Our story
Since 2011, one belief has guided PPSDR: no community should be invisible.
5 October 2011: founded
In Goma, public health professional MUHINDO MUTHETHE Hénoc founded PPSDR to support Indigenous Pygmy peoples and vulnerable farmers in rural areas and improve their social, economic and health well-being.
First citizenship, then education
After advocating for citizenship for Pygmy communities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, PPSDR identified a powerful next step: education. Educating one young person can help unlock a future for an entire community.
Ashoka Fellow: international recognition
In 2024, Ashoka conducted an impact assessment field visit to PPSDR and selected Hénoc Muhindo as an Ashoka Fellow in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, recognising his approach to the socio-economic inclusion of Indigenous Pygmy peoples.
At the gathering of changemakers
From 10 to 12 September 2025, PPSDR’s founder took part in the inaugural Ashoka Fellows Summit in Nairobi, under the theme: everyone is a changemaker.
2026: standing with people affected
After deadly floods in Ruwenzori, an Ebola alert, an attack on a Pygmy site in Beni and an appeal for displaced people in Boikene, PPSDR stood with communities facing disasters and violence through alerts, calls for support and advocacy.