In 2018 the Van Dam Foundation supported the following projects.

1. Grant attributed to the mutual project Simavi en Rotary WASH-program (Wash & Learn) in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania

The WASH & learn program reduces the number of people affected by diseases caused by polluted water by improving access to clean drinking water and sanitation and by increasing knowledge about daily hygiene (such as handwashing). This approach is part of the WASH & Learn program, in which, in addition to water and sanitation, learning is also central. In addition, cooperation between partners and the local population is an important pillar of the program.

2. Grant for participation course Making Agriculture Work for Food and Nutrition Security (Wageningen, Summer 2018) 

To participate in the course Making Agriculture Work for Food and Nutrition Security at the Wageningen Centre for Development Innovation – Wageningen University & Research in the summer of 2018 a Van Dam foundation grant was awarded to Mr. Polepole Bienvenue from Kinshasa (Congo). Mr Bienvenue is working for a youth organisation called “Youth Forward Congo”, an organization that supports young people (interested in Agribusiness), ecopreneurs,

volunteers and entrepreneurs through expertise, technical training, networking, research for financing and the market, etc.

Mr Bienvenue reflected upon this training as follows: “I Iearned more through this course and it let me understand how in our country the Agri food sector need to be transform urgently in order to sustainable feed the Congolese people by 2030. The challenge of transforming an entire sector calls for more than simply improving skills and performance of a single value chain. Increasing the performance of sectors requires an integrated approach, technical and process expertise, a range of different tools and methodologies, and taking interest of multiple stakeholders into account. Youth has an important role to play in food systems and sustainable development of different countries. Youth need to be mentored, get involved in nutrition education, hearing the success stories from other peers and share their experience. Youth need to enhance cooperation and build a sustainable food secure economy. That why in our organization in consortium with Youth Parliament of South Kivu  we are working on Engaging Youth in food systems in North and South Kivu”.