Back in 2019, we partnered with Rebuild Women’s Hope (RWH) coffee cooperative. By 2020 that partnership had helped build the first-ever maternity and paediatric clinic on the south of Idjwi Island in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Reflecting our own commitment to using coffee as a force for positive change, four years later, we launched our Life-Saving Coffee collection, dedicating 100% of the profits to build and equip an operating theatre and intensive care unit for the hospital.
Coffee is the vehicle for change, but part of the true driving force behind this project and long-lasting partnership are two remarkable sisters, Marceline and Fyfy. On Idjwi Island they are restoring hope for women and their families.
This International Women's Day, we celebrate their resilience and courage in creating real opportunities for women not just within the coffee industry, but across their communities. Opportunities that will span generations.
Meet Marceline: Founder of Rebuild Women’s Hope
Marceline Budza is the youngest of four daughters, brought up by their single mother in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Inspired by her mother’s fortitude and resilience selling pineapples and coffee to fund her and her sister's schooling, and witnessing the drastic gender inequality in DRC, Marceline had a huge drive to empower DRC women from a young age. She understood early on that economic independence and financial agency would be key to changing that.
Rebuilding Women’s Hope
In 2013 she set up RWH Coffee Cooperative, based on Idjwi Island in Eastern DRC, to give women autonomy through financial independence in coffee production. Rural women are some of the most marginalised in DRC. Traditionally, women worked the farms but men took the payment and decided how the income was spent - often with little benefit to the family, and therefore community. RWH supports their 3000+ members (70% female) with better farming practices as well as education on gender equality and the benefit to the wider community that empowered females bring, finance management and new skills for income generation such as sewing, crafts and saponification.
Community impact through coffee growing
RWH also works on projects and programmes to help the entire local community on Idjwi Island. In 2020, Mozzo Coffee funded the build of the first-ever maternity and paediatric clinic on South Idjwi to answer the critical need identified by the cooperative. Called Matumaini Hospital, meaning “hope” in Swahili, before the clinic existed less than 50% of pregnancies resulted in a healthy birth.
Now, thanks to the work of the small but mighty medical team at the Hospital of Hope, babies are born into safety, patients of all ages are treated for infections, disease and injury, and the vaccination and sexual health outreach programme from the clinic is growing.
Meet Fyfy: Lead Doctor at the Hospital of Hope
This remarkable team of physicians, clinicians and support staff is headed up by Lead Doctor, Fyfy Budza, the older sister of Marceline. A physician for 11 years, Fyfy trained at the Evangelical University in Africa (UEA), qualifying in 2014. She dreamed of becoming a doctor from the age of five, shaped in part by her own health challenges as a child. That early experience sparked a lifelong dedication to caring for others and giving back to her community.
A devoted wife and mother of two small children who live on the mainland, Fyfy spends 2.5 weeks of every month resident on the island, staying away from her family in a small, rudimentary outbuilding adjacent to the clinic, so she can be close at hand to tend to patients’ needs and support her team.
Building Hope and Saving Lives
It is no exaggeration that the vision, courage and dedication of the two sisters, has meant thousands of lives have been saved on the island of Idjwi since 2020. Their tenacity to empower the marginalised and improve life for rural communities, sees them now deep in the next phase of their mission - the extension of the hospital. And we are proud to partner with them to ensure it becomes a reality as soon as possible.
Since 2024 we’ve been raising funds through our Life-Saving Coffee campaign and C2C Fund™ to build an intensive care unit and operating theatre. The build is well underway and we have almost reached our $80k target. Facing the final hurdle, we’re calling on you, customers and coffee lovers, to continue doing something you already love – enjoying our coffee. 100% of the profits from the Life-Saving Coffee collection will go directly to finalising the project, ensuring more lives will be saved.
Thank you.