AIS is a development NGO with a human-centered approach that has been supporting vulnerable people in Equatorial Africa since 1983.

Past programs include HIV/AIDS support in Cameroon, food security initiatives in Mali, and assistance for people with disabilities in Burkina Faso.

For over 18 years in the Republic of the Congo (Congo-Brazzaville), AIS has focused on combating the sexual exploitation of street-connected children, transforming the lives of nearly 3,500 girls aged 13–18 in Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire.

In 2023, the project expanded to Nkayi and Dolisie in Congo and to Libreville, Gabon, reaching even more girls in need.

A New Crisis
The 2017 and 2020 global oil crises triggered a sharp economic downturn in the oil-rich Republic of the Congo, a situation worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has hit women and children hardest.

By 2024, difficult economic conditions are marked by frequent electricity and fuel shortages, alongside significant increases in health, food, and transportation costs. Rising insecurity has made the work of our teams more challenging and increasingly dangerous.

In response, AIS developed a program for at-risk girls aged 8 to 12 providing protection, care, and opportunities for a safer future. The program specifically focuses on emergency housing, nutrition, family support and reintegration, psychosocial follow-up, and reschooling.

Values & Principles

The Association motto is “Become Useless”. This motto, encompasses several principles :

  • Support locally adapted programs: Every project is based on careful social and cultural analysis to ensure relevance and effectiveness.
  • Be a human-centered NGO: We stay close to vulnerable people, putting their needs and dignity at the heart of our work.
  • Engage local partners and authorities: Strong collaboration ensures that our initiatives create lasting impact on society as a whole.

AIS’s Ultimate Goal

AIS’s ultimate goal is to equip underprivileged yet motivated African women and men with the tools they need to achieve their goals and improve their prospects where they live.

We aim to empower local communities to take charge of their own development, focusing on meeting fundamental human needs:

  • Living, not just surviving
  • Health, defined as a state of physical and social well-being
  • Education and professional development as essential components of personal growth

Context

Abandonment and family instability : over the past twenty years, the number of children in distress has grown significantly across Africa, a situation worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the face of these challenges, vulnerable young girls and adolescents in the Republic of the Congo and Gabon are often forced into situations of sexual exploitation, suffering violence and abuse, and facing long-term risks such as HIV/AIDS and early pregnancy.

AIS is one of the few organizations in Central Africa providing dedicated support to these girls, offering protection, care, and pathways to a safer and more hopeful future.

Values & Principles

The Association motto is “Become Useless”. This motto, which resumes AIS spirit, encompasses several principles :

  • to support programs adapted to local context which requires prior social and cultural analyses
  • to be an NGO with a human dimension, close to vulnerable people.
  • to seek strong involvement from local partners and officials since the ultimate goal is to impact the country society.

AIS ultimate goal

is to give underprivileged but motivated African women and men the tools to achieve their goals to improve their prospects in life, where they live.
AIS aims to support local populations in taking charge of their own development, and focuses its action on providing answers to a human being’s basic needs :

  • Living as opposed to surviving
  • Health defined as a state of physical and social well-being
  • Education and professional development as an essential component

AIS actions focus on the most underprivileged people of Africa

AIS sets up projects in fields where few such initiatives exist

Background

Abandonment and family breakdowns: the phenomenon of children in distress has grown considerably over the last twenty years in Africa, and is now even worst after the COVID pandemic.

In view of the vicissitudes of life in African societies, the vulnerable young and adolescent girls of the Congo and the Gabon must resign themselves to begging or be sexually exploited. It is a potential life sentence that AIDS, violence and early pregancy represent.

AIS is one of the few structures in West Africa that offer support to these young girls.