Cape Town - Almost seven years since its launch, the Congolese Civil Society of South Africa (CCSSA) says it has not shifted from its set directives to improve the lives of Congolese immigrants who are battling to not only make a living in a foreign country but are still mourning a loss not recognised in history books.
Founded in 2015 by Isaiah Mombilo, the CCSSA is based in Cape Town, however over the years, the organisation has grown its roots, expanding to have influence internationally.
Mombilo said he was inspired to create the organisation to assist struggling Congolese families living in the city, but with time the initiative grew into an association that would raise awareness about the untold history of the Congolese people whose lives were changed by the historic Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings.
“When I founded the CCSSA, it was to create an organisation that would represent Congolese people living in the diaspora. I realised there was no one advocating for us and that many families were struggling, be it with food insecurity, unemployment or lack of access to information on how they can acquire proper documentation which then led to children filing into gangsterism and drugs.
“I wanted to change that, and we did. For the past few years, we have been working hard to support families in need the best way we could, however, lack of financial support does slow us down. Despite that, we have grown into this notable organisation.
“We help the youth continue to study, steering them away from dangerous lifestyles and uniting communities, hosting active campaigns and connecting refugees and asylum seekers,” Mombilo said.
Over the past two years, as the world battled against the Coronavirus pandemic, Mombilo’s CCSSA sourced essential donations for over 50 000 Congolese families in Cape Town.
The organisation also arranged for a protest demonstration in Brazil, calling for justice for a Congolese man who had been murdered in the country.
“Over the past years we have grown as an organisation, and we are happy about that. However, there are many more projects we would like to push.
“However, the lack of financial means often hampers that. I believe if we had more support we would be able to continue positively contributing to society.”
One of the organisation’s most impassioned projects is to bring to light the role Congo played in World War II (WW2) and the effects of that role on its citizens, some of whom are still living in the shadow of those events.
Upon the launch of the organisation, Mombilo also initiated a project, “The missing link of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and Shinkolobwe’”.
“The reason we decided to initiate the project was to inform the world about the missing link in the history of the first atomic bomb dropped in Japan, because of the secrecy of the uranium mine Shinkolobwe.”