STAFF OF ABFEK, ACTION KIVU'S CONGOLESE PARTNER ORGANIZATION
Founder and Executive Director, ABFEK
Amani Matabaro Tom founded Actions pour le Bien être de la Femme et de l'Enfant au Kivu, Action Kivu's Congolese partner organization, when his cousins, Kahumba and Mirenge took refuge in his home after both were raped in 2006 by Rwandan rebels known as the Interahamwe. (See their stories here and here.) In addition to being brutalized by their experiences, the two young women were ostracized in their own village and ridiculed as 'wives of the Interahamwe.'
Amani and his wife Amini Bukanda wanted to find a way to provide a sense of purpose and self-worth for Kahumba and Mirenge as well as way for them to sustain themselves economically. Amini was an accomplished seamstress, and training them in sewing skills seemed the best solution. When word spread about what Amani and Amini were doing for their cousins, other victims of sexual violence asked for training, and the Kivu Sewing Workshop was born.
Amani was born in eastern Congo and like millions of others, is also a victim of the nation's violence. Both of his parents were killed in 1997 during one of the many waves of fighting there. Amani finished his education with help from his elder brother, Ephraim, and then earned a degree in Applied Pedagogy with a concentration in English Language Teaching Methodology and Translation. He has worked as an educator and interpreter for numerous international organizations including Johns Hopkins University, Boston University, United Nations Multi-National Force in the Congo (MONUC), the International Rescue Committee, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial and Museum and with Yahoo's News' war reporting project, Kevin Sites in the Hot Zone.
Amini Bukanda
Head Instructor
Amini Bukanda is a talented seamstress. She teaches students sewing and knitting skills while helping them progress in literacy through unique word embroidery projects. She also provides counseling to women in the workshop and has recruited other instructors to teach at the workshop. 'I do not like to see other people suffering', says Amini, 'this is one of the reasons why I encouraged my husband to create the Kivu Sewing Workshop, a place of comfort to women.'
Head Instructor
Amini Bukanda is a talented seamstress. She teaches students sewing and knitting skills while helping them progress in literacy through unique word embroidery projects. She also provides counseling to women in the workshop and has recruited other instructors to teach at the workshop. 'I do not like to see other people suffering', says Amini, 'this is one of the reasons why I encouraged my husband to create the Kivu Sewing Workshop, a place of comfort to women.'
Lazarus
Instructor
Lazarus is a married father of six who works as an instructor at the workshop. He is a tailor specializing in women's clothing. He has been working in the workshop since its began and is always ready to help. Unlike others who have worked for only a few weeks and leave because of the lack of pay, Lazarus is committed to helping the women of the workshop.
Instructor
Lazarus is a married father of six who works as an instructor at the workshop. He is a tailor specializing in women's clothing. He has been working in the workshop since its began and is always ready to help. Unlike others who have worked for only a few weeks and leave because of the lack of pay, Lazarus is committed to helping the women of the workshop.
Mabanda
Instructor
Mabanda is a tailor who specializes in men's clothing. He learned his trade from his father, who was also a tailor. He is 45 years old, married and a father to eight children.
Instructor
Mabanda is a tailor who specializes in men's clothing. He learned his trade from his father, who was also a tailor. He is 45 years old, married and a father to eight children.
Claude
Guard
Claude works as a guard for the workshop, sleeping in the building at night to ensure no one steals the school's pedal-operated sewing machines and fabric. He is 24 years old and was orphaned by the fighting in eastern Congo in 1998. After the death of his parents Claude could no longer afford to continue with his education. Now he hopes to rebuild his life and with support, possibly return to school. Until then he is committed to helping support and protect the futures of other survivors of war.
Guard
Claude works as a guard for the workshop, sleeping in the building at night to ensure no one steals the school's pedal-operated sewing machines and fabric. He is 24 years old and was orphaned by the fighting in eastern Congo in 1998. After the death of his parents Claude could no longer afford to continue with his education. Now he hopes to rebuild his life and with support, possibly return to school. Until then he is committed to helping support and protect the futures of other survivors of war.
Murhula
Part time Guard
Murhula is 25 years old. He was born and raised in Mumosho. During the 1997 war, two of his elder brothers were shot in front of him and everything in their home was looted. Because his parents could no longer pay school fees for him he had to stop going to school. He decided to go to Bukavu to look for work. Since he has very little education, the only work he can get is as a servant or guard. He works part-time as a guard at night in the Sewing Workshop.
Part time Guard
Murhula is 25 years old. He was born and raised in Mumosho. During the 1997 war, two of his elder brothers were shot in front of him and everything in their home was looted. Because his parents could no longer pay school fees for him he had to stop going to school. He decided to go to Bukavu to look for work. Since he has very little education, the only work he can get is as a servant or guard. He works part-time as a guard at night in the Sewing Workshop.
ACTION KIVU, INC. BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Catherine Haight
Catherine is a film editor who has worked on multiple television series and feature films for studios such as 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros & MGM. Projects she has been involved with include The Day the Earth Stood Still, Charlie Bartlett, and Pushing Daisies. Raised in New Hampshire with dual French and American citizenship, she now makes her home in Los Angeles.
Catherine is a film editor who has worked on multiple television series and feature films for studios such as 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros & MGM. Projects she has been involved with include The Day the Earth Stood Still, Charlie Bartlett, and Pushing Daisies. Raised in New Hampshire with dual French and American citizenship, she now makes her home in Los Angeles.
Kevin Sites
Kevin is an award-winning journalist and author who has spent the past decade covering global war and disaster for ABC, NBC, CNN and Yahoo! News. Dubbed by the trade press as the "granddaddy" of backpack journalists, Sites helped blaze the trail for intrepid reporters who work alone, carrying only a backpack of portable digital technology to shoot, write, edit and transmit multimedia reports from the world's most dangerous places. His first book, In the Hot Zone: One Man, One Year, Twenty Wars shares his effort to put a human face on global conflict by reporting from every major war zone in one year. Sites was selected as a 2010 Nieman Fellow at Harvard University. Originally from Ohio, he now lives in Los Angeles.
Kevin is an award-winning journalist and author who has spent the past decade covering global war and disaster for ABC, NBC, CNN and Yahoo! News. Dubbed by the trade press as the "granddaddy" of backpack journalists, Sites helped blaze the trail for intrepid reporters who work alone, carrying only a backpack of portable digital technology to shoot, write, edit and transmit multimedia reports from the world's most dangerous places. His first book, In the Hot Zone: One Man, One Year, Twenty Wars shares his effort to put a human face on global conflict by reporting from every major war zone in one year. Sites was selected as a 2010 Nieman Fellow at Harvard University. Originally from Ohio, he now lives in Los Angeles.
Rebecca Snavely
Rebecca is a writer and documentarian who began work as an assistant to producers and directors on feature films including What Women Want and Legally Blonde 2. She transitioned to writing, travel and documentary filmmaking and worked for two years as a Web producer and staff writer for Los Angeles Times entertainment. Rebecca has traveled with documentary teams to Ethiopia, Kosovo, and Serbia.
Rebecca is a writer and documentarian who began work as an assistant to producers and directors on feature films including What Women Want and Legally Blonde 2. She transitioned to writing, travel and documentary filmmaking and worked for two years as a Web producer and staff writer for Los Angeles Times entertainment. Rebecca has traveled with documentary teams to Ethiopia, Kosovo, and Serbia.