Literacy Training: Rewriting the Future

"Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever."
~ Mahatma Gandhi

Asking the women of eastern Congo what their hopes and dreams are for the future proved to be a difficult question. They must focus on today, Amani explained. On finding food and feeding their children today. On where they will sleep tonight.

A heartbreaking revelation for those of us, so comfortable in our today that we make plans for years ahead, and read self-help books to help us live in the present moment. The women we met in Mumosho and Bukavu didn't have the time or the emotional capacity to answer that question.

That is changing, however. As the women see their daughters excelling in school, thanks to Action Kivu's education assistance, they begin to hope for the future of their children. That hope ignites a spark of what could be in their own lives. As we previously shared one mama's words from the Sewing Workshop graduation: "I am very proud of my daughter," said one of the mothers present at the ceremony. "This sewing certificate is a symbol of victory and respect. And I will be the first to register in the literacy program because I was not happy with the last November 2011 presidential elections, when I asked people to help me vote but they did it according to their own will. I want to make sure next time I am able to read the name of the candidate of my own choice."

Other women echo her drive, and are now learning to read and write in Mumosho, where there are now three literacy classes, with a total of 80 students.  At age 17, Tumaini wasn't sent to school because she is a girl. "I am proud to be part of this group," she says. "I want to learn how to read and write. Many times I have difficulty taking medicines because I cannot read,I always need someone to explain them to me." She is dedicated to her studies, especially to be able to vote a leader of her own choice.

This is a group of very determined young girls, forced to drop out because they did not have money to pay for school. Some were victims of domestic and gender-based violence, and chances were given to boys in their families. They want ABFEK | Action Kivu to help them learn to read and write, to fulfill their dreams of passing the primary school tests to begin secondary school.

Action Kivu is currently able to send only $1500 USD a month to support all these programs that ABFEK runs in eastern Congo - and your donation will help us sustain the current programs, and the more we raise, the more girls we can send to school, the more women we can teach to read and write, the more women we can include in the sewing workshops to learn a trade.  Please consider a monthly donation. 

We're excited to share the women's stories and progress with you here, and to ask you to partner with them. If you have words of encouragement, please share them here in the comments, or via e-mail to actionkivu@gmail.com, and we will forward them to Amani, to share with the students! If you'd like to include a photo of yourself, please do, and Amani will post with your note, reminding the women and children that they are not alone.

Sowing Seeds of Presence and Partnership: Shared Farm

The women, who range in age from older teens to grandmothers, sit in a group, fanning themselves.  They make jokes and smile often, taking a much-needed break. One returns from a walk with a black plastic grocery bag filled with water from some unseen source, and they take turns balancing the bag for a refreshing drink. A rare dry day in rainy season in Congo, the sun is relentless on the floor of this valley, stalks and flowers grow taller than our heads, and no wind blows. Everything seems brighter than usual, the blue of the sky against the surrounding mountains, the colorful prints of the women's dresses with the bright yellow flowers and the greens of growth, the reds and greens of the eggplants, are piled before us. The women have gathered specifically for this, so we could witness the harvest of vegetables growing on the shared farm Action Kivu supports.

We meet the women and the agronomist who teaches them about sustainable agriculture. The women chose this project, Amani tells us. "[The ideas] come from them. What I am doing is just to facilitate. I am a bridge. I am a bridge between these community members and the other people who are willing, generous to help these women. The projects come from them, they say, we need this. If it is possible, we do it. ... For example, there is a serious problem of malnutrition. Acute malnutrition. The women expressed a need for agriculture, and to combine it with animal husbandry. The waste from the goats, helps provide compost [for the farm], and [the women] produce vegetables, they take them to market to sell, and they eat part [of the harvest]." They grow cabbages, onions, carrots and eggplants.Amani bites into one of the eggplants, proclaims it tasty. They are a local species of eggplant (they look like bell peppers) that people like very much. "The red ones are overripe," he explains, "and they are not useful for food anymore, but they are used to make new seeds, and to make sure the women we are working with can get new seeds without buying them. The seeds are very expensive, a kilo of eggplants (seed) is about 40, 50 dollars. Very expensive. The idea behind [the farm] is not only to eat [what is grown], but also, and mainly, to produce seeds and distribute to the community, to fight malnutrition."The women talk to Amani about their needs, for more farm tools to use both at the teaching farm and at home. He promises to bring a few hoes the next time he comes, and to look into finding funds for the other tools they need. They want to expand the small space they rent, to grow more food.  "They need rubber boots, too," Amani translates, "for the rainy season."As we offer thanks for their time and say our goodbyes, Amani translates once again. "They are saying that they are very happy to have you here. They are always sad to hear that people have visited the sewing center, the microloan group, but do not come to see them."Because of your partnership with these women and children in Mumosho and Bukavu, they feel seen. That their lives, their need for nutritious food to feed their families, for education to give them hope for a better future, are full of meaning. Because of your support, they feel seen, heard, which is what we all want, isn't it? To connect at a deeper level, to know we're not alone.

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” -Leo Buscaalia

Walking Free with No Fear: Ntaboba’s Story

Ntaboba, before his surgery, with his aunt and mother.

Ntaboba is 14, a slight boy with a wide smile that is often masked by his look of concentration. Ntaboba, who attends school with the help of Action Kivu's education assistance program, is focused. Focused on school, on his dreams of becoming a doctor, and on walking without the crutches he used to depend upon. At age 14, he should be in grade 2 of secondary school, but because of physical setbacks, he is in grade 5 of primary school.When he was six years old, Ntaboba, whose name means "no fear," stepped on a live grenade in the jungle near his home in eastern Congo, mangling and twisting his leg, forcing him to walk with a metal pole for support, which further twisted his spine. Because of the injury, he often missed classes and fell behind in his education when he could not navigate the five kilometers to his school.Margaret Johnson and Betty Merner, two Americans visiting their friend Dr. Victoria Bentley of Empower Congo Women, met Ntaboba in Mumosho, through Bentley’s work with Amani. They quickly connected to Ntaboba’s soft spirit and strong character,and were determined to do what they could to help him. Thanks to the emotional and financial support of these women and school kids they work with in Rhode Island, Ntaboba received a surgery on his leg from Heal Africa in Goma, a hospital renowned as one of only three referral hospitals in the DR Congo.

Ntaboba, Summer 2012, after his surgery.

Though the surgery was successful for as much damage had been done to his leg, Ntaboba still misses school during the rainy season, which turns the dirt roads of Mumosho into deep, slick mudslides.According to Amani, there are few solutions to this problem. One is to board Ntaboba near the school, which costs around $400 USD each quarter. The longer-term sustainable solution is to find a place for his family to live after we build the Peace School. The Peace School will offer the traditional Congolese curriculum, as well as teach alternative courses in human rights, giving orphaned and vulnerable kids like Ntaboba a place to study and play in peace, growing the future generation of peace builders for Congo.(We're currently working with Amani on a budget and outline for the cost to build and staff the school, looking to raise approximately $185,000 USD. More to come, soon!)   Ntaboba is doing his best to walk without crutches, determined to finish school so he can live his dream to become a doctor. No Fear.Thanks to Margaret, Betty, the school kids of Rhode Island, and everyone who partners with us!  It's only through supporting each other that we make a difference.

Ernata's Story Unfolds: Sewing Grads and School Uniforms

Thanks to this year’s back to school grant from Jewish World Watch, funds were allocated for new uniforms for the 115 primary students and 52 new secondary students who started school last week. Creating a circle of sustainability, the graduates of the sewing workshop gather at the sewing center, and provided materials, fabric, thread and buttons, they use their new skills to create the school uniforms for the kids, earning an income of five dollars per outfit. While this may not sound like much, it helps them buy food and basic supplies for their families. Where once there was no income at all, women are now primary sources of support, instilling a sense of pride in their families and communities, while caring for the kids who get to wear brand new “back to school” clothes.

Ernata, January 2012. Photo by Cate Haight.

Ernata graduated with her sewing certificate in June, 2012.  When we met her in January, her story echoed that of a society where women have very little rights or value, and can be divorced without recourse for not bearing a male heir.  "My first marriage, I spent two years in my household,” Ernata told us. "I didn’t have any children, and I suffered a lot from my husband.  He kicked me out because I didn’t have any children.  After being kicked out by my first husband, I returned home, and spent six months at home.  Another man married me.  After about 6 to 7 months with my second husband, I could not conceive. He also kicked me out, divorced me."Then came another man, from a different village, whose wife had died and left him with seven kids.  Ernata married for the third time, and after only three months, she conceived.  "I was blessed to have one child, a boy, but it was after surgery (a cesarean delivery).  After two years and three months, my only child died.  I was there, living with my husband, but I was afraid.  Six months had passed after my child died, and I hadn’t conceived again.  I was afraid, and things had changed again, become negative, with my husband."Though he already has seven children, he wants another from Ernata.  "And me, too," she said. "Because if I have a child, I’m stable there.""I have a big wound inside my heart," Ernata told us. "If I don’t have children with my husband, he will kick my out.  I’m noticing some changes, bad behavior, from his family members, who might urge him to chase me (from the home)."

Nine months later, Ernata is giving birth to a different dream, as she works hard to sew uniforms for the kids in her village.  She takes a break from her own sewing to supervise a fellow seamstress. ''I am very proud of myself today,” Ernata shares, “and my husband is proud of me and he's happy to have me as a wife, especially as I help make an income for the family.”

Ernata supervises Cikuru, sewing school uniforms in Mumosho.

What a difference education, partnership and support can make!  Thank you to all who continue to partner with the women, children, and communities of Congo.

Sewing Workshop graduate Alani prepares the fabric for a school uniform.

Back to School Stories: Hope and Thanks from Congo

Were you ever THIS excited to go back to school?

When you've been kicked out of class because your family can't afford the $7 - $8/month it costs to go to school, an education becomes even more precious.Your partnership and support means that these kids have hope for a different future, filled with dreams of being doctors and teachers and nurses, oh my!  In addition to the 115 primary students Action Kivu / ABFEK sends to school, thanks to a partnership and generous grant from Jewish World Watch, ABFEK is now sending 52 students to secondary school.  Finishing a high school education is critical to breaking the cycle of poverty that permeates eastern Congo, poverty that stops girls from achieving their dreams. (Read more about the positive results of educating girls at Women Deliver.)Your donations began a cycle of good.  Because you support the women studying at the Sewing Workshop and purchased sewing machines for them, they are able to make school uniforms for the children so eager to attend school. "What a big day!" Amani writes. "Our campaign was ''Young Girls, Stand Up, It's Time!'"  Amani and his colleagues have spent the last two years raising awareness and encouraging girls, families, and local leaders to make sure girls are sent to secondary school immediately after graduating elementary school."Today I was happy, so happy and more than happy again," writes Amani. "In one secondary school where 26 students are recipients of the JWW grant, there are 380 students total. 240 are  girls and 140 are boys. 67.3% of students here are girls. This is a big success in our everyday work!"Two of the girls share their stories:SHUKURU: "I am 13 years old, grade 1 secondary and have been getting education support  by ABFEK for about three years now. I very much like Maths because I want to become a medical doctor one day in my life. I am from a family of five, among four sisters and one brother.  Only two of my sisters and my brother are in school . My elder sisters got married [too young] because nobody could send them to school. I am lucky and I want to achieve my goal — to be become a medical doctor.  I like ping pong. For this school year, I want to succeed with a high score at the rate of 99%. I am determined to achieve my goal. I want to become able to help my mum. I do not want an untimely marriage. As long as I have someone to help me stay in school, I will make every effort to succeed. My thank you words are sent to each and every single person who has donated his or her money to pay for my education this school year. May God bless  and keep them strong."NOELA:  17 years old, grade 3 secondary school.  My uncle has been struggling to send me to school.  I very much like French  and want to become a French teacher. I am from a family of five, three are in school and two are not because I have no father and mum is unable to afford school for us. My purpose for this year is to succeed with 80% and challenge all the boys in my class who think they are more intelligent than I. I like domestic work and want to become a secondary school teacher. Look, I am 17 now, I should now be in grade 5 secondary school, but I had nobody to take care of me, put me in school, but I have HOPE. Thanks for people who do not know me but are paying for my education."

Huge thanks to Jewish World Watch and to you, for helping these girls achieve their dreams!  If you want to partner with Action Kivu, consider a monthly donation.Primary school fees, including uniforms, copy books, pencils and slates = $6.25/month, or $75.00/year per student.Secondary school fees, including uniforms, copy books, pencils and slates = $8.00/month, or $95.00/year per student.Visit our How You Can Help page to learn more, and read more about the students and success of other elementary school girls here!

Robin Wright: Meeting Amani and the Women of Mumosho

"The women from the Action Kivu sewing center also came out to meet us and asked that we carry their message of triumph and hope back to the U.S."

Read more from Robin Wright and JD Stier about meeting Amani and the women of Mumosho's Sewing Workshop here!

Robin Wright, photo courtesy of Enough Project

And if  you've yet to meet Amani via Enough Project's video series, I am Congo - watch now, and spread the message of hope!

Asante Sana, Merci, Grazie, Danke, Dank U, Tack, and Thank You!

How can we say thank you to everyone who donated during Alissa's 3rd Annual Action Kivu Fundraiser, contributing $17,570.00 to fund the sewing workshops, education assistance and other programs that empower and engage the women and children of eastern Congo?  We'll start by saying it in as many languages as are spoken by our generous donors!   Merci, Grazie, Danke, Dank U, Tack, and Thank You!

Through Handmade by Alissa, we heard and felt the support and love from 43 states of the U.S., Washington DC and Puerto Rico, Canada (Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, Quebec), New Zealand, Australia, UK, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, France and The Netherlands.

From the women and children learning to sew, to embroider, to speak and write Swahili and French, studying math and science and poetry and farming and human rights - a huge ASANTE SANA.

"To leave the world a little better; whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is the meaning of success."     

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Nzigira and Tantine, graduates of the Mumosho Sewing Workshop.

Email of Hope: Amani Dreams Peace for Congo

Don’t give up hope for Congo. Amani hasn’t.  In an e-mail last week, he wrote, “You are giving me HOPE! Thanks for your compassion and love to the people of MY country and myself. No matter what's happening here right now, if I were to be born again and if that was to happen during this period of time, and should someone ask me to chose a citizenship, Congo would be my choice!”

Who is this man, whose name means “peace,” whom, after losing both parents to the conflict in Congo, started his own non-profit (ABFEK, supported by Action Kivu) to educate and empower the women and children of his country? This e-mail of hope came the day after Amani returned home from visiting the IDP camps in North Kivu, where he witnessed families on the run from the recent and on-going upswing in violence due to the M23 mutiny. Gathering reports for The Enough Project and Falling Whistles, Amani was heartbroken to see so many people without homes, access to water or shelter.  According to a report by Aljazeera, an estimated 280,000 Congolese have been displaced as they flee the violence in villages surrounding North Kivu, violence that threatens stability and safety across the region. 

When we visited eastern Congo in January of 2012, Cate and I (Rebecca) sat down to interview Amani at the Swedish Mission, our Bukavu home away from home. Sitting in the shade of a tree, surrounded by flowers, with birds chirping in the garden, Amani hung up his ever-ringing cell phone. Speaking to a friend who had lost family members in a recent attack on Shabunda, a territory in South Kivu, Amani tells us that reports are mixed, but anywhere from 39 to 79 civilians were killed by militia members there. Amani has direct information from his friend about soldiers using knives to cut open the stomach of a pregnant woman. Despite having heard horrific stories like these many times over, Amani is stunned, and speechless, for a moment.

“People who haven’t experienced life here, don’t know what life here looks like,” he says. “So, in a situation like this, I think, ‘Okay, let’s go where I can. Since I can’t go to Shabunda, I have no helicopter to go there, I have no car, let me do what I can, where I am.’  And if everyone can decide [that] and do what they can, where they are?  (He pauses.) You have also your part,” he tells us. Talk to people, about what has happened here.”

“Congo is a tunnel of darkness, and we need people to light, light, light,” Amani’s fingers illustrate sun-bursts, “until it filled with light. Everyone needs to do something, to raise this country up. It is down. Everyone needs to start where he is,” he says. He tells us of his goals for his work with ABFEK/Action Kivu. “At the community level, we want to engage more people by raising their awareness, and making sure each and every one stands up and says, ‘Hey guys! I’m doing my part! No more domestic violence in my household.’ To that person, we would say, ‘Hey, congratulations!’ The local leaders, soldiers, military commanders, police, everyone, they have no money, but we want them to contribute. Fight HIV where they are. Fight discrimination where they are. Fight domestic violence where they are. And talk about peace, everywhere they are.”  

Amani continues to go where he can, to encourage his community to contribute, to fight HIV, discrimination and domestic violence, to talk about peace, everywhere. His projects of educating children, teaching women marketable skills and literacy programs, animal husbandry, shared farming, microloans and more, have direct, visible effects.  We witnessed it in Mumosho, when we heard the women sharing their stories, asking for forums to explore their rights further. 

Amani, too, has noticed a marked change. “These women today are very eager to learn to make an income. Which is the total opposite of what was happening two to three years ago, and what is still happening with many women who are not part of our program, in Mumosho. There is a big change between women who are not part of the project, and women who are part of the project. Today some of the women are making income through the microloan project, through the sewing program, with the sewing kits, they are making an income. Women have been empowered. They are proud, they are proud of themselves.”

Amani leads a Trauma Training session for women in Mumosho. Photo by Cate Haight.

“At the beginning, I was still very young,” Amani told us. “I was scared about what was happening here. I was losing hope. But when I started getting in touch with different people from the U.S. and Europe, talking to people, I felt that there are people who are for peace here,” Amani gestures to his surroundings. “And seeing that there are people who are for peace here, it gives me hope. It aroused a kind of hope inside, that people like you, people like the Enough Project, people like Jewish World Watch, Falling Whistles, all those people, I feel I have some people I can lean on, and fight for peace, and today, I am 100% sure of that. Peace, sustainable peace, will come, one day.  And since I haven’t lost hope, I will keep on struggling, fighting. I know other people at the civil society level, there are people who are dreaming peace to be restored, and with support from outside, with support from people at the grassroots level, of course, involving and making much noise to our local leaders, the government, we are hoping that the day is coming.  And it has to come.”

Amani teaches kids in Mumosho how to play frisbee.

Amani and the ladies of the Mumosho Sewing Center, graduating class of June, 2012.

"Hope is not a lottery ticket you can sit on the sofa and clutch, feeling lucky. It is an axe you break down doors with in an emergency. Hope should shove you out the door, because it will take everything you have to steer the future away from endless war, from the annihilation of the earth's treasures and the grinding down of the poor and marginal... To hope is to give yourself to the future - and that commitment to the future is what makes the present inhabitable." ~ Rebecca Solnit

Bienvenie's Dream: Fashion, Fabric, and a Future

Growing up with a love of fashion and fabrics, Bienvenie always dreamed of learning to sew. Her dream didn't seem possible, though. Raised in Mumosho by a single mother who had to support all her children after their father died in a mining accident when Bienvenie was only two years old, she admits, "It is a hard life."  We sit outside the simple biulding that houses the Mumosho Sewing Workshop, on small stools, surrounded by lush green trees, red earth, and a family's round, thatched home to our side. Bienvenie looks directly at the camera, her perfect posture never changing, portraying her pride.She is proud of her mother, who cares for her and her siblings with the food she harvests from their farm. She is proud of her new sewing skills, and her dreams to have her own business. Denied a basic education, she dreamed of learning to sew, but her mother could not afford to send her to the sewing school."I’ve been dreaming for a long time, how I could learn to sew," Bienvenie tells us in Mashi, her first language. "Because I didn’t get a chance to go to school, I asked my mother to send me, to pay tuition for me to learn to sew. But my mom is too poor, she could not afford it.  But the people who started this program, I don’t know what I could give them. People who are supporting this program, I don’t know what to tell them, because for me, it has been a dream to have a place where I can learn sewing, and here I am. I am very happy."What will she do with her new sewing skills?  "I like mixing different fashions, blouses, skirts, different fabrics," she says. "People will look for me, I will make their clothes, and I will make money."Bienvenie's dream came true. Because of the people in the United States and around the world who support Action Kivu's work in Mumosho, Bienvenie graduated with a sewing machine in the summer of 2012, and is now one of the women who will make the school uniforms for the children Action Kivu sends to school with education assistance."To the people who support the program and purchase the sewing machines: I am weeping inside my heart, I am grateful." — Bienvenie

Photo by Cate Haight, Mumosho, January 2012

Learn more about the sewing kits and other graduates of the Mumosho Sewing Workshop here.Read more about the 2012 Sewing Graduation here.Take a look at the fantastic giveaways on Alissa's Action Kivu fundraiser, and donate today!

Connected to Congo

The more I travel, the more people I meet, the more stories I hear, the more this quote from Madeleine L'engle rings true.

A day at the shared farm Action Kivu supports in Mumosho - photo by Rebecca Snavely

"What connects us human beings is far more central that that which separates us."
~ Madeleine L'engle

Where do you feel most connected with others? On a bus? At your office?  On a bar-stool or cafe chair, chatting with a stranger?