As Secretary Clinton continues her visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), FORGE is grateful that her trip is calling the world’s attention to the millions of lives lost due to the horrific conflict occurring in the country. And yet, having worked with over 50,000 Congolese refugees for the past six years, FORGE’s true hope for the Secretary’s visit is that it will advance the public’s understanding of modern DRC far beyond the prevailing perceptions of violence and shattered lives. We are optimistic that the trip will spotlight the tremendous opportunities for peace and development in one of Africa’s most populous countries and will focus on the inspiring progress being made by the conflict’s courageous survivors.

FORGE works with displaced communities in Africa, educating and empowering refugees to break the cycle of war and poverty through methods that address the underlying causes of poverty and oppression. By re-conceptualizing humanitarian assistance to include practical skill building and human capacity development, FORGE affirms the role of local citizens as empowered agents of peace and development rather than mere beneficiaries of international agencies. Our collaborative, bottom-up approach is both innovative and imperative, but progress towards our ultimate vision of peace and prosperity takes time.

Now in our sixth year of operation, we are proud to see growing examples of the returns on our investments in individuals. Earlier this week, we received a moving email that confirms our results. The following is from Antoine Ngeleka, the former head of one of FORGE’s Computer Training Centers, who is currently getting his B.S. in Computer Science through FORGE’s university scholarship program. He has some exciting news about developments in Congo, preparations for the 2011 elections, and how FORGE’s programming is helping otherwise-ineligible populations join the reconstruction process.

Hi,

I hope all is well with you and everyone near you. I just wanted to share the compliments I received from my former students who repatriated last year and this year. The voter enrollment that officially started early June in Kinshasa to prepare the 2011 elections is starting in the rest of the country this week. The last time it happened in Congo was before the 2006 elections, and most of the people who got jobs with the electoral commission during enrollment were from urban areas. The same thing is happening this time too since it is a computerized enrollment and there are no computer training centers in most rural areas of the DRC.

And yet, I have received so far seven phone calls from former students to inform me that they managed to pass the test and got a job with the electoral commission of DRC! Two of these people are in Mwange (Moba territory), one in Pweto, three in Kirungu and one in Moba port. I believe that many more of my students were selected but haven’t yet informed me for some reasons. One of them said, “I didn’t know whether the knowledge and skills I acquired from Kala Computing Center had any value until I managed to defend your work at the test. I know now that I have an important intellectual property in me, thanks to FORGE and its staff”.

This is a sign that FORGE was not wasting time and resources in its projects but was actually investing in people. The good seeds that FORGE was sowing are now producing.

May FORGE live longer,

Antoine NGELEKA, Bachelor Of Science in Computing, Cavendish University Zambia

This beautiful testimonial is moving evidence of the benefits of FORGE programs in Zambian refugee camps. In order to capitalize on the momentum towards peace, security and reconstruction in DRC, let us all remember that the time to invest in the DRC is now. Just this week, FORGE secured official approval from the Congolese government to launch a base of operations in Katanga Province (southern DRC). FORGE’s collective efforts will help communities design their own unique solutions to local challenges and will play a valuable and unprecedented role in rebuilding civil society in the DRC. As we continue to embrace the tremendous opportunities in Africa, we look forward to sharing many more stories of individuals triumphing over war and adversity in the coming months and years.

For more information about FORGE, visit http://www.FORGEnow.org or email info[at]FORGEnow[dot]org. Please join us in this movement—there are many simple ways for every one of us to contribute.

-Kjerstin Erickson, Vaughn Hester & Abby Speight, FORGE

Opportunity International President and CEO Kadita “A.T.” Tshibaka (right) meets with Dikembe Mutombo Foundation employees (center) and the local mayor (left) to discuss how Opportunity can partner with them to serve those living in poverty in the DRC.

“A single bracelet does not jingle,” states a Congolese proverb. With that idea in mind, the tone of Opportunity International’s recent trip to the Democratic Republic of the Congo was one of cooperation. The microfinance organization realizes that without partnerships it will not be able to fully address the problem of poverty.

Half of the DRC’s 66.5 million people live on $1 per day. With painful poverty comes a host of serious problems for the Congolese people. Financial, health and social service organizations must work in tandem.

For this reason, Opportunity visited the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation (DMF) hospital in the DRC. A tour of the impressive facility and a meal with the staff further revealed that the two organizations have a shared vision. The patients to which the DMF Hospital provides healthcare are the very ones that Opportunity targets in its effort to alleviate poverty through savings, loans and insurance. Both organizations are committed to serve those living on less than $1 per day.

Opportunity International President and CEO, Kadita “A.T.” Tshibaka, also set up meetings with local churches such as the Evangelical Covenant Church in the DRC. He notes that “churches play a key role in advocating for the poor. We encouraged church leaders to partner with us as we serve our brothers and sisters in the D.R. Congo.”

Finally, the group met with other microfinance organizations. Rather than finding a competitive climate, Opportunity International discovered a great deal of support and encouragement. The organizations all share one common goal: to serve and empower the poor.

Without partnerships, organizations can only have a limited impact. Indeed, with the power of partnerships Opportunity International can be more than just a single bracelet in a country filled with agonizing poverty.
And the poor can receive a working chance.

To learn more about Opportunity’s commitment to providing microfinance solutions to the working poor in almost 30 countries, visit www.opportunity.org.

-Sonja Egeland Kelly, Opportunity International

The State Department has announced that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will “travel to Africa next week on a seven-nation tour aimed at highlighting the Obama administration’s commitment to the continent.” Clinton plans to visit 7 countries including Kenya, South Africa, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Liberia and Cape Verde.

You can read more details of the trip here. We’ll bring further news as it develops.

-Chris Scott

Opportunity International President and CEO Kadita,” A.T.” Tshibaka (right) talks with entrepreneur Kabuika Valentine about her business and her family. Kadita was born in the DRC and recently returned to the country to advance Opportunity’s plan to bring microfinance services to the Congolese people who are living in poverty.

Having grown up in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Opportunity International President and CEO Kadita “A.T.” Tshibaka experienced poverty first hand. Thanks to a hard working family and a timely scholarship, Kadita attended Dartmouth College, where he earned his MBA before starting a career at Citibank. His subsequent success in international banking and his passion for the poor have now led him to Opportunity International – and back to the DRC.

With half of the DRC living on less than $1 per day, the Congolese native is leading the organization’s efforts to bring microloans, savings and insurance services to a country of 66.5 million people.
Recently, Kadita led a small delegation of Opportunity supporters and staff to the DRC to witness firsthand both the challenges and possibilities that exist for his home country.

“As I shook hands with start-up business owners, I was struck by the great potential for microfinance to help expand their businesses,” reflects Kadita. “These entrepreneurs work hard to provide for their families in a country where so many are fortunate when they can eat three or four times a week. They are very focused and determined to succeed. Opportunity International will make a significant difference in their lives, supporting them with adaptable microfinance products and services.”

In the DRC, Kadita listened to the working poor and learned about their need for loans, savings and insurance. He appealed to prominent political, economic, church, and social-sector leaders, who were all excited about the prospect of an Opportunity International presence in the DRC. He met with organizations already in the country to hear about their triumphs and their struggles.

“We bank on the spirit of people and on their hopes and dreams,” Kadita continues. “The people that we met saw this and promised their support. We are both humbled and very encouraged by what we experienced.”

Kadita firmly believes in microfinance as a working solution to poverty. More specifically, he is adamant that banking in the DRC is key to the development of Africa. The DRC has the third largest population and the second largest land area in sub-Saharan Africa. With 99% of the population lacking basic banking services, raising funds for an Opportunity International Bank in the DRC has become one of the organization’s top priorities.

To learn more about Opportunity’s commitment to providing microfinance solutions to the working poor in almost 30 countries, visit www.opportunity.org.

- Sonja Egeland Kelly, Opportunity International

Women pack up their businesses at the end of the day at the crowded Grand Marche market in Kinshasa, Congo

The Grand Marche market in Kinshasa brims with tens of thousands of vendors. To the untrained eye, the market is full of chaos and confusion. To those who dare to look past the sea of people, however, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s largest market is an organized, catalogued, and thriving economic system.

Delegates from Opportunity International on a recent trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo soon discovered that there was more to the story than met the western-trained eye. Visitors are required to gain permission from the Queen of the Market (a title of true honor) to wander around the winding pathways between tightly-packed stalls. The Mayor of the Market lists the vendors present and their businesses as he proudly shows off his domain. The infrastructure is unexpected, and looks different than traditional infrastructure, but it works.

In a market like this it is hard to believe that only 1% of the DRC’s 66.5 million people have bank accounts.

Without access to formal financial services, the vendors in this marketplace are unable to get a loan that will help them to grow their business. They cannot safely save the profits that they make. They do not have the ability to take out insurance to keep them from losing their business if a fire devastated the market. They cannot gain additional structured training.

Opportunity International, a ONE partner organization, has plans to open a formal financial institution (or FFI) in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Ultimately, the organization’s goal is to bring loans, savings, insurance, and training to those who are living on less than $2 per day. With 99% of the population in need of banking services, Opportunity is poised to enter a market with much potential.

In this country roughly the geographical size of Europe, plagued by war, economic instability, and corruption, an Opportunity International formal financial institution can help to make the difference between families being able to afford only three meals per week to families being able to afford three meals per day.

To learn more about Opportunity’s commitment to providing microfinance solutions to the working poor in almost 30 countries, visit www.opportunity.org.

-Sonja Egeland Kelly, Opportunity International

After traveling to the Democratic Republic of Congo a few weeks ago, Cindy McCain urges the United States to support the United Nations World Food Programme as it strives to feed more than a million men, women and children in the region.

Read excerpts from her op-ed in today’s Wall Street Journal below, and the full piece here.

Since mid-January, more than 250,000 people have been displaced in areas of North and South Kivu provinces due to fighting between the Congolese rebels and the army. The northeastern corner of the country, near the Sudanese border, is even worse off. There the violent militiamen of the Lord’s Resistance Army burn homes, murder civilians and kidnap children to turn them into slaves or child soldiers.

In the northeast region alone, the World Food Programme has launched an emergency operation to feed 154,000 people — a tall order during the rainy season, when roads become deep, mud-filled trenches and even airstrips are turned into quagmires. Of all the aid organizations on the ground, it is the biggest and most diversified. In addition to providing food, it is the lead agency for logistics, delivering vital goods such as medicines, blankets and agricultural tools on behalf of other aid groups….

As the world tries to figure out how to cope with the economic downturn, we Americans are presented with the challenge of giving even more. The price of cornmeal has risen by 35% in the last year, and the World Food Programme faces a 2009 funding shortfall of $77 million for its operations in the eastern Congo.

In 1994, in the city of Goma in eastern Congo, I watched as a Danish nurse attempted to feed a baby who obviously was not going to make it. Tears streamed down her face. I held my composure until I got back to my car and then wept, too. That day, I vowed to do all I can to prevent such needless deaths.

I hope that my country chooses to save lives in the Congo by continuing to support the World Food Programme as it strives to provide more aid to the orphans, the sick, and those torn from their homes.

Ashley Judd visited Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo as an Ambassador with Population Services International’s Five and Alive program in late April. She wrote her experiences in a personal journal. Below is an except from her last day.

Day Six:

At a heaving market place I visited a tiny box that is PUR’s point of sale. Having set up in neighborhoods, we found folks at home have no money, but when they go to the market, they obviously have a little in their pockets for the grocery list. So, we set up a kiosk, and today I was doing a public demonstration of PUR for anyone who happened to be passing by. I love this sort of thing, being on the street, hanging out, trading witticisms and having fun, getting people involved.

In front of the kiosk I stood with a wooden stool (which would be a “primitive” collectable in the U.S.) and a big pale of nasty river water, laden with brown muck and filth. Using a fantastic, enormous wooden spoon, I sprinkled in PUR and began to stir. A great crowd was already gathered, and we hollered questions and answers back and forth about water: where do you get your water, do you get diarrhea, wait til you see PUR, sold here for .50, and how it makes even river water safe! The crowd grew.

-Ashley Judd

Read the rest of this entry, on Five & Alive’s website.

Five & Alive, a program of Population Services International (PSI), provides children and their families with the education, products, services and care needed to improve health and save lives in more than 30 countries. www.fiveandalive.org

Ashley Judd visited Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo as an Ambassador with Population Services International’s Five and Alive program in late April. She wrote her experiences in a personal journal. Below is an except from one her last days on the trip.

Day Six:

One day, PSI staff who go door to door visiting people to offer education about family planning arrived at their household while Victor was out. Therese listened keenly, told her husband what she had heard, and they went to the clinic I had visited earlier to learn more. Characteristically, Victor was concerned the birth control might have some hidden, long term detrimental affect on Therese’s health: he had already seen her suffer so much. Eventually learning from medical staff it was safe, they’ve been using an injectable birth control every 3 months.

We sat in the shade of a fine tree as this sweet couple shared their success with family planning.

-Ashley Judd

Read the rest of this entry, on Five & Alive’s website.

Five & Alive, a program of Population Services International (PSI), provides children and their families with the education, products, services and care needed to improve health and save lives in more than 30 countries. www.fiveandalive.org

Over the last year, I have been traveling to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in an effort to learn more about the country.

I view this as a long and ongoing learning experience to educate myself before making any attempt to advocate or “speak out.” My plan has been to explore, watch, listen and find those doing the best work with and on behalf of the people of the DRC, in an effort to give exposure to voices which might not otherwise be heard.

In short, I want to listen before speaking and learn before taking action. The “Nightline” segment airing Thursday June, 26 is an attempt to take the viewer along with me in that process.

It makes sense to be skeptical about celebrity activism. There is always the suspicion that involvement with a cause may be doing more good for the spokesman than he or she is doing for the cause.

I welcome any questions about me and my involvement, but I hope you can separate whatever reservations you may have from what is unimpeachably important about this segment: the plight of eastern Congo.

Anyone familiar with the Congo has heard the mind-numbing statistics: more than four million dead since 1998 (and many more before then), the most killed in any conflict since the Second World War. 1,200 people a day are still dying from conflict and conflict-related causes such as starvation and preventable disease.

The country languished as the second worst on the list of failed states until last year, when it bumped up a few notches (though it still ranks below Iraq and Afghanistan on many indices). (more…)

ABC Nightline followed Ben Affleck to the Democratic Republic of Congo where he shared his experience learning about the most savage war since WWI.

Below we have the full story, as broadcast on ABC last night, broken up into 4 clips.

More than 4 million have died in the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the fighting continues today. As Ben explains, it’s a place where atrocities happen every day, but most people don’t even know.

Ben:

“This is my third visit to the region this year. I’ve been coming here to learn about the Congo because I don’t want to involve myself without first understanding what I’m getting involved in. Learning here means meeting with war lords (some accused of atrocities) spending time in refugee camps, talking with aid workers, meeting with those whose everyday is a struggle to survive. I’m not affiliated with any aid agency. I’m not any kind kind of ambassador. I’m not going to give you a history lesson. Among other reasons, I wouldn’t be qualified. I simply want to share what I’ve seen.”

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

-Virginia Simmons