Mama Aimericiane: Accomplishment and Vision in Congo

Four years ago, Aimericiane was unsure how to feed her six kids, let alone find the funds for their education. When she heard about Action Kivu's Sewing Workshop, she enrolled as quickly as possible to learn the skills and business training that would help her create a new life for her family.During her eight months of sewing training, Aimerciane continued to help her husband cultivate their field, the only source of income and food for their family. Daily survival was difficult, and farm labor typically yields around $1 per day of work. They could not afford the six to ten dollars per month, per child, to send to their six children to school.Aimerciane graduated the Sewing Workshop in 2012, and is proud to report that with the sewing machine she received at graduation, she started her own business. Four years later, with weddings, special events, and regular customers, she averages earning $60 USD a week."I am so proud of myself, and proud of my business because it has helped me to solve so many problems in my family: now I am able to pay for school, food, clothes, and the hospital for all my children," Aimerciane tells us. "With my sewing machine I earned money to buy a $40 table where I can put my machine. Before children start school, I sew uniforms, and earn around $150."My vision is to work hard, to become a great seamstress and also to buy a plot of land where I’ll build my cutting and sewing workshop, a place that will allow me to train others, people who are in need. I say thank you so much to ABFEC (Action Kivu's Congolese partner) because they gave me knowledge and they changed my life. I pray for them to prosper and expand in the whole word. God bless them."aimericiane_sewing_2016-1Read more about how investing in the women and children of Congo through Action Kivu transforms lives!

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Adolphine's Story of Hope: It's Never Too Late to Learn

The rainy season in the Sub-Saharan country of Congo makes many of the dirt roads in its eastern corner impassable, and the journey to school almost impossible. The road to an education for girls, in a culture where they are not valued as equal to boys, is fraught with even more barriers, from extreme poverty to early marriage. But Mama Adolphine never gave up hope.In 2012, a study conducted by UNESCO and UNICEF revealed that 52.7 per cent of the 7.3 million children out of school in the Democratic Republic of the Congo — some 3.8 million children — are girls. Among the obstacles to girls’ education are low family incomes and lack of school infrastructure. And according to A World at School, in some areas of the DRC, "around 70% of children who start primary school will drop out before the end of school. If you’re a girl, the risks of dropping out are even higher – as many as 77% of girls drop out of primary school in some areas of the country. ... Early marriage contributes to the low secondary school attendance for girls."Aldophine doesn't need to be reminded of these statistics - she lived them. Her parents did not think it important to spend money on their daughter's education. "Women did not have any right to go to school," she says. "But I liked studies so much. I never lost hope that one day I would study."Adolphine is 60 and the mother of six. Two of her daughters are married, four of her children are in school, and Adolphine is now a student in Action Kivu's Literacy Program.2-adolphine"I am learning how to write and read," Adolphine reports. "I am very happy because now I can read my bible, I can choose and write the name of the candidate I want when there is an election in my country."The Literacy Program is the entry point to all of Action Kivu's vocational trainings - teaching girls and women to read and write gives them the first tools needed to run their own businesses upon receiving skills training in sewing, bread baking, basket weaving, and the micro-loan project. To support this critical step in the road to equality for women and girls, please consider a monthly donation!Adolphine is an inspiration: it is never too late to learn!Read other stories from the girls and women in our Literacy Program here.adolphine_standing-1SaveSaveSave

Namwezi to Antoinette: My Goat is Your Goat

In Shi culture, the dominant tribe in the areas where we work in eastern Congo, a goat represents good standing in the community, as they are payment for dowries in marriage, or given as gifts as a sign of cementing goodwill and friendship. They've also come to represent the rooting in connection and community inherent in Action Kivu's programs. In "My Goat is Your Goat," one family's goat becomes the mother of the next family's goat, passing one kid forward, growing the family, one goat at a time.my-goat-is-your-goat$80 is the cost of buying one goat for a family in Congo, and Action Kivu is working to raise funds to buy more goats to expand the program in Congo, which currently serves 600 people in area of 50,000. Our goal for 2017 is to buy milk goats from Uganda ($185 to purchase and properly transport the goat to Mumosho, DRC), to expand the animal husbandry program to milking and making cheese, not only to combat the malnutrition that is a cause of death for children under 5, but to provide new entrepreneurial opportunities for the women in Congo to earn income and invest in the future of their children!Consider a monthly donation to Action Kivu today! 

Harvest Party + Goats to Benefit Action Kivu's Work in Congo

actionkivu_harvestparty_invite_oct2016$50 suggested donation for those 21 + older (kids are free) | RSVP today!

Harvest Party Tickets

When: Sunday, October 30th, 4 to 6pmWhere: 3293 Fryman Road, Studio City 91604What: Grab a date or your kid, come carve some chèvre and pumpkins, clink glasses of wine, and pet a goat's kid as we raise money for Action Kivu's work in Congo!Alongside their goat co-hosts Bootz & Meadow, hosts Jennifer and Jonas Pate welcome you to their beautiful home in Fryman Canyon.Come celebrate the success stories of the graduates of our programs in Congo, girls and women who now have hope and a path out of poverty to be able to change the future of their communities. Hear updates on the latest from Mumosho, and learn more about the My Goat is Your Goat animal husbandry program, and our goal to grow it to make goat cheese in Congo! We're excited about creating greater business opportunities for the women and their families, as well as combating the epidemic of malnutrition in kids in Mumosho.We clearly love kids: all ages are welcome, under 21 is free! Please note in your PayPal donation "note to seller" or in a message to us (actionkivu@gmail.com) if you need more than one pumpkin per donation. Carving tools will be provided, but feel free to bring your own. Light bites and kid snacks (human AND goat friendly) will be served.Learn more:Virtually travel to Congo to meet Amani, our partner and inspiring leader, here.Learn more about our My Goat is Your Goat program (and the difference between a goat and a sheep):  “Our goat is our wealth,” says Nshokano Patrick. “We’ll bring back one of these small goats to ABFEC [Action Kivu’s partner organization in Congo] and keep one small goat and the big goat. My mom has said she will sell our small goat for her to start a small business to make sure she can start taking care of us.”Read all about Action Kivu's programs on our blog.SaveSaveSaveSaveSave

Tearing Down Taboos: HIV Education Saves Lives in Congo

quote_photo_all-together-against-hiv-_-aids-1To shake off the stigma that surrounds AIDS and HIV testing, our partner Amani volunteered to be publicly tested at the opening of World Soccer Day this September 25th. Funded by the Dillon Henry Foundation, the tournament brought together 8 teams of footballers to play it out on the pitch, 4 of which were girls’ teams, a first in Mumosho, which explained the crowd of 4000 spectators.In front of the crowd gathered at the Mumosho Women’s Center, Amani stepped forward to have his blood taken by Nurse Jeanine for an HIV test, and was quickly followed by one of the star players from the community, a young man geared up for the game. Shortly after him, a line formed to be tested, as kids and community members signed on to learn more about the disease, and how to stop it from spreading.amani_volunteer_hiv-testing-img_9-25-16One week earlier, on a hot September Sunday afternoon in Mumosho, Congo, a slight breeze stirred the air in the sparse room of the church where Nurse Jeanine sat in front of 45 students and community members. Though they had just started the school year, these students were spending their Sunday in a different kind of class, learning the facts about HIV/AIDS, so that they could share their education with their peers and family members. Sub Saharan Africa represents almost 70% of the total new HIV infections in the world, according to UN AIDS. Nurse Jeanine, Amani, and the kids and community leaders of eastern Congo learning about the disease intend to change that.img_0458“HIV / AIDS is considered taboo in Congolese society, thus the high risk of going untested and spreading HIV. The message of education about HIV/AIDS can deeply penetrate the fabric of society, and literally save lives,” says our partner and community leader, Amani Matabaro.Working in tandem with Amani’s community building programs and vocational / educational training workshops, Nurse Jeanine is committed to changing how the new generation of Congolese thinks about HIV/AIDS, spending much of her time in the villages of Mumosho, proctoring tests and raising awareness to the facts about living with the disease, while not passing it on.The determiner kits that Jeanine uses to test on site for HIV offer an immediate reading of whether the person shows the signs of HIV/AIDS, at which point she contacts them confidentially, and schedules a full blood test at a nearby hospital for the conclusive results. With those results, the person is then referred to Panzi Hospital in Bukavu, or the local clinic in Nyantende for treatment with antiretroviral (ARV) drugs.Even then, knowing they are HIV positive, many people in eastern Congo ask to be sent to a clinic in neighboring Rwanda, terrified that their family, friends, and neighbors might find out they contracted the disease. Thus, the critical, life-saving aspect of Amani and Nurse Jeanine’s program ALL TOGETHER AGAINST HIV/AIDS consists of diversified activities centered in the community, with a focus on settings with large populations such as schools, churches, and community-based organizations in eastern DRC. Thanks to the generosity of Robin Wright and Karen Fowler’s company Pour Les Femmes, Action Kivu currently pays Nurse Jeanine a monthly stipend that helps with her tireless work, but the HIV field test-kits are paid for out of Amani’s pocket at $25 per kit, and each tests 80 individuals. If you would like to give toward covering that cost as well as for Nurse Jeanine’s assistant, please donate today, and in your PayPal “note to seller” mark HIV. We are grateful for your investment in this life-changing work!img_0461SaveSave

Songs of Hope from Congo: There is Peace Here! Hear Our Voices, Oh You, the World

"There is peace here. Hear our voices, oh you, the world!"Celebrate with the girls and women of Action Kivu's Sewing Workshop Class of 2016! Thanks to donors like you, the sewing community who donates via Alissa Haight Carlton's fundraiser, and our partners Stand With Congo and Pour Les Femmes, 63 women and girls graduated this year with the skills and sewing machines to start their own businesses.Check out a sneak peek of the video from the graduation celebration, and stay tuned for more stories from the women!SaveSave

Women and Girls Growing a Healthy Congo: Field Report from Action Kivu's Shared Farm

“...we are custodians of deep and ancient thresholds. In the human face you see that potential and the miracle of undying possibility.” ― John O'Donohue,"Should agriculture be a required school subject?" writer Dan Nosowitz asks in his Modern Farmer piece that highlights Kenya's attempt to add agriculture to its curriculum. At Action Kivu, our Organic Food for All (OFFA) program trains women and girls, denied a formal education, in the skill and art of agriculture. Here five farmers weed the beans they grow on the lush land down in a marsh in Mumosho, critical in the dry season for the water to grow food when vegetables are rare and expensive. "Having access to this land, thanks to Action Kivu support, makes a huge difference," our partner Amani tells us.Invest in the women and girls growing a better future for Congo here!Read more about our Entrepreneurial, Educational, and Community Building Programs:

Action Kivu Fundraiser & Giveaway: Get Creative for Congo

Quilt GiveawayEvery morning, parents everywhere wake up with the same questions and hopes for their children: what to feed them, how to get them to school on time, whether they'll be safe out in the world.In Mumosho, Congo, many parents wake up wondering if they'll be able to feed their children, if they can afford to send them to school, and they dream of the day that eastern Congo is a safer place for their family.Because of your donations, Action Kivu is creating pathways for those hopes to become reality. With your investment in Congo, we are able to provide the training and tools for hundreds of mothers to break this cycle of extreme poverty, to send their kids to school, to learn to read and write and put pen to paper and raise their voices for peace and a better future for the kids of Congo.When you donate this week, you'll be entered into Alissa Haight Carlton's Annual Fundraiser & Giveaway! $100 puts you in the running to win the gorgeous quilt pictured above, and pays the monthly salary of one of our Literacy Program teachers in Mumosho, Congo - a critical course that is the entry point for our Sewing Workshop and other vocational training programs. Invest in the girls and women of Congo today - and check out the other giveaway levels and prizes at alissahaightcarlton.com.We are grateful for you being part of our family, and your role in creating the beloved community, taking action to invest in women and children and a brighter, more peaceful world for us all. Read about all we've been up to on our blog.

When you donate, please share the fundraiser and Action Kivu's stories with friends and family, telling them why you believe it's world-changing to invest in women and kids!

Microloan Moms: Adherents of Hope Writing the History of Congo

"We write history with our feet and with our presence and our collective voice and vision."~Rebecca Solnit, Hope in the Dark

ACTION CONGO WOMEN FAMILY PICTURE_withAKwebsiteCLAUDINE BARHISHINDI SELLING MAIZEWalking the dusty dirt roads of eastern Congo to run her small business as a trader of local beer and the maize to make it, Claudine’s feet are on the ground, writing her chapter in the history of the women of Congo. There is great dignity in presence, in showing up daily for her work.Claudine is still amazed at how much her life has changed in such a short amount of time after she received a microloan from the Power in Unity group, a program that began with donations from Action Kivu supporters and has grown into a sustainable economic system of investment, where each member pays forward their loan in small monthly installments, giving back part of their profits to create another loan for a new entrepreneur."The way you see me here, I don't know where to begin telling you about my life," Claudine tells us. "But before I talk about my life, I first want to say thank you very much to Action Kivu / ABBEC. I consider them like my parents because they have done a great thing in my life. It gave sense to my life."Married, and the mother of seven children (three girls and four boys), Claudine had first tried to run a business on her own, borrowing 10 dollars from a friend here, 20 dollars from a neighbor there. But it was never enough; she couldn’t pay back her loans and also feed, clothe, and pay the fees to send her kids to school.“Since I got the loan,” Claudine reports, “five of my children are studying and we eat one meal a day.” One meal a day is not sufficient, “but at least we know that there will be a meal every evening,” Claudine says. “I can also save a little money. I also got a goat from Action Kivu / ABFEC. It helps me with fertilizer for my soil and I have hope that I will gain many other things from it.”Claudine adds her voice and vision to the collective when she meets with the other women in the Power in Unity group twice a month. They voted in a president and a committee of eight women who oversee the meetings and the finances. The women pool their resources and have created a sustainable system in which their profits make it possible to include new members, while also depositing into a social fund to help members who need money for medicine, or marriage, or who are too sick to work, or are grieving the loss of a loved one.The community the women have created has never been seen before in Mumosho, but that is the underlying meaning of hope: it fertilizes and tills the ground for the foundation of a new reality, allowing hope’s adherents to write their new history.collageof3_2016Read more Microloan Mom stories here:

To invest in women like Claudine, donate to Action Kivu here!