OUR STORY
Godi Godar Moteke Molanga of the Bantu Ntomba community grew up in the village of Ikoko Bonginda, at the edge of Lake Tumba in the DRC. Grandson of the chief, he was next in line to lead, but a vivid boyhood vision foretold him leaving his home, traveling to an unknown land, and one day returning to support and protect his people.
When Godar was sixteen, Habitat for Humanity volunteer, Dean DeBoer, showed up in his village. Godi's grandfather insisted they live together and learn each others languages and cultures. At the end of his three year stay, Dean invited Godar to travel to the US with him. Thus began the first phase of Godar's childhood dream coming to fruition. He has lived in Durham, NC since his arrival in 1988.
23 years later Godar’s mother, Nsaba Koko, pled with her son to find a way to protect the land, waters, and forests surrounding his village. Logging companies were destroying the livelihood of his people, endangering wildlife, and polluting the air. Koko asked him, “How can we protect our homelands?” With that question, Godar's purpose in leaving his tribe became clear.
In response to his mother’s pleas, Godar started Go Conscious Earth (GCEarth) in 2012. With strong ties to the local community and provincial government, he helped secure a temporary agreement to protect a one million acre tract of land surrounding his and neighboring villages. As of 2018, much of that land has now been converted to Community Forest Concessions, which provides the local people with legal rights to their land in perpetuity. From the beginning, it was clear that addressing the basic needs of the local people was an integral part of long-term forest conservation. Sustainable development initiatives such as clean water, non-timber forest product cultivation, and clean energy have always been at the heart of GCEarth’s approach.
For many years, Godar and volunteers have worked tirelessly to protect land rights, wildlife, clean water, and carbon rich rainforests. Their success has not only protected the health of people, animals, and ecosystems, but also proven the success of community-based anti-poverty initiatives to the DRC government.
In 2012, Godar’s mother passed away. Her final words to Godar were, “God will bless you in this project.”
Godar’s Village, Ikoko Boginda, on Lake Tumba, Equateur Province, Democratic Republic of Congo
