Thirteen-year-old Beni Cial Yumba Musoya used to spend her days scavenging for cobalt under the scorching sun in the artisanal mines of Kolwezi. Today, she dreams of donning a white coat and saving lives. "I want to be a doctor," she says, smiling shyly from her wooden desk at Kasanda Primary School in Kasulo, a neighbourhood nestled in Congo’s mining heartland of south-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. "I will build schools and health centres to help people, just as I was helped before," she continues.

Beni is one of thousands of Congolese children whose lives have been transformed by the Support Project for Alternative Welfare of Children and Young People Involved in the Cobalt Supply Chain (PABEA-COBALT) (https://apo-opa.co/4l0Hwfv), a bold $82 million initiative funded by the African Development Bank.

The project aims to eliminate child labour in the cobalt sector – an industry vital to the global tech economy, yet plagued by poverty, informally and exploitation.

The atmosphere here has changed dramatically. Just a few years ago, the soundscape of Kasulo was dominated by the roar of rudimentary mining machinery and the shuffle of children burdened by sacks of ore. Today, those echoes have been replaced by the buzz of classrooms, the chatter of pupils at recess, and the laughter of children rediscovering play and learning.

In early 2022, PABEA-COBALT identified more than 16,800 Congolese children working in artisanal cobalt mines in the provinces of Haut-Katanga and Lualaba. Since then, 13,587 of them - including Beni – have been enrolled in schools. Many attend newly constructed or rehabilitated facilities like Kasanda Primary School, where education, healthcare, psychological support and civil registry services are provided at no cost.

“Before, I used to collect minerals in artisanal mines. That was all I knew,” recalls Beni, her expression briefly clouded by painful memories.

A few steps away, Marie Samba tends to her hens and quails, her hand dusted with feed rather than cobalt residue. A former mine worker, Marie once spent her days sorting and washing cobalt to survive. Today, she’s a trained poultry farmer. "I used to collect and wash minerals to sell them," she sighs.

Marie is one of over 10,500 parents and guardians supported by the project – well above the initial target of 6,250. They have received training in agriculture and livestock farming, as well as materials to start-up kits to launch small businesses. Additionally, 8,200 young people formerly working in the mines are being supported to integrate into school, vocational training, or income-generating activities.

"We have been educated and trained in livestock farming and agriculture. We have also been given supplies to start our activities. I didn't think I could change my life like this," says Marie Samba, who is delighted with the excellent results she is achieving with her poultry farm

PABEA-COBALT has also helped establish two entrepreneurship centres in Haut-Katanga and Lualaba, equipped with modern equipment for agriculture, livestock farming and food processing. These centres serve as anchors for change, empowering young people and parents to build livelihoods away from the mines.

“One of the project’s greatest successes is that it has anchored change from within the communities,” says project coordinator Alice Mirimo Kabetsi. “Solutions don't just come from outside: they are now driven by parents, teachers and young people themselves. This model proves that by focusing on education and local entrepreneurship, we can break the cycle of child labour in the mines for good," she said.

Across the region, this shift is tangible. Nearly 1,000 agricultural cooperatives have been reorganized, strengthening local agricultural and livestock value chains and offering new economic opportunities. The transformation has drawn international attention. A recent report from the DRC’s National Human Rights Commission titled Child labour in artisanal cobalt mining sites (https://apo-opa.co/4lU5lGn), produced in collaboration with the UN Human Rights Council, commended the project’s “tangible results” and urged replication in other mining-affected region across the Great Lakes.

Back in Kasulo, children like Beni are rediscovering their childhood dreams and the power of innocence. Mothers like Marie are holding their heads high, proud to be building a future free from the cobalt mines.

For partners such as the African Development Bank, this project has not only changed lives. It has paved the way for a whole generation growing up far from the mines and building, day after day, a stronger, fairer and resolutely forward-looking society.