Ex-combatants, Pigs, Pedagogy, and Peace

In the midst of the ongoing conflict in Congo, where armed militias continue to terrorize communities, the UN and NGOs continue to work toward peace through the process of disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) of ex-combatants.According to the UN website, DDR supports ex-combatants to become active participants in the peace process through:

    removing weapons from the hands of combatants;
    taking the combatants out of military structures;
    integrating combatants socially and economically into society.

As we focus on the needs of the oppressed, the women and girls denied an education and most often the victims of sexual and domestic violence, we also see the need to educate and bring into community the men of the villages, especially ex-combatants, to break the cycle of violence and provide pathways to peace.Seeing the need for the ex-combatants to find daily work to feel connected to their neighbors and to be contributing members in their community spurred our visionary leader Amani to find community-based solutions. The answer was pigs. Pigs and pedagogy. Purchasing 7 pigs, Amani hired two ex-combatants to care for the pigs around the clock, ensuring their health and safety. Our agronomist Mukengere helped build the shelter, and trains the men about breeding the animals, and their relationship to the farm, how to grow organic food and raise fish.The goal is to grow our demonstration farm, which is currently home to over 80 women learning the latest organic farming skills as they farm and harvest their own plot of land to include an education for more ex-combatants, to extend pathways to true integration and peace throughout the area. Pigs provide poop for the organic fertilizer for the women to use on our shared farm, as well as help sustain the algae and greens that feed the fish in the ponds on the farm, which are harvested for food and to sell at the market.As the pigs give birth, the men can sell their offspring to earn their own income, creating a cycle of sustainability. This week, we learned that one mama pig gave birth! Welcome to the world six baby piglets. The project is off to a great start.Pigs_babypigs - 1See photos and learn more about the farm:

Connect to the people of Congo through this life-transforming work here. Every dollar makes a difference, and a monthly donation provides the resources for us to plan for the future - a brighter future for us all! donate-image  

Bukuze at 12: Student, Peacemaker, Future French Teacher

12 years old, Bukuze is looking forward to her last year in elementary school this fall before she starts high school in 2018. She loves learning French, and doesn't mind the 45 minute walk to school from where she lives with her uncle's family, because she is determined to be a teacher.Bukuze knows about the U.S. because of the good people here who are investing in her education, and wants the people of the U.S. and the world to know that Congo needs peace, not war. BukuzePhotoWithTEXT 2017

To Protect One Protects Many: Action Kivu's HIV/AIDS Education & Testing [Photos]

Students line up to have their finger pricked, their blood drawn, and their HIV test taken to a clinic. Nurse Jeanine is matter of fact as she has the high school students role-play the situations that might lead to contracting HIV/AIDS, how to prevent its spread, and what it means to live with the disease.  Her notebook and pamphlets use illustrations to reach those who cannot read or write.Jeanine has seen a lot of changes in the two years of Action Kivu's HIV/AIDS education and testing campaign. "At the beginning, people were afraid to be tested. Now, with education, people show up and ask to be tested," she says. The campaign is in its second year, and even churches announce meetings for testing and education. But religion still proves a problem, as the church in Congo does not condone the use of condoms, and yet will excommunicate a pregnant woman who has no husband. Amani, Action Kivu's founding director, speaks up: The answer is to raise awareness, to educate the church leaders as well.All Together Against HIV/AIDS educates the youth in this corner of eastern Congo, who then take their knowledge back to their schools, their families, their churches, to be the educators. "The work makes me happy!" Nurse Jeanine says as she pricks the finger of another student. "To protect one person protects many people."

In just two years, we've tested over 1000 students and community members. One box of 100 test determiners costs $40, one box of lancets costs $40. The challenge is safe transportation to rural areas (Action Kivu does not have a 4x4) and the need is great. To invest in this life-saving work, donate today!

Scroll down through the photos to see the winces, grimaces, and grins of a day of testing and education.

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Nzigire Translated: What Does She Want?

nzigire_noquote"I am the last born child," Nzigire says. She is shy, and looks at her hands while her words are translated into English. She is only 17, still a young girl, and warms up quickly, gaining confidence as she answers questions about her life. "My mother wanted another girl," she says, explaining her name, "so she named me 'I want.' Nzigire."At 17, Nzigire has only an elementary school education. Her family unable to afford to send her to secondary school, she was excited to join Action Kivu's Sewing Workshop to be able to earn her own income, and begin to plan for her future. The first day was nerve-wracking, she says. "I didn't know anyone, but it felt so good to learn to work the pedal on the machine. In one week, I was making friends."What does Nzigire want? Not only to graduate with a sewing machine to open her own business, but, "I want more people in Congo to lead with the heart of the people she sees through Action Kivu. They have helped so many people."To invest in the future of girls and women like Nzigire, click here! donate-image  Save

Action Kivu and Ms. Magazine: Where Women's Independence Lifts Up Entire Communities

As we celebrate seven years of Action Kivu, of seeing the impact of your commitment to emboldening and educating women and children in Congo, as we witness their lives transform and we see hope finding a home in a brighter, more peace-filled tomorrow, we're thrilled to share that Ms. Magazine highlighted our work on their blog.In the midst of news reports like these from The Washington Post and The L.A. Times about the escalating violence and crisis in Congo, in which women and children are the most vulnerable victims of conflict, there has never been a more critical time to invest in the education and entrepreneurial training of women and girls in Congo. As Action Kivu's Executive Director Rebecca Snavely told Ms. Magazine:The article you reference reports on unspeakable violence against children and women, and the trauma extends to the innocent men who are also survivors of or witnesses to brutal attacks, unable to save their families from such violence. It is unspeakable, but if we do not speak about it, and against it, it will never change. Local organizations like Action Kivu provide several avenues through which change can occur, mainly through providing the space to be vocal. The meeting spaces and classes embolden girls and women to embrace their power to speak out and cry out for justice against such violence, to learn that rape is not their fault, to come together and speak about their experiences. To call out for leaders to act, and to learn to be the leaders they are looking for. The educational gatherings for men provide opportunities for change, for men to see women as their equals and allies in creating a peaceful world for them and their children to thrive.This is not to negate how terrifying it is to be in fear of such attacks, and to feel helpless. Writing this in my relatively peaceful home of Los Angeles, I cannot speak properly to what it is to live in this fear and environment. I can only quote what the girls and women said to me when I was there this year—almost every single girl I asked about what Congo needs right now answered  “Peace.” Iragi, a Sewing Workshop student in this year’s Class of 2017, dug deeper into that need. “If girls and women are given the chance, given an education, we can change the future of Congo,” Iragi says. “We have to start within ourselves. If there is no love in ourselves and our families, the government, the leaders, will not love, as they are just people, raised up in our homes, our families.” Ms_blog_screengrabRead on to learn what inspires us, what is happening now, and what has changed over the past seven years. Then take action, and share the story to amplify the voices and stories of women and girls around the world!We are grateful for your partnership as we look forward to the next seven years! SaveSave

Celebrating Interdependence: Starting a Sewing Co-Op in Congo

InterdependenceDay2017We celebrate interdependence this Independence Day in Congo with Marijane, Chanceline, and Martine, who started a sewing co-op after graduating @Action Kivu's Sewing Workshop in 2015.Using the machines they received upon graduation thanks to a generous donation from Robin Wright and Karen Fowler's Pour Les Femmes that year, the three women say that when they work on each order together, they finish faster, allowing them to take more orders per month.

We love to work together, and this is something we learned from the Sewing Workshop program. We are working, we are strong.

Marijane (pictured left) shares what @Action Kivu's Sewing Workshop means for her life:

Since I graduated, I feel completely different. I have a voice. I pay for my child's school fees each month.

This year we need your help to graduate the Class of 2017. And we know, from statistics and from the stories of our alumni, that when you invest in women's education and vocational training, you invest in their children's future, and the health of the community. Take action: Invest in the future of Congo today! Save

Celebrating 7 Years: Your Impact in Congo Through Action Kivu

FB EVENT photo 2We're excited to celebrate seven years with you, our Action Kivu family! We started with a small sewing workshop and education assistance program in eastern Congo that with YOUR partnership, has grown to a community center that houses the Sewing Workshop, Literacy Classes, Bread Baking, Basket Weaving, and Soap Making courses, and over 3000 children have been sent to school. Nearby is our shared farm where over 80 women farm their own plots of land. We have graduated 236 women with the tools and education to start their own businesses, and have 48 students in the Class of 2017 eager to receive a sewing machine to start their new lives.Your investment in the future of these women is changing lives, and an investment in women is an investment in the future generation, and a more just world. Read more and donate today at http://www.actionkivu.org/action/What is the impact of your giving? Read stories from our alumni to learn how their lives have changed:

And meet the current Class of 2017, eager to start their co-ops and businesses!

Hear how this training has changed lives, from the women of the Sewing Workshop, Class of 2015!

Women Who Farm: Jeannette on having her own plot of land in Congo

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Farming my own plot of land is so sweet, not only to sell vegetables for income, but to eat them at times they're not normally for sale. ~Jeannette

Jeannette is one of over 80 women in eastern Congo who now have a plot of land to grow fruits and vegetables, thanks to your support of Action Kivu!Our agronomist Mukengere is a student at the university in Bukavu, and teaches the women the organic and sustainable techniques he is learning in his class on agriculture and climate change. They now use local grasses to combat insects, and each farmer has her own compost heap at home, as well as the shared compost for the farm.Read more stories of hope and transformation:

 

Join the movement and invest in this world-transforming work today!

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Take Courage: Life Lessons from the Girls and Women of Congo

Bahati_quoteIn eastern Congo, girls and women walk for miles – to find work, to find water, to find buyers for the fruits and vegetables they tended from seed to harvest. Many of these paths are not safe; armed militias patrol the same roads, and risk is a regular part of life. They step into the unknown each day, to forge ahead to meet the needs of their families. Courage is a daily part of life.Merriam Webster defines courage as mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty. The word originated from the Middle English corage, from Anglo-French curage, from quer, coer heart, from the Latin cor.We often say "take heart," to rally one to be courageous is to be strong in what they're doing, to reflect on what drives them to keep going. Don't give up.20 year old Bahati was tempted to give up during her first few days at Action Kivu’s Sewing Workshop. She had heard about Action Kivu’s Literacy Program and Sewing Workshop from a girl who had graduated from the vocational training, who told Bahati, “if you are a courageous woman and you go there, you learn, and your life changes.”Bahati was desperate for change: After her father died, she had only been able to attend school up to the fourth grade. One of nine children, she was a new mother, and the father of her baby girl was gone, offering no support. Bahati felt like a beggar, asking for a bar of soap from her mother, to wash her clothes, to care for her baby. She took the girl's advice, and beginning with the Literacy Program, continued her education in numeracy and writing, before starting the Sewing Workshop.Those first few days in the course, Bahati almost quit. She didn’t know anyone in her class. Her legs and ankles hurt from the strange movements as she tried to find the right rhythm to move the foot pedal to power the Singer machine. She recalled the girl who had gone before her, and what she had said about courageous women. “I remembered the word courage,” Bahati recalled six months later, “and I took courage, and continued.”Take heart. Take courage. Women aren’t taught to take. To “take what is yours” is a phrase often taught to men, and for many women, “take what is yours” has a negative connotation: it has been practiced as a way to deny others what is theirs in the process. In that light it is the product of the scarcity mindset, that there isn’t enough for everyone, so you must take.It is time to redefine the phrase, and re-frame it in abundance. It is time for women to take what is theirs: equality. To step into the unknown, armed not with violence, but with the knowledge of self-worth. Bahati had been encouraged by another woman who had learned from her experience: that by stepping into the unknown, she learned, and her life changed.Still a student, Bahati’s life has changed. She is already earning income for herself and her 16-month-old baby. “I didn’t think I was ready to be a seamstress, but people see what I do, and they bring me fabric to make things for them,” she says. “The Sewing Workshop created independence in my life. Before I was begging even for a bar of soap, to wash clothes, to bathe, to wash my child’s clothes. People realize that I am no longer the person they knew.”Bahati sees a bright future for her daughter. "I plan to send her to school, and teach her everything I know."Your donation to Action Kivu is an investment in Bahati and the growing community of girls and women who will learn from her courage, and take heart to find their own. When she graduates this summer with a sewing machine, Bahati plans to start a business repurposing second-hand clothes from the markets of Bukavu, the city 25 kilometers from Mumosho. She’ll take what others toss aside, deconstruct them, sew them into a new style, give them new life.Be a part of this movement: Give new life and new opportunities today!donate-imageSave