October 2025, a month devoted to learning
While most of the Republic of Congo turned its attention to the annual back-to-school season, the SNPC Foundation orchestrated an educational deployment of rare intensity. The philanthropic arm of the national oil company chose the month of October to launch the first phase of its 2025 programme, pledging to place equal opportunity at the centre of its agenda. Over a six-day period, its teams fanned out across the Kouilou department, one of the country’s most culturally diverse yet geographically dispersed regions, to deliver comprehensive school-supply kits to nine thousand pupils.
A logistical marathon across Kouilou
From Mboubissi Tangoufouana to Hinda, via Tchibanda, Nkoungou and more than two dozen other localities, the foundation’s convoy traced a demanding itinerary that covered hundreds of kilometres of laterite roads and forest tracks. Each day had its own constellation of villages and schools. On the opening leg the delegation stopped at Mboubissi Tangoufouana, La Loeme and Siala. The second day was devoted to Tchibanda, Tchitondi, Yanga, Mboukou, Tchingoli, Mongo Tandou and Tchikoulou. The third brought the teams to Tchissoko, Ndebouano, Tchivoula and Hinda-Poste. A fourth swing returned to Mongo Tandou, Tchingoli and Tchikoulou, before the fifth reached Nkoungou, Ntandou-Milomba, Nkondi-Mbaka and Mpondila. The closing stage linked Mengo A, Makola, Mengo B and once more Makola before a final halt at Hinda.
Throughout the journey the same ritual unfolded. In school courtyards lined with chalked slogans and under tarpaulins stretching for shade, local officials, head teachers and parent committees greeted the foundation’s representatives with songs and speeches. Batches of notebooks, pens, geometry sets and branded backpacks were handed over class by class, each child signing or thumb-printing a ledger to mark receipt.
Immediate impact on households and classrooms
Teachers interviewed on site stressed that the contribution arrives at a critical juncture. “Many parents in Kouilou depend on seasonal agriculture or artisanal activities; a full kit can represent a fortnight of income,” noted Mabanza Tchicaya, principal of the primary school in Tchivoula. Parents echoed the sentiment, describing the distribution as a relief that allows them to redirect scarce resources towards nutrition and transport. In pedagogical terms, staff observe fewer first-week dropouts and a sharper uniformity in classroom materials, making lesson planning easier and reducing stigma for learners previously unable to afford basic items.
Although quantitative data will be compiled later in the academic year, early qualitative feedback suggests that attendance during the fortnight following the distribution rose measurably in several establishments. According to a preliminary tally by the district inspectorate, Hinda Poste registered a ninety-five per cent attendance rate, up from eighty-four per cent at the same point in 2024.
Education as a strategic pillar of SNPC social action
The Kouilou tour is part of a broader framework adopted by the foundation in 2019, which identifies education, health and community infrastructure as its three priority axes. Within that matrix, equal opportunity is articulated around three instruments: provision of kits, refurbishment of classrooms and sponsorship of merit-based scholarships. The October mission therefore resonates with a cumulative logic rather than a one-off gesture.
SNPC Foundation executive director Cécile Malonga underlined this continuity during the hand-over ceremony in Hinda, stating that “the prosperity generated by our national resources must translate into tangible opportunities for the next generation.” Her remarks align with the government’s National Development Plan, which emphasises public-private synergies in the social sector. By assuming a share of the burden historically borne by local authorities, the foundation reinforces the national objective of universal primary education while complementing state budgets.
Looking ahead: sustained commitments for 2025
Beyond the distribution of kits, the foundation’s 2025 roadmap includes the renovation of five school buildings in semi-urban centres and the roll-out of digital literacy modules in partnership with a local start-up. Preparatory studies are currently underway, with work scheduled to start after the rainy season. In addition, an impact-assessment mechanism, designed with the Faculty of Education at Marien-Ngouabi University, will track attendance, grade progression and dropout rates among the beneficiary cohort.
By maintaining a regular presence in Kouilou and other departments, the SNPC Foundation consolidates its reputation as a socially responsive actor while illustrating the potential of corporate citizenship in Congo-Brazzaville. The October blitz may thus be regarded less as an isolated burst of generosity than as a building block in a sustained engagement with the country’s educational future.