BREAKING NEWS:

Women in Mugunga camp near Goma depend on outside help after they fled the fighting and lost most of their possessions. Women for Women International is looking into starting programs inside the camp for the most vulnerable.

Many displaced women are sole breadwinners in their families and now struggle to feed their children. They have fled the fighting but the camps are not safe either. In September, 68 women have reported that they were raped in Mugunga camp. Many women living there are seeking training opportunities and hope to sign up with Women for Women International.

Paralyzed by Fear –
Women Hope for the Violence to End

November 19, 2008, Goma — “I am afraid of the fighting reaching my area. Like all women, I am afraid of being raped,” says Jeanette Yamwerenye, one of the women, who has made it to the Women for Women training in Goma on this November morning. At the age of 28 she has spent half her life surrounded by conflict, poverty, hunger, disease, and uncertainty. Twice Jeanette had to pack her few belongings and run from her home. The last time she was heavily pregnant and gave birth while fleeing the fighting.

Like all women in our program Jeanette is paralyzed with fear of violence and concern over displaced family members. “My parents in law are very old and we don’t know where they are.” From the people who have fled the area north of Goma, where violent clashes have displaced more than 250,000 people, she hears that women and children are being killed.

The women in the classroom are poor and afraid. They don’t want to lose the small gains they have made toward a stable life over the last year. Completing the Women for Women International program is a way to a self-sustaining life that might enable them to support their families with the skills they have learnt.

Marie Jeanne Kabuo is 25 and looks after three children. Last year she was abducted while working on her fields by armed men. They tried to rape her but she managed to escape. Jeanne came to Goma and joined the Women for Women program.

"If the fighting reaches us, people will get killed, women and girls will be raped," she says. "I am praying because I know that there will be so many orphans, widows, and so many people, who had their property looted."

Read the Most Recent Update from Our Program in the DR Congo

 

Related News Sources:

Reuters Alert Net

Relief Web

There is an Epidemic of Rape in DR Congo that has Reached Epic Proportions.

Today in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), people are still struggling after one of the deadliest wars in all history. Millions died and new conflicts threaten peace every day.

Perhaps worse than the loss of life is the staggering numbers of human rights violations – torture, mutilation and sexual violence that has occurred against tens of thousands of women and children.

There are Thousands of Women in the DR Congo Who Desperately Need Your Help, Like Honorata.

A Journey from Rape Survivor to Advocate

Sponsor a Woman Now

Honorata Kizende’s past is marked by incredible hardship, horrific violence, social isolation, and near death destruction. And yet, it is also an account of survival, strength, and testimony to human strength.

Honorata had been a sex slave and kept in captivity by armed militias in eastern Congo for almost a year. She was repeatedly gang-raped in public. After she escaped, the stigma of rape made her family reject her. Alone and destitute she found refuge in a friend’s house and was raped again when armed men looted the property. This time her daughter had to watch.

Today Honorata Kizende runs a small tie-die business with a group of women who pooled their resources. And she has decided to break the silence. Honorata is advocating for an end to sexual violence and calls on members of her community to restore the rights of women who have gone through rape and stigmatization.

Read her story, a journey from victim of sexual slavery to active citizen and advocate. 

New York Times: Honorata Speaks Out Against Rape in the Congo

With Your Help Today Women for Women International Can Continue Its Success in the DR Congo

We are making enormous strides in DR Congo, but our work is far from done. The women are filled with hope that you will help them continue to rebuild their lives. You're not only changing the course of one woman's life – you're support and generosity improves entire villages and communities!

In the last two years, we have expanded our program to reach remote villages and have now served over 21,066 women and 113,756 family and community members since our start. Women for Women International program in DR Congo is working:

Christine Karumba's Letter to the Editor

October 20, 2008

It Takes Men To Stop Rape in Congo

In response to “Rape Victims’ Words Help Jolt Congo into Change” (New York Times article article, Oct. 18):

The fact that rape victims are breaking the silence around the horrific sexual violence endemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is crucial for building peace and stability in the country. But without involving Congolese men, it will be difficult to address this problem successfully. Women have started to speak out on their devastating experiences. Men, by in large, have remained mute while playing a strong part in stigmatizing and excluding rape survivors.

Bumper sticker in the DR Congo that reads:
"I say no to Rape, do you?"

Recently, more work has been done to engage men and encouraging them to change attitudes towards sexual violence and survivors of rape. Our Men’s Leadership Program, for example, appeals to the strong responsibility men have in the patriarchic Congolese society. Men are encouraged to understand women’s rights as a contribution to strong and successful family structures and recognize the vast implications of rape and other forms of gender-based violence.

Our data shows that including male perspectives builds community-wide understanding of preventing and overcoming sexual violence. Although more research is necessary, our experience also indicates that men have emerged from this program as using their position of influence to advocate against sexual violence and social exclusion of survivors. 

Honorata Kizende, who was featured in your story, came to us a survivor of sexual slavery and gang rape.  After graduating from our year-long program of rights-based, life skills training, she is now a Women for Women International program trainer, helping others to rebuild their lives and speak out against gender-based violence in the country’s protracted war. Honorata has come a long way from victim to survivor to active citizen. Now Congolese men need our assistance to start their own transformation.

Christine Karumba
Country Director
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Women for Women International

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Christine Karumba , Democratic Republic of the Congo

Country Director

 

Speaking at Women for Women International Congo Panel, Christine says the fear among women in eastern Congo is rising. Many have endured and witnessed gross sexual violence and are afraid that mass rape will increase if the country returns to full-scale war.

Click here to watch the video.

 

 

"It Takes Men to Stop Rape in Congo

 

The fact that rape victims are breaking the silence around the horrific sexual violence endemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is crucial for building peace and stability in the country. But without involving Congolese men, it will be difficult to address this problem successfully....

 

Recently, more work has been done to engage men and encouraging them to change attitudes towards sexual violence and survivors of rape. Our Men’s Leadership Program, for example, appeals to the strong responsibility men have in the patriarchic Congolese society..."

 

Read Christine's Full Letter to the Editor of the New York Times.