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

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

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 Five:

There is a weekly call in radio show called “Abajene,” a rally cry for youth, which is hosted by a young idol we have empowered with medically accurate information. For kids without electricity and phones (so many!) our Cinemobile does tours to rural parts of the country gussied up with a audio/visual kit in order to attract kids, give them “infotainment,” and let them use the provided cell phone to call in their teen age dilemmas and inquiries. On site, there is dance, singing, games, recreational pursuits, a football pitch, and job skill training. Within these “services” kids learn everything from personal hygiene, prevention and treatment seeking behaviors (how/when/why to go to a medical clinic), and let us not forget, they have a chance to simply be kids, to play, to run, to forget, for a few precious moments, all their burdens and cares, the back breaking chores that await them at home, and how they will probably be going to bed hungry. Again.

I love this approach, not just because it is holistic, but because it embodies the ideal of collaboration with other grassroots organizations.

-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