education, and inclusive economic opportunity.
Our goal is to improve the quality of life in Mande and other rural communities throughout Lomami Province, including:
- Helping communities to identify and mobilize their existing assets, skills, and connections for long-term resilience
- Supporting access to primary and secondary education for vulnerable children and youth
- Empowering women through leadership and economic independence
- Strengthening household food security and nutrition by improving agricultural knowledge, practice, and supply chains for local smallholding farmers
- Creating opportunities for employment and vocational training
Legal status
Projet Fiondo is a non-profit, non-political, and non-denominational organization established in accordance with the laws and regulations of the Democratic Republic of Congo governing non-profit associations and foundations.
Projet Fiondo shall possess legal personality upon registration with the competent authorities.