Examples of African community welfare, community work and community development initiatives
| Country | Flag | Community programme | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burundi | 🇧🇮 | Gacaca courts | A community-based justice system focused on reconciliation and restorative justice after conflict. |
| Cameroon | 🇨🇲 | Chilembe | A communal savings and loan association where members regularly contribute to a fund addressing various community needs, based on trust and reciprocity. |
| Ethiopia | 🇪🇹 | Iddir | An indigenous mutual aid association providing social support, especially during bereavement. Members contribute funds to help families with funeral expenses and emergencies. |
| Ghana | 🇬🇭 | Susu | A form of informal banking where individuals contribute money into a common pool and take turns withdrawing. Facilitates saving and lending, especially for those outside formal banking systems. |
| Kenya and Tanzania | 🇰🇪 🇹🇿 | Harambee | A communal fundraising practice used to mobilise resources for projects like schools or clinics. Reflects shared responsibility and collective action. |
| Malawi | 🇲🇼 | Mbumba | A communal labour system where community members help one another with farming or building projects, fostering cooperation and mutual support. |
| Mozambique | 🇲🇿 | Xitique | A rotating savings and credit group allowing members to save collectively and access funds for investments or emergencies. |
| Namibia | 🇳🇦 | Omakunde | A traditional community labour exchange where members assist each other with agricultural tasks and construction, strengthening social bonds. |
| Nigeria | 🇳🇬 | Esusu (Yoruba) | Similar to susu, involves pooling funds for communal or individual use, often for business ventures or urgent needs. Yoruba also practise aaró, where community members work together on farming, building or shared tasks. |
| Rwanda | 🇷🇼 | Umuganda | A national monthly community work day where citizens gather to perform communal tasks such as cleaning, building infrastructure, or planting trees. Promotes collective responsibility. |
| Senegal | 🇸🇳 | Tontine | A cooperative savings and loan system practised widely in West Africa that encourages solidarity and financial mutual support. |
| South Africa | 🇿🇦 | Stokvel | A rotating savings and credit association in which members contribute fixed amounts to a shared fund. Disbursements support major purchases or community projects. |
| Uganda | 🇺🇬 | Bulungi bwansi | Meaning “community work”, involves voluntary communal labour for public benefit, similar in spirit to Zimbabwe’s Zunde raMambo. |
| Zimbabwe | 🇿🇼 | Zunde raMambo | Meaning “Chief’s Granary” in Shona, an indigenous communal farming and social welfare system designed to ensure food security and support the most vulnerable members of the community. |
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