A peaceful place, Amadi, and its people are being threatened by the deadliest war since WW2. Read and discuss with us what one person is doing to help.
Now is your chance to come meet Georges in person and hear his stories firsthand. He'll be in Munich this Monday, August 31 to speak casually about the program he and his parish have started in Amadi, Congo (depicted in above painting by a local artist) as well as the situation in general. He hasn't been in Munich for 5 years...lets see if he still remembers any of that German he learned before he began studying Greek, Latin, and English:) Note, he will be talking about the situation in Congo and what he's doing to help in English. Details below:
WHERE:Nero Pizza & Lounge - located at Rumfordstrasse 34 (about a 5-minute walk from Isartor S-Bahn- unfortunately Tram 18 is not running at this time)
TIME:18:30
What you get for 10 euros:Antipasti and Pizza Pane - with 5 euros going to George’s program supporting Congolese youth in Amadi, Congo. Spread the word, and feel free to bring a friend! Georges will speak about the following:
The work he and his parish are doing in Amadi, Congo
Education in Amadi and DR Congo – including the youth currently being supported (as well as what they do themselves to generate funds)
The current situation + causes of the conflict
Personal stories, if interested, as well as any questions you may have!
SOME FACTS ABOUT THE CONFLICT IN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC CONGO:
It is the bloodiest war since WW2, having killed about 5 million people, according to UNO.
"The United Nations calls eastern Congo the rape capital of the world because hundreds of thousands of women have been sexually assaulted by the various militias haunting the hills." (Increasingly, men are also being
raped)
Rebel movements, foreign fighters, and local militias – including some of those responsible for the 1994 genocide in Rwanda – fight to control Congo’s vast natural resources and prey upon civilians.
Since the war’s official end in 2003, more than 2 million people have died
NE Congo is the part of the country most affected, this is where Amadi is located.
Hillary Clinton, U.S. Secretary of State, stopped in Kinshasa, Congo Monday as part of her African tour to "push the Congolese government and the United Nations to end the longstanding bloodshed here, taking special aim at the illicit mineral trade that helps fuel the conflict."
Many people, including myself, don't fully understand the roots of this long-standing, deadly war. But its pretty clear that one of the main causes is the Congo's vast amount of natural resources, which have created an enormous amount of wealth, for some... emphasis on "some." Along with this, of course, comes a vast amount of corruption.
- "Illegal mining was one of the root causes of Congo’s violence"
- "The fighting and its fallout — mass displacement, hunger and disease — have claimed millions of lives in the past decade."
- "The United Nations calls eastern Congo the rape capital of the world because hundreds of thousands of women have been sexually assaulted by the various militias haunting the hills." (Increasingly, men are also being raped)
- "Women are being turned into weapons of war" (this isn't new... The United Nations estimates that about 3500 women have been raped since the beginning of the year and200,000 women and girls have been raped in Congo over the last 12 years)
- "Nearly two out of every three rapes were carried out against children, most of them adolescent girls" (Source: Human Rights Watch) On a sidenote, I like that former NBA basketball star, Dikembe Mutombo, has given much back to his homeland, having built a hospital and research center with his own money in his hometown, and capitol, Kinshasa.
Hopefully you'll read the article. I'm glad the U.S. considers it an important enough place for our Secretary of State to pay a visit (I try not to question motives). And hopefully something good will come of it and people will start to pay a bit more attention to what is happening here.
If you prefer videos, here's a video summary of her visit:
This is a continuation of my previous post about some of the kids trying to turn their lives around. To read this previous post click here.
Below are 3 more individuals currently being sponsored. Keep in mind, all of these kids are covered financially through the end of this school year, however, there is not enough funding for all of them to continue and complete next year, which begins in October. Georges was hoping to increase the number of Congolese youth they give scholarship money to (as a result of their own fundraising efforts selling rice- more on this later), but they were not able to generate enough due to the insecurity caused by the threat of the Ugandan rebels in the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) (This link on LRA will take you to a 20-minute video, "Inside the LRA", even if you watch just the first 3 minutes it will give you a clear picture of what the victims of this brutal war are dealing with). Now the program can only hope to give priority to those who have already started it, including these 3 students:
Massambra is 19 years old. He knows nothing about his parents. He has never seen his father and his mother died when he was 8 years old. He is studying stonework / masonry.
Chantal Sara, 22 years old. She got pregnant in her last year of high school. Abandoned by the father of her baby, who was a married man, she suffered greatly. After giving birth, we helped her restart the year and she finished high school in 2007. Since last year she has been studying commercial sciences in the superior school at Isiro.
Charly Nangumbie, 24 years old. After finishing high school with excellent notes, she spent 3 years not knowing what she can or should do with her life. She got pregnant during this period. At last we gave her a second chance and sent her to study laboratory in superior school.
