In March 2018, the U.S. Department of State highlighted the Lake Kivu Coffee Alliance, a partnership connecting specialty coffee development with assistance for survivors of landmines and unexploded ordnance in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The article explains how conflict and explosive hazards have affected coffee-growing communities, particularly women working on farms or transporting their crops to market.

The coverage recognizes Higher Grounds Coffee and its sister nonprofit, On the Ground, alongside the Polus Center and Eastern Congo Initiative, for their collaboration on the alliance. Through prosthetic limbs, counseling, and rehabilitation support, the initiative helps survivors regain mobility and pursue new opportunities. The story features Masika Julienne, who lost a leg while traveling to her coffee farm and became the first person to receive a prosthetic limb through the project. Her experience illustrates how recovery, economic opportunity, and the revival of Congo’s coffee industry can work together to strengthen communities affected by conflict.