Exciting news out of Canada today. Jim Flaherty (the Minister of Finance) just announced that the Canadian government will forgive nearly $24 million owed by the Republic of Congo. This means that Canada has now cancelled close to $1 billion of debt owed by the world’s poorest countries.
“Canada’s debt relief program continues to support nations that have demonstrated a commitment to invest in the current needs of their citizens, even as they struggle with the debt burdens of their past,” said Minister Flaherty. “Today’s debt relief announcement will free up more resources that can be better invested in the health and education of the Republic of Congo’s citizens.”
To read the full release put out by the Canadian Department of Finance, click here.
You may have already read about a new project founded by Ben Affleck called the Eastern Congo Initiative. ECI describes itself as “the first U.S. based advocacy and grant-making initiative wholly focused on working with and for the people of eastern Congo”. ECI is focused on the following goals::
Raise public awareness about the tremendous need in the region through highly targeted media and advocacy activities
Drive policy change that increases United States and European government engagement in Congo
Increase the quantity and quality of public and private funding that supports the communities and citizens of eastern Congo, providing local organizations and leaders with the necessary resources to heal and sustain their communities
A joint operation by Democratic Republic of Congo government troops and UN peacekeepers has seized control of Mbandaka airport from a local militia.
The airport in the north-western Equateur province was overrun on Sunday in clashes which led to the deaths of two UN workers and several civilians.
But some fighters are reported to be still at large so government and UN troops are trying to hunt them down.
Two rival ethnic groups have been fighting for local fishing rights.
This dispute is entirely separate from the unrest involving numerous armed groups in eastern DR Congo, which has drawn the world’s biggest peacekeeping operation to the country.
Mbandaka is the capital of Equateur province, where at least 100 people were killed in clashes between the Lobala and Boba communities last year, displacing an estimated 200,000 people.
Between 30 and 100 fighters were believed to have been part of Sunday’s attack.
BBC reports along with other news outlets that the Democratic Republic of Congo president Joseph Kabila has fired or forcibly retired almost 3,000 government employees as part of what Budget Minister Michel Lokolo calls a larger fight against corruption.
This is not the first time President Kabila has taken such measures. Back in July, he fired 165 judges and prosecutors also accused of corruption.
You can read ONE’s analysis and policy briefs about governance and corruption here.
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.
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.
ONE is campaigning to ensure that the Congressional budget does not cut foreign assistance programs like Feed the Future that help people break the cycle of poverty and hunger.
The Horn of Africa is experiencing its worst drought in 60 years. More than 11 million people, mostly nomadic pastoralists and farmers in south-central Somalia, north-eastern Kenya, and south-eastern Ethiopia, are severely lacking access to food.
2011 marks 30 years since the first cases of AIDS were documented. Take a closer look at the specific, achievable goals we must hit by 2015 to make this year the beginning of the end of AIDS.
As aid agencies warn more than 9 million people could be affected by a food crisis in East Africa, world leaders are failing to keep their 2009 promises to tackle the causes of chronic hunger and support farmers in the world's poorest countries.
Exciting news out of Canada today. Jim Flaherty (the Minister of Finance) just announced that the Canadian government will forgive nearly $24 million owed by the Republic of Congo. This means that Canada has now cancelled close to $1 billion of debt owed by the world’s poorest countries.
You may have already read about a new project founded by Ben Affleck called the 
