Widal Foundation

The Widal Foundation (officially WIDAL FONDATION, French: Fondation Widal) is a Congolese public-utility foundation created in September 2018 by Congolese senator Guy Loando Mboyo and his wife Déborah Linda Loando. It is registered as a private foundation and operates as a philanthropic and social-development organisation rather than a commercial enterprise, with its work concentrated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The foundation's stated mission is to help reduce poverty among the inhabitants of Tshuapa province in particular, as well as Kinshasa and other provinces of the DRC. Its objectives include promoting an economic-development model based on food security; improving access to appropriate healthcare; providing guidance and vocational training to unemployed young people; protecting and defending the fundamental rights of children and women in fragile situations; granting subsidies to social works, especially those favouring training and financial autonomy; reducing poverty; and changing the mindset of Congolese youth by transmitting entrepreneurial values. Among its flagship activities, the Aquatap project aims to improve access to drinking water for rural communities in the DRC. For Tshuapa, the plan foresees the installation of 20 water points, each intended to serve 200,000 people, for a target population of 4 million inhabitants; an agreement was signed on 16 July 2019 in Kinshasa with Congolese basketball player Dikembe Mutombo. The foundation also launched the Pierre Mboyo Loando scholarship on 8 November 2019 in the Gombe commune of Kinshasa, named in homage to the founder's late father, rewarding six top students from Tshuapa province. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the foundation contributed to the response in the DRC: on 16 May 2020 Guy Loando Mboyo offered a batch of 50,000 protective masks and an ambulance, a donation from his foundation, to Équateur province. On 15 October 2020 the Widal Foundation launched the activities of the Université Widal du Congo (UWC), with two university campuses, in Mbandaka in Équateur province and in the Bokungu territory in Tshuapa province. The foundation maintains an official website at fondationwidal.org, which highlights its founders, its tribunes and news such as the construction of a modern conference hall at UPC, a Easter meal offered to widows of Mont-Amba by the Loando couple, a courtesy visit to Widal School in Mbandaka, and the launch of the 2024-2025 academic year at the Université Widal de Mbandaka. As a foundation rather than a commercial brand, it is best understood as a philanthropic vehicle associated with its founders' public and social engagement in the DRC.

The Widal Foundation (officially WIDAL FONDATION) was created in September 2018 as a Congolese public-utility foundation by Senator Guy Loando Mboyo, a lawyer and politician elected senator for Tshuapa province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since 2019, and his wife Déborah Linda Loando. It is registered as a private foundation. The foundation's mission is to contribute to reducing poverty among the inhabitants of Tshuapa province in particular, and of Kinshasa and other provinces of the DRC more broadly. Its objectives include promoting an economic-development model based on food security; guaranteeing improved access to appropriate healthcare; offering guidance and vocational training to unemployed young people; protecting and defending the fundamental rights of children and women in fragile situations; providing subsidies to social works, especially those favouring training and financial autonomy; reducing poverty; and changing the mindset of Congolese youth by transmitting entrepreneurial values. Among its early flagship initiatives, the Aquatap project was designed to facilitate better access to drinking water for rural communities in the DRC. For Tshuapa, the plan foresaw the installation of 20 water points, each intended to serve 200,000 people, for a target population of 4 million inhabitants. An agreement was signed on Tuesday 16 July 2019 in Kinshasa, in which Congolese basketball player Dikembe Mutombo answered Guy Loando Mboyo's call to combine their efforts to improve living conditions in the DRC. On Friday 8 November 2019, in the Gombe commune of Kinshasa, Senator Guy Loando Mboyo launched the "Pierre Mboyo Loando" scholarship, named in homage to his late father, to encourage the best students of Tshuapa province; six students were rewarded by this scholarship. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Widal Foundation participated in the response in the DRC. On 16 May 2020, Senator Guy Loando Mboyo offered a batch of 50,000 protective masks and an ambulance, a donation from his foundation, to Équateur province. On Thursday 15 October 2020, the Widal Foundation launched the activities of the Université Widal du Congo (UWC), with two university campuses: one in Mbandaka in Équateur province and one in the Bokungu territory in Tshuapa province. The foundation continues to publicise its activities through its official website, including tribunes and news items such as the construction of a modern conference hall at UPC, an Easter meal offered to widows of Mont-Amba by the Loando couple, a courtesy visit to Widal School in Mbandaka, and the launch of the 2024-2025 academic year at the Université Widal de Mbandaka.

• Foundation created in September 2018 by Guy Loando Mboyo and Déborah Linda Loando

• Agreement signed in Kinshasa on 16 July 2019 with Dikembe Mutombo for the Aquatap water-access project

• Launch of the Pierre Mboyo Loando scholarship on 8 November 2019 in Gombe, Kinshasa

• Donation of 50,000 masks and an ambulance to Équateur province on 16 May 2020 during COVID-19

• Launch of Université Widal du Congo activities on 15 October 2020 with campuses in Mbandaka and Bokungu

• Launch of the 2024-2025 academic year at Université Widal de Mbandaka

A Congolese public-utility philanthropic foundation focused on poverty reduction, health, education, water access and youth entrepreneurship in the DRC.

• Aquatap

  Project to improve access to drinking water for rural communities in the DRC; for Tshuapa, 20 water points each serving 200,000 people, targeting 4 million inhabitants.

• Pierre Mboyo Loando Scholarship

  Scholarship launched on 8 November 2019 to encourage the best students of Tshuapa province; six students rewarded.

• Université Widal du Congo (UWC)

  University launched on 15 October 2020 with two campuses: Mbandaka (Équateur) and Bokungu territory (Tshuapa).

• COVID-19 relief

  Donation of 50,000 protective masks and an ambulance to Équateur province on 16 May 2020.

1. 1Fondation Widal official websitefondationwidal.org
2. 2Widal Foundation on Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Fondation Widal on French Wikipediafr.wikipedia.org