Hello and holiday greetings to my Leja Bulela Community,
As you are aware at the July 2008 Annual Leja Bulela Conference in Dallas, Texas the next generation of LBers chose to organize and create an action group. As a group we have had some success in 2008. I wanted to share and also give a preview of 2009.
2008 Highlights
1) July 6, 2008. Go LB YAO it's your birthday. We were born from an idea that we have a moral obligation to help our family and our community in the Democratic Republic of Congo. We come in the spirit of Leja Bulela and Yes We Can.
2) July 27, 2008. We are LIVE! Our first national conference call. We are connecting via telephone in the USA to our friends, family and LB YAO members, discussing our agenda, sports, culture, politics and all things DRC. We are live Sundays 5:00 pm pst and 8:00 est
Sunday Conference Call Information
Conference Dial-in Number: (712) 432-1601
Host Access Code: 307891*
Participant Access Code: 307891#
3) American Express Members Project. This showed who we are and our potential. This group put out an aggressive agenda in a very minimal amount of time. It also showed our ambition. We set up a campaign to solicit potentially $1.5 million from American Express for the KHMC clinic. From initiation of the idea August 3 on our conference call by Theirry to project deadline date of August 19 members of LB YAO came together like Barack and Hillary supporters during the primaries. We managed to submit this piece of history of our cause:
Can You Hear Us Now (Congo's Children)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvGgpyFt-sY
Our project did not get nominated for the grand prize but this showed us how we need to organize, initiate and most importantly ACT!
4) $500 from Allstate. The lesson learned from this donation is the simple fact that big change starts small. To get this award it started from hearing Abbe Muyombo. This man spoke at the Dallas conference and changed the way I view the world. I learned what my purpose is. Help those in need. Every little effort counts. We are just getting started....
5) Reconstruction
After a great start to our action group we became complacent and stagnant. Many factors contributed. The 2008 election, Financial Crisis, and just the realities of life for us LB YAOers. December 6, 2008 we re organized, in the spirit of the swift and calculated cabinet nominations of Mr President Elect Obama, We too have a "team of rivals."
Coming in January 2009: The 2009 LB YAO previews, coming to your computer screen, it's gonna be a BIG SUMMER! Dallas is gonna be HOT!
Respectfully submitted,
Muamba
LB YAO
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
The Best African Music Of 2008
National Public Radio has released its list of top 10 African Albums, and at the top of the list was the first release from the Kasai Allstars. If you haven't checked out the Congotronics series by Crammed Discs then you should definitely should. Here is the article from the NPR website:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98158941
Taken from : http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98158941
1. Kasai Allstars
Album: In the 7th Moon, the Chief Turned Into a Swimming Fish and Ate the Head of His Enemy by
Song: Mpombo Yetu
This collective draws from members of five traditional ensembles in Congo's central Kasai region. The music has roots in the ancient rituals and celebrations of the bush, but it's also urban because these musicians came together in the Congolese capital, Kinshasa, and incorporate electric guitar and bass alongside metallic hand pianos, wooden xylophones, slit drums and other percussion instruments. The band's producers call the sound Congotronics. I call it mesmerizing musical sorcery.
December 21, 2008 Conference Call
Conference Call held on December 21, 2008 at 8pm EST
Participants:
Muamba Kabongo
Nadine Kasongo
Tania Kasongo
Topics Discussed:
Muamba discussed having an incentive program for the various promotional products that we have. Attached is a picture of the key chains that we have recently ordered for LB YAO. These keychains are to be used for fundraising purposes. Muamba suggested that members of LB and outside of LB that give a donation get a thank you gift:
If you raise $5 (for example) - You get a key chain
If you raise $10 - You get a t-shirt
...and so on.
Nadine, who has recently been named East coast regional chair, informed the group that she has sent an ad out in various Columbus publications. This ad was aimed at anyone interested in DRC and then once she gets a group of interested people, she will have a meeting to discuss various ideas and possibly distribute the LB YAO keychains. She has already received positive feedback from people who have found the ad!
The meeting was adjourned after that since there were not too many participants on the call.
The next conference call will be on January 4, 2009. The conference call agenda will be sent out the week of December 29th, please send any agenda topics to me (tkaso92@msn.com) by Friday, January 2nd.
Thank you,
WE RUN DRC
Tania Kasongo
tkaso92@msn.com
Participants:
Muamba Kabongo
Nadine Kasongo
Tania Kasongo
Topics Discussed:
Muamba discussed having an incentive program for the various promotional products that we have. Attached is a picture of the key chains that we have recently ordered for LB YAO. These keychains are to be used for fundraising purposes. Muamba suggested that members of LB and outside of LB that give a donation get a thank you gift:
If you raise $5 (for example) - You get a key chain
If you raise $10 - You get a t-shirt
...and so on.
Nadine, who has recently been named East coast regional chair, informed the group that she has sent an ad out in various Columbus publications. This ad was aimed at anyone interested in DRC and then once she gets a group of interested people, she will have a meeting to discuss various ideas and possibly distribute the LB YAO keychains. She has already received positive feedback from people who have found the ad!
The meeting was adjourned after that since there were not too many participants on the call.
The next conference call will be on January 4, 2009. The conference call agenda will be sent out the week of December 29th, please send any agenda topics to me (tkaso92@msn.com) by Friday, January 2nd.
Thank you,
WE RUN DRC
Tania Kasongo
tkaso92@msn.com
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Massive Job Losses in DR Congo
Massive job losses in Congo mines
More than 200,000 jobs have been lost in the Democratic Republic of Congo amid a collapse in mineral prices as a result of the global economic downturn.
There are fears the job losses could reach 300,000 by the end of this month.
Officials said the cost of producing minerals like cobalt and copper was greater than the price the commodities are fetching on world markets.
More than 40 firms processing minerals had shut by last month, mainly in the southern Katanga province.
The BBC's Thomas Fessy in DR Congo says with about half of the world's cobalt and 4% of the copper, Katanga is the richest province in DR Congo.
Provincial Minister of Mines Barthelemy Mumba Gama said the province generates nearly half of the country's revenue.
He said that the situation could be saved if the central government agreed to relieve the tax burden in the mining sector.
DR Congo has long been popular with mining companies, with its rich supplies of cobalt, copper, tin, radium, uranium, diamonds and coltan, a vital ingredient for mobile phones.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/7773304.stm
Published: 2008/12/09 12:36:54 GMT
© BBC MMVIII
Print Sponsor
More than 200,000 jobs have been lost in the Democratic Republic of Congo amid a collapse in mineral prices as a result of the global economic downturn.
There are fears the job losses could reach 300,000 by the end of this month.
Officials said the cost of producing minerals like cobalt and copper was greater than the price the commodities are fetching on world markets.
More than 40 firms processing minerals had shut by last month, mainly in the southern Katanga province.
The BBC's Thomas Fessy in DR Congo says with about half of the world's cobalt and 4% of the copper, Katanga is the richest province in DR Congo.
Provincial Minister of Mines Barthelemy Mumba Gama said the province generates nearly half of the country's revenue.
He said that the situation could be saved if the central government agreed to relieve the tax burden in the mining sector.
DR Congo has long been popular with mining companies, with its rich supplies of cobalt, copper, tin, radium, uranium, diamonds and coltan, a vital ingredient for mobile phones.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/7773304.stm
Published: 2008/12/09 12:36:54 GMT
© BBC MMVIII
Print Sponsor
Message from the Executive Commitee
After the 2008 Meeting of Dallas, the youth of Leja Bulela appears well inspired. Keeping up with the momentum, it is the wish of the Boards and Executive to have LB youth introduced to the leadership positions -- as agreed at the Annual Meeting of Atlanta in 2004. The two leadership positions on the Executive Committee are Deputy Treasurer and Deputy Secretary and have been vacant for some time now.
I am happy to report that the position of Deputy Treasurer that has now been filled. Felicia Kadima accepted this position and will work closely with our Treasurer to develop among other activities, keeping up the books of the organization, compiling and publishing reports of donors and financial reports, and fund raising. Please join me to congratulate and support Felicia for her dedication to the cause of LB.
Now we need someone else to step up and claim the position of Deputy Secretary. Cheers for the Holidays,
mk
I am happy to report that the position of Deputy Treasurer that has now been filled. Felicia Kadima accepted this position and will work closely with our Treasurer to develop among other activities, keeping up the books of the organization, compiling and publishing reports of donors and financial reports, and fund raising. Please join me to congratulate and support Felicia for her dedication to the cause of LB.
Now we need someone else to step up and claim the position of Deputy Secretary. Cheers for the Holidays,
mk
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Mutombo Raises Awareness
Mutombo mulls NBA future, advocates support for Congo
By John Hareas, NBA.com
Posted Dec 15 2008 2:35PM
Dikembe Mutombo is not retired. The four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year and 17-year NBA veteran will be making a decision on his basketball future within the next two weeks.
He's hoping people reading this article will make a decision today. A decision to save lives.
"By text-messaging 'Congo' to 90999 on your cell phone, you can raise awareness for $5," Mutombo said. "We are trying to receive international support for the people of the Congo who are suffering daily from deadly diseases such as HIV, AIDS and Malaria. More than five million people have died and that number is growing. Last year, more than 1.4 million children have died from Malaria alone."
According to Mutombo, 50 to 60 percent of the patients at the Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital in the Congo, named after his late mother, are dying from Malaria.
"With this mobile campaign, we are trying to reach 400,000 people nationwide who will hopefully text Congo," Mutombo said. "The goal is to raise $2 million this year. This money will go directly to those who are battling to stay alive."
The Dikembe Mutombo Foundation partnered with Mobile Accord, Denver-based company on this global mobile initiative, which officially launched today.
The man who has finger wagged his way to 3,287 blocks in his NBA career has been tireless in his efforts on behalf of his foundation in seeking funds and awareness, criss-crossing the country, meeting with potential donors and medical companies with one mission in mind.
"It's about saving lives," Mutombo said.
Another mission for Mutombo is to determine his next NBA home. The eight-time NBA All-Star has been working out, a three-plus hour daily regiment, featuring weight lifting, spin and yoga classes.
"Basketball is a mindset," Mutombo said. "And my mind is set to play the rest of this season before I retire this summer. "I will make a decision after I celebrate Christmas with my wife and kids."
Seven teams are interested and among those Mutombo is looking at include Boston, Miami and San Antonio. Asked about the chances of returning to Houston, Mutombo replied: "I don't know. I would certainly be open to it. I have a house there and a lot of friends in the city but it's still up in the air to see who will offer me a contract."
While this is the first time Mutombo has not played organized basketball in more than 20 years, the time off has served him and his foundation well.
"Every day, I always have something to do," said Mutombo. "With the time off, I've been able to accomplish a lot not only with the foundation but the hospital as well. I've been meeting with various medical companies around the world seeking partnerships to assist with the hospital."
Someone who has been instrumental in his foundation about the plight in Africa is Bono, lead singer of the uber rock group, U2.
"Bono is a personal friend of mine and he has done a lot in creating the awareness of the pain and suffering of the people of Africa," said Mutombo.
"He and I continue to work today to see how can we bring a change to Africa. All the people of Africa need hope, need to know that there is somebody out there who are thinking of them, worrying about them and who are willing to come and help them just a little bit."
Asked whether he has ever invited Bono to an NBA game, Mutombo laughed. "He always invites me to a concert when he's in America. I've gone to several shows. I never got a chance to invite him to a game. Maybe I should think about it next time."
It looks like he will have an opportunity in a matter of weeks.
Op-Ed from NY Times
Op-Ed Contributor
Can Africa Trade Its Way to Peace?
By HERMAN J. COHEN
Published: December 15, 2008
THE conflict in eastern Congo over the past 12 years has been as much
a surrogate war between Congo and neighboring Rwanda as an internal
ethnic insurgency, as a United Nations report underscored last week.
The only way to end a war that has caused five million deaths and
forced millions to flee their homes in Congo's two eastern provinces
is to address the conflict's international dimensions. The role of
Rwanda - which borders the provinces and which denied the accusations
in the United Nations report over the weekend - is of prime
importance.
The international community has worked hard to resolve the conflicts
among the various parties: the sovereign states of Rwanda and Congo as
well as the assorted militias and private armies that are sponsored by
these two governments and by opportunistic local warlords. But despite
the deployment of 17,000 United Nations peacekeepers, and many efforts
at mediation with constructive American support, the situation appears
intractable.
The failure of international diplomacy is related to the economic
roots of the problem, which began with the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.
Until the economic conundrum is addressed, there is little prospect
for a solution.
The genocidal war between the majority Hutu and the minority Tutsi in
Rwanda spilled into Congo, and the eastern part of that vast country
has been unstable ever since. When Tutsi rebel forces took power in
Rwanda in June 1994, more than a million Hutu fled to Congo, where
they settled into refugee camps on the Rwandan border.
After two years of cross-border raids from the refugee camps by exiled
Hutu soldiers who had participated in the genocide, the Rwandan Army
attacked and destroyed the camps, with the quiet but unambiguous
approval of the United States in the absence of another solution to
the violence. Most of the Hutu refugees returned to Rwanda, but about
100,000 of them, along with the exiled Hutu soldiers, moved westward
as a disciplined group into Congo's interior.
The Rwandan Army pursued the escaping Hutu and caught up with them
near the city of Kisangani at the headwaters of the Congo River. The
refugees were massacred, but the former Hutu soldiers escaped to
neighboring countries.
The move against the refugee camps was the first step in a
well-planned action by Rwanda in 1996 and 1997 to overwhelm the weak
Congolese Army and, with the help of the Congolese opposition,
overthrow the 30-year dictatorship of Mobutu Sese Seko. With
logistical support from Uganda and Angola, the military action
succeeded in less than three months. A new government in Congo was
installed under President Laurent Kabila, an exile handpicked by the
Rwandans.
And from 1996 to today, the Tutsi-led Rwandan government has been in
effective control of Congo's eastern provinces of North and South
Kivu. This control has been maintained through intermittent military
occupation and the presence of Congolese militias financed and trained
by the Rwandan Army.
During these 12 years of Rwandan control, the mineral-rich provinces
have been economically integrated into Rwanda. During this time,
Congo's governments have been preoccupied with internal and external
wars elsewhere, and have been unable to combat foreign control of the
eastern provinces, a thousand miles from the capital, Kinshasa.
But two years ago, Congo held multiparty elections that were judged to
be transparent and credible by international observers. For the first
time in a decade, there was hope for stability. President Joseph
Kabila (the son of Laurent Kabila, who was assassinated in 2001)
turned his attention to trying to gain control of the eastern
provinces.
Unfortunately, this has led to increased conflict and suffering. The
main source of the current violence is an insurgent force of ethnic
Congolese Tutsi commanded by Laurent Nkunda, a former general in the
Congolese Army. He claims to be fighting to defend the Tutsi community
from discrimination and from the former Rwandan Hutu fighters who have
returned from neighboring countries and now operate in the forested
hills of eastern Congo.
General Nkunda's military operations, however, are aimed mainly
against the Congolese Army's efforts to restore Congo's sovereignty
over its eastern provinces. His force is well armed and financed by
the Rwandan government. The armed Hutu presence in the provinces
provides the Rwandan government with a pretext to justify its
interference there.
Having controlled the Kivu provinces for 12 years, Rwanda will not
relinquish access to resources that constitute a significant
percentage of its gross national product. At the same time, Congo's
government is within its rights to take control of the resources there
for the benefit of the Congolese people. This economic conflict must
be taken into account.
This provides an opportunity for the incoming Obama administration.
Acts of war and military occupation aside, there is a natural economic
synergy between eastern Congo and the nations of East Africa,
including Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania and Uganda. The normal flow of
trade from eastern Congo is to Indian Ocean ports rather than the
Atlantic Ocean, which is more than a thousand miles away.
After his inauguration, Barack Obama should appoint a special
negotiator who would propose a framework for an economic common market
encompassing Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. This
agreement would allow the free movement of people and trade. It would
give Rwandan businesses continued access to Congolese minerals and
forests. The products made from those raw materials would continue to
be exported through Rwanda. The big change would be the payment of
royalties and taxes to the Congolese government. For most Rwandan
businesses, those payments would be offset by increased revenues.
In addition, the free movement of people would empty the refugee camps
and would allow the densely populated countries of Rwanda and Burundi
to supply needed labor to Congo and Tanzania.
If such a common market could be negotiated, Rwanda and Congo would no
longer need to finance and arm militias to wage war over the natural
resources in Congo's eastern provinces. Without government backing,
the fighting groups would either dissolve on their own or be
integrated into legitimate armed forces.
If undertaken with enough will and persistence, an American-led
mediation to create a common market in East Africa could end the war
and transform the region.
Herman J. Cohen was the assistant secretary of state for Africa from
1989 to 1993.
Can Africa Trade Its Way to Peace?
By HERMAN J. COHEN
Published: December 15, 2008
THE conflict in eastern Congo over the past 12 years has been as much
a surrogate war between Congo and neighboring Rwanda as an internal
ethnic insurgency, as a United Nations report underscored last week.
The only way to end a war that has caused five million deaths and
forced millions to flee their homes in Congo's two eastern provinces
is to address the conflict's international dimensions. The role of
Rwanda - which borders the provinces and which denied the accusations
in the United Nations report over the weekend - is of prime
importance.
The international community has worked hard to resolve the conflicts
among the various parties: the sovereign states of Rwanda and Congo as
well as the assorted militias and private armies that are sponsored by
these two governments and by opportunistic local warlords. But despite
the deployment of 17,000 United Nations peacekeepers, and many efforts
at mediation with constructive American support, the situation appears
intractable.
The failure of international diplomacy is related to the economic
roots of the problem, which began with the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.
Until the economic conundrum is addressed, there is little prospect
for a solution.
The genocidal war between the majority Hutu and the minority Tutsi in
Rwanda spilled into Congo, and the eastern part of that vast country
has been unstable ever since. When Tutsi rebel forces took power in
Rwanda in June 1994, more than a million Hutu fled to Congo, where
they settled into refugee camps on the Rwandan border.
After two years of cross-border raids from the refugee camps by exiled
Hutu soldiers who had participated in the genocide, the Rwandan Army
attacked and destroyed the camps, with the quiet but unambiguous
approval of the United States in the absence of another solution to
the violence. Most of the Hutu refugees returned to Rwanda, but about
100,000 of them, along with the exiled Hutu soldiers, moved westward
as a disciplined group into Congo's interior.
The Rwandan Army pursued the escaping Hutu and caught up with them
near the city of Kisangani at the headwaters of the Congo River. The
refugees were massacred, but the former Hutu soldiers escaped to
neighboring countries.
The move against the refugee camps was the first step in a
well-planned action by Rwanda in 1996 and 1997 to overwhelm the weak
Congolese Army and, with the help of the Congolese opposition,
overthrow the 30-year dictatorship of Mobutu Sese Seko. With
logistical support from Uganda and Angola, the military action
succeeded in less than three months. A new government in Congo was
installed under President Laurent Kabila, an exile handpicked by the
Rwandans.
And from 1996 to today, the Tutsi-led Rwandan government has been in
effective control of Congo's eastern provinces of North and South
Kivu. This control has been maintained through intermittent military
occupation and the presence of Congolese militias financed and trained
by the Rwandan Army.
During these 12 years of Rwandan control, the mineral-rich provinces
have been economically integrated into Rwanda. During this time,
Congo's governments have been preoccupied with internal and external
wars elsewhere, and have been unable to combat foreign control of the
eastern provinces, a thousand miles from the capital, Kinshasa.
But two years ago, Congo held multiparty elections that were judged to
be transparent and credible by international observers. For the first
time in a decade, there was hope for stability. President Joseph
Kabila (the son of Laurent Kabila, who was assassinated in 2001)
turned his attention to trying to gain control of the eastern
provinces.
Unfortunately, this has led to increased conflict and suffering. The
main source of the current violence is an insurgent force of ethnic
Congolese Tutsi commanded by Laurent Nkunda, a former general in the
Congolese Army. He claims to be fighting to defend the Tutsi community
from discrimination and from the former Rwandan Hutu fighters who have
returned from neighboring countries and now operate in the forested
hills of eastern Congo.
General Nkunda's military operations, however, are aimed mainly
against the Congolese Army's efforts to restore Congo's sovereignty
over its eastern provinces. His force is well armed and financed by
the Rwandan government. The armed Hutu presence in the provinces
provides the Rwandan government with a pretext to justify its
interference there.
Having controlled the Kivu provinces for 12 years, Rwanda will not
relinquish access to resources that constitute a significant
percentage of its gross national product. At the same time, Congo's
government is within its rights to take control of the resources there
for the benefit of the Congolese people. This economic conflict must
be taken into account.
This provides an opportunity for the incoming Obama administration.
Acts of war and military occupation aside, there is a natural economic
synergy between eastern Congo and the nations of East Africa,
including Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania and Uganda. The normal flow of
trade from eastern Congo is to Indian Ocean ports rather than the
Atlantic Ocean, which is more than a thousand miles away.
After his inauguration, Barack Obama should appoint a special
negotiator who would propose a framework for an economic common market
encompassing Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. This
agreement would allow the free movement of people and trade. It would
give Rwandan businesses continued access to Congolese minerals and
forests. The products made from those raw materials would continue to
be exported through Rwanda. The big change would be the payment of
royalties and taxes to the Congolese government. For most Rwandan
businesses, those payments would be offset by increased revenues.
In addition, the free movement of people would empty the refugee camps
and would allow the densely populated countries of Rwanda and Burundi
to supply needed labor to Congo and Tanzania.
If such a common market could be negotiated, Rwanda and Congo would no
longer need to finance and arm militias to wage war over the natural
resources in Congo's eastern provinces. Without government backing,
the fighting groups would either dissolve on their own or be
integrated into legitimate armed forces.
If undertaken with enough will and persistence, an American-led
mediation to create a common market in East Africa could end the war
and transform the region.
Herman J. Cohen was the assistant secretary of state for Africa from
1989 to 1993.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Conference Call 12/14/2008
LB – YAO Conference Call Minutes 12-14-2008
Participants:
Tania Kasongo
Marco Nkashama
Tshilumba Kabongo
Muamba Kabongo
Agenda:
New LB YAO positions:
Everyone except Thierry Tubajika accepted their new positions
These are some primary contacts for any relevant issues
Here is the breakdown of the new positions:
Chairman of LB YAO – Vacant
Muamba stated that he could take the post if no one else is interested
Lead Organizer of LB YAO – Muamba Kabongo
Africa Correspondent and Advisor – Muadi Mukenge
Press Secretary – Tania Kasongo
Communications Chair - Tshilumba Kabongo
Media Chair – Isabelle Kalubi
Regional Chairs:
East – Nadine Kasongo
West – Kalonji Kadima
Midwest – Felicia Kadima
Southwest – Marco Nkashama
News!
Felicia Kadima has been recruited by Leja Bulela to assist Papa Pascal with treasurer duties. Congratulations Felicia! Keep up the great work; you are a wonderful asset to LB!!!
Tshilumba’s school has given him an open forum to do a presentation on Leja Bulela. This could turn out to be a great fundraiser. They have given him open arms and an open pocketbook.
If you have any suggestions as to what Tshilumba can do, please let him know ASAP.
There will be no conference call on December 28, 2008 in observance of the Christmas and New Years holiday
Next conference call:
Will be on December 21, 2008 at 8pm EST
EVERYONE is welcome to join
Please send any agenda topics to Tania Kasongo at tkaso92@msn.com by Thursday, December 18, 2008.
Participants:
Tania Kasongo
Marco Nkashama
Tshilumba Kabongo
Muamba Kabongo
Agenda:
New LB YAO positions:
Everyone except Thierry Tubajika accepted their new positions
These are some primary contacts for any relevant issues
Here is the breakdown of the new positions:
Chairman of LB YAO – Vacant
Muamba stated that he could take the post if no one else is interested
Lead Organizer of LB YAO – Muamba Kabongo
Africa Correspondent and Advisor – Muadi Mukenge
Press Secretary – Tania Kasongo
Communications Chair - Tshilumba Kabongo
Media Chair – Isabelle Kalubi
Regional Chairs:
East – Nadine Kasongo
West – Kalonji Kadima
Midwest – Felicia Kadima
Southwest – Marco Nkashama
News!
Felicia Kadima has been recruited by Leja Bulela to assist Papa Pascal with treasurer duties. Congratulations Felicia! Keep up the great work; you are a wonderful asset to LB!!!
Tshilumba’s school has given him an open forum to do a presentation on Leja Bulela. This could turn out to be a great fundraiser. They have given him open arms and an open pocketbook.
If you have any suggestions as to what Tshilumba can do, please let him know ASAP.
There will be no conference call on December 28, 2008 in observance of the Christmas and New Years holiday
Next conference call:
Will be on December 21, 2008 at 8pm EST
EVERYONE is welcome to join
Please send any agenda topics to Tania Kasongo at tkaso92@msn.com by Thursday, December 18, 2008.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Mass Killings in Eastern Congo
Mass Killings in Eastern Congo
The New York Times Video Library
Published: 12.12.2008
General Nkunda denies the video evidence
http://video.nytimes.com/video/2008/12/11/world/africa/1194835234624/mass-killings-in-eastern-congo.html?partner=permalink&exprod=permalink
The New York Times Video Library
Published: 12.12.2008
General Nkunda denies the video evidence
http://video.nytimes.com/video/2008/12/11/world/africa/1194835234624/mass-killings-in-eastern-congo.html?partner=permalink&exprod=permalink
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Reconstruction 2008
After an initial surge in positive activity and movement, recent stagnation has caused us to reevaluate the status of our action group. Our movement begins anew with the following enactment of policy, which states our position.
LB YAO: Leja Bulela Young Adults Organization
Founded July 6, 2008 Dallas, TX
Mission: The same as LB, from a first generation Congolese-American perspective. We have a unique world view. It is with this unique lens that we believe we can eventually RUN DRC.
For more on our parent organization please see us @ www.lejabulela.org
1st order of business: The powering of the KHMC Clinic in DRC
LB YAO accepted at the 2008 Annual Conference in Dallas a pledge in the amount of $10K to go towards powering the KHMC clinic
New Structure and Nomination for positions and position descriptions
Chairman of LB YAO
Thierry Tubajika
-Lead LB YAO
-Grow LB YAO
-Work with LB Chairman and EC to make sure LB YAO operates according to the by laws of the parent organization
Lead Organizer of LB YAO
Muamba Kabongo
-Coordinator of LB YAO
-Reports directly to LB EC, Chairman and LB YAO Chairman
-Chief Executive Officer (accountable for LB YAO activities, initiatives and proposals)
- LB YAO Co-Founder
Africa Correspondent and Senior Advisor
Muadi Mukenge
- African Field Expert
- Non profit work experience
- Published writer
Press Secretary
Tania Kasongo
-Editor and Chief LB YAO News letter
-Monitor and Coordinate Weekly LB YAO Conference Calls
-LB YAO Treasurer/ Chief Financial Officer of LB YAO
Communications Chair
Tshilumba Kabongo
-Coordinator of LB YAO
-We Run Drc blog monitor
-Coordinator of emailing communication between leadership team, LB and LB Yao members
-Chief Operating Officer of LB YAO (This young man is taking online classes on how to operate and grow a non profit organization)
-LB YAO Founder (planted the seed in Milwaukee 2007 Annual Conference with the SPEECH, looking back it is similar to the SPEECH Barack made at the Democratic Convention in 2004. It was a call for the Youth of the Congolese Diaspora living in these United States to rise up, speak up and move towards to helping our struggling and war torn nation. The start of our movement....
Media Chair
Isabelle Kalubi
-Video
-Media, pictures
-Editing
-Language Expert
Regional Chairs
-Develop fundraising strategies to fit regional interest
- Promote LB in region
- Recruit new membership for LB and LB YAO
East
Nadine Kasongo
West
Kano Kadima
Midwest
Felicia Kadima
South West
Marco Nkashnma
We are nothing unless united towards a common goal. With this proposal, let us again rise to the daunting challenge of helping those who cannot help themselves and provide hope to those in need. We are also nothing without our people. We all have brothers and sisters who can help with our mission. Let Charity start at home and start spreading the word amongst our own families, then branch out to anyone who can and will help promote our cause. If anyone would like to nominate some to any position or create a new position please contact Tshilumba.
Our mission continues....
With respect to a cause greater than ourselves,
Comrade Muamba Isaac Kabongo
LB YAO: Leja Bulela Young Adults Organization
Founded July 6, 2008 Dallas, TX
Mission: The same as LB, from a first generation Congolese-American perspective. We have a unique world view. It is with this unique lens that we believe we can eventually RUN DRC.
For more on our parent organization please see us @ www.lejabulela.org
1st order of business: The powering of the KHMC Clinic in DRC
LB YAO accepted at the 2008 Annual Conference in Dallas a pledge in the amount of $10K to go towards powering the KHMC clinic
New Structure and Nomination for positions and position descriptions
Chairman of LB YAO
Thierry Tubajika
-Lead LB YAO
-Grow LB YAO
-Work with LB Chairman and EC to make sure LB YAO operates according to the by laws of the parent organization
Lead Organizer of LB YAO
Muamba Kabongo
-Coordinator of LB YAO
-Reports directly to LB EC, Chairman and LB YAO Chairman
-Chief Executive Officer (accountable for LB YAO activities, initiatives and proposals)
- LB YAO Co-Founder
Africa Correspondent and Senior Advisor
Muadi Mukenge
- African Field Expert
- Non profit work experience
- Published writer
Press Secretary
Tania Kasongo
-Editor and Chief LB YAO News letter
-Monitor and Coordinate Weekly LB YAO Conference Calls
-LB YAO Treasurer/ Chief Financial Officer of LB YAO
Communications Chair
Tshilumba Kabongo
-Coordinator of LB YAO
-We Run Drc blog monitor
-Coordinator of emailing communication between leadership team, LB and LB Yao members
-Chief Operating Officer of LB YAO (This young man is taking online classes on how to operate and grow a non profit organization)
-LB YAO Founder (planted the seed in Milwaukee 2007 Annual Conference with the SPEECH, looking back it is similar to the SPEECH Barack made at the Democratic Convention in 2004. It was a call for the Youth of the Congolese Diaspora living in these United States to rise up, speak up and move towards to helping our struggling and war torn nation. The start of our movement....
Media Chair
Isabelle Kalubi
-Video
-Media, pictures
-Editing
-Language Expert
Regional Chairs
-Develop fundraising strategies to fit regional interest
- Promote LB in region
- Recruit new membership for LB and LB YAO
East
Nadine Kasongo
West
Kano Kadima
Midwest
Felicia Kadima
South West
Marco Nkashnma
We are nothing unless united towards a common goal. With this proposal, let us again rise to the daunting challenge of helping those who cannot help themselves and provide hope to those in need. We are also nothing without our people. We all have brothers and sisters who can help with our mission. Let Charity start at home and start spreading the word amongst our own families, then branch out to anyone who can and will help promote our cause. If anyone would like to nominate some to any position or create a new position please contact Tshilumba.
Our mission continues....
With respect to a cause greater than ourselves,
Comrade Muamba Isaac Kabongo
Monday, December 1, 2008
Conference Call #18
Sunday, November 30, 2008, 5 pm PST
42 mins
Marco
Tania
Nadine
Muamba
Tshilumba
Summary:
Restructuring the LB YAO
Writing the Agenda
We have entered into a period of rebuilding. The current state of our affairs is not as we would like it to be. Changes will be made immediately in how LB YAO is ran. Direct communications will be taking place this week to gauge the level of involvment of our group in order to build the most effective unit.
42 mins
Marco
Tania
Nadine
Muamba
Tshilumba
Summary:
Restructuring the LB YAO
Writing the Agenda
We have entered into a period of rebuilding. The current state of our affairs is not as we would like it to be. Changes will be made immediately in how LB YAO is ran. Direct communications will be taking place this week to gauge the level of involvment of our group in order to build the most effective unit.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Conference Call #17
Muamba
Nadine
Tania
Sunday, November 23, 2008, 5:00 PM -5:15 PM PST
- No new topics
- $36 from first group purchase for key chains...who will put us over
the top?
-Tania to put out communication of possible new position. LB YAO
Secretary. Propose 1 person to track meeting notes, put out conference
call agenda prior to weekly call, etc. More from Tania
-Tania also had ideas for generating more donors for solar initiative.
Again she will put out to group via email or on another call
Anonymous Commentary:
Unfortunately we are acting real Congolese as a group. Just because
there were more people on the call last week, seems folks think it's
time for a break. The whole EC is watching us. We will have an executive
summit in SD....Comm Chair, Chief of Staff and Chairman over Heineken
and turkey to get ready for end of the year agenda items. If we hope or
wait for a result we can expect to fail. If we plan and execute we will
win. We need to get this through to each person who claims LBYAO....some
rep,some are straight frontin....
Analysis:
Are we going to make history or be history? We must challenge ourselves everyday!
LB Conference Call 11-23-08
Agenda:
Other electricity options
See if any more people have shown interest for the group trip in 2010
LB items
Direction of the executive committee
I. Electricity options
A. Does anyone know where I can obtain an itemized format of the $10,000 budget for providing electricity for the clinic?
B. There were some other organizations that I found on-line
EEF (Switzerland)
Infra-Consult (Germany)
Medis (Belgium)
World Bank
European Investment Bank
Solar Energy for Africa http://solarenergyforafrica.com/index.html
Have done a lot in Uganda already
Based out of Silver Springs, MD
Solar Light for Africa http://www.solarlightforafrica.org/
Based out of Norcross, GA
A non-profit Christian organization whose mission is to transform lives and empower the people of Africa by providing light and energy using the natural power of the sun
Established in 1997
Intention to install approximately 1,000 solar units annually
Helped provide clean water and electrification to Kakuuto hospital, where the AIDS virus was discovered
Their site states that $1500 provides 1 complete system for a clinic, school, or public facility
A 501(c) (3) organization
Jewish Heart for Africa http://www.jhasol.org/
A 501 (c) (3) organization
Provided electricity to a clinic in Uganda for $4300
Most of their clinic projects cost between $4000-$5000
Their mission is to bring Israeli solar technology to Africa
They had a great pic of Africa at night; there is barely any light in DRC (truly the DARK Continent)
Ambassadors attend their events
C. Some interesting facts about electricity in Africa
The sun can provide up to 12 hours of light each day
There is an increase in deforestation because of the other energy sources that are used (i.e. sticks for firewood; coal; paper; etc.)
II. Is there anyone else interested in the Back to Africa trip 2010?
A. So far the people who are on board are:
Tshilumba Kabongo
Thierry Tubajika
Muamba Kabongo
Nadine Kasongo
Kalonji Kadima
Marco Nkashama
Tania Kasongo
B. I would really like to make this a well-organized trip so the earlier I have a ballpark idea of how many people would like to come along; that would be great
C. I have spoken with one of the leaders that planned the service trip I took to NOLA b/c they also take international service trips; this year they went to Ghana. So she can provide me with further information
D. Also, I will dedicate more time to this later but right now I am on Tubman time at work!
E. So far what I know about dates is this:
If LB is during the first weekend of July then it will be from Friday: July 2nd to Sunday July 4th.
Maybe since we will all be in the same city we can depart from there?
The FIFA dates:
July 4th & 5th Rest days
July 6th & 7th Semi-finals
July 8th & 9th Rest days
July 10th Quarter final
July 11th Final match
I was thinking that we could depart on the 4th or 5th; it would be cheaper on the 5th since it is not a holiday
III. LB items
A. Key chains
We are $36 away from making the keychain purchase
If I do not have the full contribution by the end of this month; I will go ahead and purchase the key chains
B. T-shirts
I am waiting for Ndaya to send me the re-sized format of the Leopard logo
Ndelo has asked me about it and he is very excited to get started on them!
IV. Direction of LB executive committee
A. New position proposal
I think that we should have a secretary
This person will be responsible for sending out the agenda BEFORE the conference call
This person must also be dedicated to making each conference call so that they may take attendance and send out meeting minutes to everyone the same day or following day
B. How we can be successful in providing electricity to KMHC
Utilize each other’s skills
We have a lot of beautiful minds in this group; with diverse skills. We should take advantage of that and use each person in the field where they are strong
We need to be in close contact with someone who knows a lot about electrical engineering so that we know exactly what we will need to set up a functioning electric system in the clinic
We also need to have someone who has experience in proposal writing
This will be beneficial in possibly getting an electric system with little to no cost for us!
Nadine
Tania
Sunday, November 23, 2008, 5:00 PM -5:15 PM PST
- No new topics
- $36 from first group purchase for key chains...who will put us over
the top?
-Tania to put out communication of possible new position. LB YAO
Secretary. Propose 1 person to track meeting notes, put out conference
call agenda prior to weekly call, etc. More from Tania
-Tania also had ideas for generating more donors for solar initiative.
Again she will put out to group via email or on another call
Anonymous Commentary:
Unfortunately we are acting real Congolese as a group. Just because
there were more people on the call last week, seems folks think it's
time for a break. The whole EC is watching us. We will have an executive
summit in SD....Comm Chair, Chief of Staff and Chairman over Heineken
and turkey to get ready for end of the year agenda items. If we hope or
wait for a result we can expect to fail. If we plan and execute we will
win. We need to get this through to each person who claims LBYAO....some
rep,some are straight frontin....
Analysis:
Are we going to make history or be history? We must challenge ourselves everyday!
LB Conference Call 11-23-08
Agenda:
Other electricity options
See if any more people have shown interest for the group trip in 2010
LB items
Direction of the executive committee
I. Electricity options
A. Does anyone know where I can obtain an itemized format of the $10,000 budget for providing electricity for the clinic?
B. There were some other organizations that I found on-line
EEF (Switzerland)
Infra-Consult (Germany)
Medis (Belgium)
World Bank
European Investment Bank
Solar Energy for Africa http://solarenergyforafrica.com/index.html
Have done a lot in Uganda already
Based out of Silver Springs, MD
Solar Light for Africa http://www.solarlightforafrica.org/
Based out of Norcross, GA
A non-profit Christian organization whose mission is to transform lives and empower the people of Africa by providing light and energy using the natural power of the sun
Established in 1997
Intention to install approximately 1,000 solar units annually
Helped provide clean water and electrification to Kakuuto hospital, where the AIDS virus was discovered
Their site states that $1500 provides 1 complete system for a clinic, school, or public facility
A 501(c) (3) organization
Jewish Heart for Africa http://www.jhasol.org/
A 501 (c) (3) organization
Provided electricity to a clinic in Uganda for $4300
Most of their clinic projects cost between $4000-$5000
Their mission is to bring Israeli solar technology to Africa
They had a great pic of Africa at night; there is barely any light in DRC (truly the DARK Continent)
Ambassadors attend their events
C. Some interesting facts about electricity in Africa
The sun can provide up to 12 hours of light each day
There is an increase in deforestation because of the other energy sources that are used (i.e. sticks for firewood; coal; paper; etc.)
II. Is there anyone else interested in the Back to Africa trip 2010?
A. So far the people who are on board are:
Tshilumba Kabongo
Thierry Tubajika
Muamba Kabongo
Nadine Kasongo
Kalonji Kadima
Marco Nkashama
Tania Kasongo
B. I would really like to make this a well-organized trip so the earlier I have a ballpark idea of how many people would like to come along; that would be great
C. I have spoken with one of the leaders that planned the service trip I took to NOLA b/c they also take international service trips; this year they went to Ghana. So she can provide me with further information
D. Also, I will dedicate more time to this later but right now I am on Tubman time at work!
E. So far what I know about dates is this:
If LB is during the first weekend of July then it will be from Friday: July 2nd to Sunday July 4th.
Maybe since we will all be in the same city we can depart from there?
The FIFA dates:
July 4th & 5th Rest days
July 6th & 7th Semi-finals
July 8th & 9th Rest days
July 10th Quarter final
July 11th Final match
I was thinking that we could depart on the 4th or 5th; it would be cheaper on the 5th since it is not a holiday
III. LB items
A. Key chains
We are $36 away from making the keychain purchase
If I do not have the full contribution by the end of this month; I will go ahead and purchase the key chains
B. T-shirts
I am waiting for Ndaya to send me the re-sized format of the Leopard logo
Ndelo has asked me about it and he is very excited to get started on them!
IV. Direction of LB executive committee
A. New position proposal
I think that we should have a secretary
This person will be responsible for sending out the agenda BEFORE the conference call
This person must also be dedicated to making each conference call so that they may take attendance and send out meeting minutes to everyone the same day or following day
B. How we can be successful in providing electricity to KMHC
Utilize each other’s skills
We have a lot of beautiful minds in this group; with diverse skills. We should take advantage of that and use each person in the field where they are strong
We need to be in close contact with someone who knows a lot about electrical engineering so that we know exactly what we will need to set up a functioning electric system in the clinic
We also need to have someone who has experience in proposal writing
This will be beneficial in possibly getting an electric system with little to no cost for us!
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Message From the Executive Committee
Happy Thanksgiving
As we all approach the Thanksgiving, let’s think of those who are not fortunate as we are. Muadi Mukenge had recently made a call for action in her heart rending report. Let’s not forget her challenge. As we share the meals and friendship, there are people of Cibomba Cimuanyi, the internally displaced people that we have adopted to help. Instead of an extra helping of Turkey, stuffing, mash potatoes or pumpkin pie, put a small donation aside to help us complete we started. Send your donation using your credit card on Leja Bulela website.
KHMC Update.
By now, you might have heard the KMHC building structure is completed (recent photos will be posted on our website). There are, however, several finishing touches that remain to be completed; i.e. painting, glass windows, landscaping, and furnishing. Recently our treasurer made another payment toward the balance owed for the work already completed. The following are the breakdown of the expenses on the construction. Initial contracted construction costs were estimatedat $44, 283.56 K. With adjustment of price of materials, the final cost: $54665.32. We have so far raised and paid $33, 243.85. Congratulations!
We owe a balance approximately of $14,881.76 for the completed work. This reflects the high cost of construction materials in Mbuji-Mayi. The executive has requested the contractor, Ingenieur Samy Tshibangu, to stop further work until we are able to pay off what we owe him.
Ingenieur Tshibangu has accepted to be our guest speaker at the next meeting in Dallas in July 2009. We would like to hear from the members any suggestions on how to raise the rest of these funds. Any active member (who has paid his dues) who wishes to get detailed account of LB finances should call directly our treasurer.
Politics of Rapprochement.
The executive committee is planning to adopt as one of its agenda a policy of rapprochement; i.e. it extend olive branch to any past members, foes or friends, to join LB in efforts to complete our mission; i.e. participate in projects that will benefits our people. We need a grass root movement targetingto recruit anyone that believes in “helping LB become aware a great advocacy organization for the plight of people of the Congo; especially those in Cibombio Cimuanyi, in Mbuji-Mayi. I challenge the youth to use technology at hands to start this movement.
Most older people who voted for Obama were influenced by their own kids. LBYAO, here is your chance!
Happy Thanksgiving
The executive committee wishes you happy Thanksgiving celebrations, and we remain committed to support and carry the mission of LB. It needs your support by your timely paying your dues, by recruiting other members to our organization and by your generous contribution to the projects that will serve our people
For the executive committee,
Martin L. Kabongo
Chairman
As we all approach the Thanksgiving, let’s think of those who are not fortunate as we are. Muadi Mukenge had recently made a call for action in her heart rending report. Let’s not forget her challenge. As we share the meals and friendship, there are people of Cibomba Cimuanyi, the internally displaced people that we have adopted to help. Instead of an extra helping of Turkey, stuffing, mash potatoes or pumpkin pie, put a small donation aside to help us complete we started. Send your donation using your credit card on Leja Bulela website.
KHMC Update.
By now, you might have heard the KMHC building structure is completed (recent photos will be posted on our website). There are, however, several finishing touches that remain to be completed; i.e. painting, glass windows, landscaping, and furnishing. Recently our treasurer made another payment toward the balance owed for the work already completed. The following are the breakdown of the expenses on the construction. Initial contracted construction costs were estimatedat $44, 283.56 K. With adjustment of price of materials, the final cost: $54665.32. We have so far raised and paid $33, 243.85. Congratulations!
We owe a balance approximately of $14,881.76 for the completed work. This reflects the high cost of construction materials in Mbuji-Mayi. The executive has requested the contractor, Ingenieur Samy Tshibangu, to stop further work until we are able to pay off what we owe him.
Ingenieur Tshibangu has accepted to be our guest speaker at the next meeting in Dallas in July 2009. We would like to hear from the members any suggestions on how to raise the rest of these funds. Any active member (who has paid his dues) who wishes to get detailed account of LB finances should call directly our treasurer.
Politics of Rapprochement.
The executive committee is planning to adopt as one of its agenda a policy of rapprochement; i.e. it extend olive branch to any past members, foes or friends, to join LB in efforts to complete our mission; i.e. participate in projects that will benefits our people. We need a grass root movement targetingto recruit anyone that believes in “helping LB become aware a great advocacy organization for the plight of people of the Congo; especially those in Cibombio Cimuanyi, in Mbuji-Mayi. I challenge the youth to use technology at hands to start this movement.
Most older people who voted for Obama were influenced by their own kids. LBYAO, here is your chance!
Happy Thanksgiving
The executive committee wishes you happy Thanksgiving celebrations, and we remain committed to support and carry the mission of LB. It needs your support by your timely paying your dues, by recruiting other members to our organization and by your generous contribution to the projects that will serve our people
For the executive committee,
Martin L. Kabongo
Chairman
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Muadi Mukenge: What the World Must Know About the Congo
As I watched President-elect Barack Obama deliver his victory speech and lay out his philosophy of leadership, I immediately thought of what is possible around the world. It is my hope that the "Yes We Can"motto that inspired millions of Americans will spread to the Congo and its neighboring countries to stop the atrocities fueled by inhumane leadership and sales of arms by Western nations.
Fresh from a two-week visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo, I watch on television the escalation of war, one that has already claimed five million lives since 1998. There is deep despair,especially among women and girls, who have already suffered unspeakable violence.
I am Congolese and have lived in the United States for most of my life. As the head of the Africa program at the Global Fund for Women,I help support women's groups in Africa working on development and advancing human rights. But Congo's human rights have been violated for too long and the weak international response makes us wonder whether our lives matter.
Congo's violence will end when the countries rushing to send humanitarian aid after millions of innocent lives have been massacred stop sending and selling weapons to rebel movements in the Congo.Congo's violence will end when African leaders, elected or imposed,stop using these weapons on innocent civilians. Congo's violence will end when the international community refuses to roll out the red carpet to a rebel movement that claims to protect a Tutsi minority in Congo. This rebel army, rather than engaging directly with the Interhamwe that escaped into Congo after committing the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, takes the easier route of terrorizing Congolese civilians that have nothing to do with the Interhamwe. The international community, guilty for just standing by during the Rwandan genocide,continues to be hoodwinked by Rwanda as it arms this rebel movement in neighboring Congo and fuels another genocide.
It is not coincidental that rebel forces armed with sophisticated weapons are in regions where minerals are most abundant. The country has been plundered for more than 100 years by explorers, colonial governments, multinational corporations from every continent, African opportunists, and a small circle of Congolese. Sadly, profits from armed conflict and the exploitation of natural resources in the Congo are more alluring than any human rights agenda. Meanwhile the majority of 66 million Congolese don't have access to food, sanitation,education, transportation, sustainable livelihoods, or justice.Another major problem Congolese face is the U.N.'s slow response to protect them from armed groups. Thousands of Congolese have organized many demonstrations throughout the Congo against the UN Mission for their apparent inaction. When will we see bold action to protect Congolese people, especially women?
I have visited diamond mines and witnessed the slave-like working conditions and the context under which sexual abuse takes place. On the drive, we passed lines of people making the long trek to try their luck to dig for diamonds by hand. We passed rows of densely-packed,dilapidated wooden structures that double as diamond selling counters,homes, and fast-food eateries. We finally arrived at the deep excavations where hundreds of people dig by hand through the silt water working to find a speckle of hope. Women do most of the digging then the sifting is left to the men to find the nuggets to sell. The girls selling food there make about 20 cents a day, and sexual exploitation and trafficking of minors is rampant. There are terms to refer to girls aged 6-8 or 9-15. You can make an order just as easily as you can at McDonald's.
When I think of the women and girls who told us their horrifying experiences of sexual torture, I keep thinking of the modern weapons that make this torture possible, and the origins of these weapons.They are not made in Congo.
I am often asked what can be done to help the Congo. I let them know about the efforts undertaken by women's rights NGOs that are trying to rebuild their country. But these efforts will remain an uphill task as long as Western governments send arms deliveries to the rebel movements and the governments that support them. These efforts will remain in vain as long as the media courts armed rebel leaders that terrorize the people. No change will be made when there is no political will to respect past peace talks and accords. The Congolese people are waiting for a time when we will see action instead of empty proclamations. We know that 5 million deaths constitute a genocide; we are waiting for the rest of the world to agree and act with us.
Fresh from a two-week visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo, I watch on television the escalation of war, one that has already claimed five million lives since 1998. There is deep despair,especially among women and girls, who have already suffered unspeakable violence.
I am Congolese and have lived in the United States for most of my life. As the head of the Africa program at the Global Fund for Women,I help support women's groups in Africa working on development and advancing human rights. But Congo's human rights have been violated for too long and the weak international response makes us wonder whether our lives matter.
Congo's violence will end when the countries rushing to send humanitarian aid after millions of innocent lives have been massacred stop sending and selling weapons to rebel movements in the Congo.Congo's violence will end when African leaders, elected or imposed,stop using these weapons on innocent civilians. Congo's violence will end when the international community refuses to roll out the red carpet to a rebel movement that claims to protect a Tutsi minority in Congo. This rebel army, rather than engaging directly with the Interhamwe that escaped into Congo after committing the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, takes the easier route of terrorizing Congolese civilians that have nothing to do with the Interhamwe. The international community, guilty for just standing by during the Rwandan genocide,continues to be hoodwinked by Rwanda as it arms this rebel movement in neighboring Congo and fuels another genocide.
It is not coincidental that rebel forces armed with sophisticated weapons are in regions where minerals are most abundant. The country has been plundered for more than 100 years by explorers, colonial governments, multinational corporations from every continent, African opportunists, and a small circle of Congolese. Sadly, profits from armed conflict and the exploitation of natural resources in the Congo are more alluring than any human rights agenda. Meanwhile the majority of 66 million Congolese don't have access to food, sanitation,education, transportation, sustainable livelihoods, or justice.Another major problem Congolese face is the U.N.'s slow response to protect them from armed groups. Thousands of Congolese have organized many demonstrations throughout the Congo against the UN Mission for their apparent inaction. When will we see bold action to protect Congolese people, especially women?
I have visited diamond mines and witnessed the slave-like working conditions and the context under which sexual abuse takes place. On the drive, we passed lines of people making the long trek to try their luck to dig for diamonds by hand. We passed rows of densely-packed,dilapidated wooden structures that double as diamond selling counters,homes, and fast-food eateries. We finally arrived at the deep excavations where hundreds of people dig by hand through the silt water working to find a speckle of hope. Women do most of the digging then the sifting is left to the men to find the nuggets to sell. The girls selling food there make about 20 cents a day, and sexual exploitation and trafficking of minors is rampant. There are terms to refer to girls aged 6-8 or 9-15. You can make an order just as easily as you can at McDonald's.
When I think of the women and girls who told us their horrifying experiences of sexual torture, I keep thinking of the modern weapons that make this torture possible, and the origins of these weapons.They are not made in Congo.
I am often asked what can be done to help the Congo. I let them know about the efforts undertaken by women's rights NGOs that are trying to rebuild their country. But these efforts will remain an uphill task as long as Western governments send arms deliveries to the rebel movements and the governments that support them. These efforts will remain in vain as long as the media courts armed rebel leaders that terrorize the people. No change will be made when there is no political will to respect past peace talks and accords. The Congolese people are waiting for a time when we will see action instead of empty proclamations. We know that 5 million deaths constitute a genocide; we are waiting for the rest of the world to agree and act with us.
Conference Call #16
Sunday, November 16, 2008, 5pm PST
56 minutes
Callers:
Southwest Chair- Marco Nkashama
East Coast Chair- Tania Kasongo
West Coast Chair- Kono Kadima
Chief of Staff- Muamba Kabongo
Communications Chair- Tshilumba Kabongo
LB YAO Chair- Thierry Tubajika
Summary:
Participation
Marco's Internet initiative
2010 Trip to the Continent
New Year's Newsletter Roll out
56 minutes
Callers:
Southwest Chair- Marco Nkashama
East Coast Chair- Tania Kasongo
West Coast Chair- Kono Kadima
Chief of Staff- Muamba Kabongo
Communications Chair- Tshilumba Kabongo
LB YAO Chair- Thierry Tubajika
Summary:
Participation
Marco's Internet initiative
2010 Trip to the Continent
New Year's Newsletter Roll out
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
GOMA, Congo (Reuters) – Congolese rebel chief Laurent Nkunda said on Monday he would fight African peacekeeping troops if they attacked him, as concerns grew that east Congo's conflict could suck in neighboring armies.
Leaders from Africa's southern and Great Lakes regions have offered to send troops to try to help pacify east Democratic Republic of Congo, where fighting between Nkunda's Tutsi rebels and the army has uprooted hundreds of thousands of people.
Aid agencies in Congo's North Kivu province are struggling to provide shelter, food and medical care for more than 200,000 refugees around the provincial capital Goma, but say tens of thousands more are cut off in the bush. They warn of the risk of cholera and measles epidemics in the camps.
DRC troops at a checkpoint (picture to the right)
African and Western governments are worried the recent upsurge in fighting in North Kivu, which borders Rwanda and Uganda, risks drawing in Congo's neighbors as occurred during a previous 1998-2003 war. That war involved six African armies and the conflict and its aftermath killed several million people.
Countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) said after a regional summit in South Africa on Sunday the group would send military advisers to help the government of Congolese President Joseph Kabila.
SADC would send a peacekeeping force to east Congo "if and when necessary," its executive secretary Tomaz Salamao said.
Nkunda, whose Tutsi fighters are battling Congo government soldiers (FARDC) and their Rwandan Hutu rebel (FDLR) and Mai-Mai militia allies, said he would welcome African peacekeepers if they came as an impartial force to stabilize North Kivu.
But, speaking to Reuters by telephone from eastern Congo, he added: "If they come in and fight alongside the FARDC and the FDLR ... they will share the same shame as the DRC government.."
"If SADC engages like this, they will have made a mistake ... I am ready to fight them," Nkunda said.
Some military experts expressed doubts about how quickly a SADC security force could be dispatched to east Congo and how effective it would be against Nkunda's battle-hardened guerrilla army of 4,000, and against other marauding armed factions.
"This is good rhetoric, but I'm not sure it will happen," said Henri Boshoff, a military analyst for the Institute for Security Studies in Johannesburg, told Reuters.
Nkunda's Rebels (picture below)
The United Nations, which already has its largest peacekeeping force in the world, 17,000 strong, in Congo, is seeking up to 3,000 extra troops to reinforce its operations there. It says its existing force is thinly stretched across a country the size of Western Europe where armed groups abound.
It was not immediately clear whether the proposed African peacekeepers would operate under the U.N. mandate or separately.
ROOTS IN RWANDAN GENOCIDE
The North Kivu conflict traces its origins back to Rwanda's 1994 genocide of Tutsis by Hutus which helped trigger the 1998-2003 Congo war. Kinshasa accuses Rwanda of backing Nkunda, who says he is defending Congolese Tutsis from attacks by FDLR Rwandan Hutu rebels he says fight with the Congolese army.
Rwanda, which has twice invaded Congo before, officially to fight Hutu rebels there, denies this and in turn accuses the Congolese government of not acting to disarm the Hutu rebels.
Analysts say that to avert the risk of a wider regional war, world and regional powers need to exert firm pressure on both Congo and Rwanda to demobilize the rival rebel groups.
"The international community has already invested billions of dollars to build and maintain peace in the Congo. To not invest hugely in diplomatic terms right now would risk it all," Francois Grignon and Fabienne Hara, Africa program director and vice president of International Crisis Group, wrote recently.
African Great Lakes leaders, including Rwandan President Paul Kagame, called at a summit in Nairobi on Friday for a ceasefire and a political settlement in North Kivu, but said they could also send peacekeepers if required.
Commenting on SADC's offer of troops, Rwandan Foreign Minister Rosemary Museminali said: "There should be a ceasefire and a political solution."
European foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday also called for a political settlement.
Congo's government has asked neighbor Angola, which backed it during the 1998-2003 war, for help. The appearance in North Kivu of Portuguese-speaking soldiers on the government side has fueled speculation Angola may have already sent troops. But Angola's Foreign Ministry denied this.
(For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://africa.reuters.com/)
(Additional reporting by David Lewis in Nairobi, Jack Kimball in Kigali, Henrique Almeida in Luanda, Ingrid Melander in Brussels; Writing by Pascal Fletcher; Editing by Matthew Tostevin)
Leaders from Africa's southern and Great Lakes regions have offered to send troops to try to help pacify east Democratic Republic of Congo, where fighting between Nkunda's Tutsi rebels and the army has uprooted hundreds of thousands of people.
Aid agencies in Congo's North Kivu province are struggling to provide shelter, food and medical care for more than 200,000 refugees around the provincial capital Goma, but say tens of thousands more are cut off in the bush. They warn of the risk of cholera and measles epidemics in the camps.
DRC troops at a checkpoint (picture to the right)
African and Western governments are worried the recent upsurge in fighting in North Kivu, which borders Rwanda and Uganda, risks drawing in Congo's neighbors as occurred during a previous 1998-2003 war. That war involved six African armies and the conflict and its aftermath killed several million people.
Countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) said after a regional summit in South Africa on Sunday the group would send military advisers to help the government of Congolese President Joseph Kabila.
SADC would send a peacekeeping force to east Congo "if and when necessary," its executive secretary Tomaz Salamao said.
Nkunda, whose Tutsi fighters are battling Congo government soldiers (FARDC) and their Rwandan Hutu rebel (FDLR) and Mai-Mai militia allies, said he would welcome African peacekeepers if they came as an impartial force to stabilize North Kivu.
But, speaking to Reuters by telephone from eastern Congo, he added: "If they come in and fight alongside the FARDC and the FDLR ... they will share the same shame as the DRC government.."
"If SADC engages like this, they will have made a mistake ... I am ready to fight them," Nkunda said.
Some military experts expressed doubts about how quickly a SADC security force could be dispatched to east Congo and how effective it would be against Nkunda's battle-hardened guerrilla army of 4,000, and against other marauding armed factions.
"This is good rhetoric, but I'm not sure it will happen," said Henri Boshoff, a military analyst for the Institute for Security Studies in Johannesburg, told Reuters.
Nkunda's Rebels (picture below)
The United Nations, which already has its largest peacekeeping force in the world, 17,000 strong, in Congo, is seeking up to 3,000 extra troops to reinforce its operations there. It says its existing force is thinly stretched across a country the size of Western Europe where armed groups abound.
It was not immediately clear whether the proposed African peacekeepers would operate under the U.N. mandate or separately.
ROOTS IN RWANDAN GENOCIDE
The North Kivu conflict traces its origins back to Rwanda's 1994 genocide of Tutsis by Hutus which helped trigger the 1998-2003 Congo war. Kinshasa accuses Rwanda of backing Nkunda, who says he is defending Congolese Tutsis from attacks by FDLR Rwandan Hutu rebels he says fight with the Congolese army.
Rwanda, which has twice invaded Congo before, officially to fight Hutu rebels there, denies this and in turn accuses the Congolese government of not acting to disarm the Hutu rebels.
Analysts say that to avert the risk of a wider regional war, world and regional powers need to exert firm pressure on both Congo and Rwanda to demobilize the rival rebel groups.
"The international community has already invested billions of dollars to build and maintain peace in the Congo. To not invest hugely in diplomatic terms right now would risk it all," Francois Grignon and Fabienne Hara, Africa program director and vice president of International Crisis Group, wrote recently.
African Great Lakes leaders, including Rwandan President Paul Kagame, called at a summit in Nairobi on Friday for a ceasefire and a political settlement in North Kivu, but said they could also send peacekeepers if required.
Commenting on SADC's offer of troops, Rwandan Foreign Minister Rosemary Museminali said: "There should be a ceasefire and a political solution."
European foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday also called for a political settlement.
Congo's government has asked neighbor Angola, which backed it during the 1998-2003 war, for help. The appearance in North Kivu of Portuguese-speaking soldiers on the government side has fueled speculation Angola may have already sent troops. But Angola's Foreign Ministry denied this.
(For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://africa.reuters.com/)
(Additional reporting by David Lewis in Nairobi, Jack Kimball in Kigali, Henrique Almeida in Luanda, Ingrid Melander in Brussels; Writing by Pascal Fletcher; Editing by Matthew Tostevin)
Monday, November 10, 2008
Conference Call #15
5 pm PST, Sunday, November 9. 2008
Callers:
Muamba
Tshilumba
Summary:
Noticably absent were the Regional Representatives
No new items to report
Callers:
Muamba
Tshilumba
Summary:
Noticably absent were the Regional Representatives
No new items to report
Friday, November 7, 2008
Dictionnaire Cilubà - Français
A link from Ghent University in Belgium in collaboration with L'Universite de Mbujimayi
http://www.ciyem.ugent.be/
http://www.ciyem.ugent.be/
Monday, November 3, 2008
The Shattering of A Nation
The deadliest war since Adolf Hitler marched across Europe is starting again – and you are almost certainly carrying a blood-soaked chunk of the slaughter in your pocket. When we glance at the holocaust in Congo, with 5.4 million dead, the clichés of Africa reporting tumble out: this is a 'tribal conflict' in 'the Heart of Darkness'. It isn't. The United Nations investigation found it was a war led by 'armies of business' to seize the metals that make our 21st-century society zing and bling. The war in Congo is a war about you.
Every day I think about the people I met in the war zones of eastern Congo when I reported from there. The wards were filled with women who had been gang-raped by the militias and shot in the vagina. The battalions of child soldiers – drugged, dazed 13-year-olds who had been made to kill members of their own families so they couldn't try to escape and go home. But oddly, as I watch the war starting again on CNN, I find myself thinking about a woman I met who had, by Congolese standards, not suffered in extremis.
I was driving back to Goma from a diamond mine one day when my car got a puncture. As I waited for it to be fixed, I stood by the roadside and watched the great trails of women who stagger along every road in eastern Congo, carrying all their belongings on their backs in mighty crippling heaps. I stopped a 27 -year-old woman called Marie-Jean Bisimwa, who had four little children toddling along beside her. She told me she was lucky. Yes, her village had been burned out. Yes, she had lost her husband somewhere in the chaos. Yes, her sister had been raped and gone insane. But she and her kids were alive.
I gave her a lift, and it was only after a few hours of chat along on cratered roads that I noticed there was something strange about Marie-Jean's children. They were slumped forward, their gazes fixed in front of them. They didn't look around, or speak, or smile. 'I haven't ever been able to feed them,' she said. 'Because of the war.'
Their brains hadn't developed; they never would now. 'Will they get better?' she asked. I left her in a village on the outskirts of Goma, and her kids stumbled after her, expressionless.
There are two stories about how this war began – the official story, and the true story. The official story is that after the Rwandan genocide, the Hutu mass murderers fled across the border into Congo. The Rwandan government chased after them. But it's a lie. How do we know? The Rwandan government didn't go to where the Hutu genocidaires were, at least not at first. They went to where Congo's natural resources were – and began to pillage them. They even told their troops to work with any Hutus they came across. Congo is the richest country in the world for gold, diamonds, coltan, cassiterite, and more. Everybody wanted a slice – so six other countries invaded.
These resources were not being stolen to for use in Africa. They were seized so they could be sold on to us. The more we bought, the more the invaders stole – and slaughtered. The rise of mobile phones caused a surge in deaths, because the coltan they contain is found primarily in Congo. The UN named the international corporations it believed were involved: Anglo-America, Standard Chartered Bank, De Beers and more than 100 others. (They all deny the charges.) But instead of stopping these corporations, our governments demanded that the UN stop criticising them.
There were times when the fighting flagged. In 2003, a peace deal was finally brokered by the UN and the international armies withdrew. Many continued to work via proxy militias – but the carnage waned somewhat. Until now. As with the first war, there is a cover-story, and the truth. A Congolese militia leader called Laurent Nkunda – backed by Rwanda – claims he needs to protect the local Tutsi population from the same Hutu genocidaires who have been hiding out in the jungles of eastern Congo since 1994. That's why he is seizing Congolese military bases and is poised to march on Goma.
It is a lie. François Grignon, Africa Director of the International Crisis Group, tells me the truth: 'Nkunda is being funded by Rwandan businessmen so they can retain control of the mines in North Kivu. This is the absolute core of the conflict. What we are seeing now is beneficiaries of the illegal war economy fighting to maintain their right to exploit.'
At the moment, Rwandan business interests make a fortune from the mines they illegally seized during the war. The global coltan price has collapsed, so now they focus hungrily on cassiterite, which is used to make tin cans and other consumer disposables. As the war began to wane, they faced losing their control to the elected Congolese government – so they have given it another bloody kick-start.
Yet the debate about Congo in the West – when it exists at all – focuses on our inability to provide a decent bandage, without mentioning that we are causing the wound. It's true the 17,000 UN forces in the country are abysmally failing to protect the civilian population, and urgently need to be super-charged. But it is even more important to stop fuelling the war in the first place by buying blood-soaked natural resources. Nkunda only has enough guns and grenades to take on the Congolese army and the UN because we buy his loot. We need to prosecute the corporations buying them for abetting crimes against humanity, and introduce a global coltan-tax to pay for a substantial peacekeeping force. To get there, we need to build an international system that values the lives of black people more than it values profit.
Somewhere out there – lost in the great global heist of Congo's resources – are Marie-Jean and her children, limping along the road once more, carrying everything they own on their backs. They will probably never use a coltan-filled mobile phone, a cassiterite- smelted can of beans, or a gold necklace – but they may yet die for one.
Sources: Johann Hari
Thursday, 30 October 2008
Independent. UK
Every day I think about the people I met in the war zones of eastern Congo when I reported from there. The wards were filled with women who had been gang-raped by the militias and shot in the vagina. The battalions of child soldiers – drugged, dazed 13-year-olds who had been made to kill members of their own families so they couldn't try to escape and go home. But oddly, as I watch the war starting again on CNN, I find myself thinking about a woman I met who had, by Congolese standards, not suffered in extremis.
I was driving back to Goma from a diamond mine one day when my car got a puncture. As I waited for it to be fixed, I stood by the roadside and watched the great trails of women who stagger along every road in eastern Congo, carrying all their belongings on their backs in mighty crippling heaps. I stopped a 27 -year-old woman called Marie-Jean Bisimwa, who had four little children toddling along beside her. She told me she was lucky. Yes, her village had been burned out. Yes, she had lost her husband somewhere in the chaos. Yes, her sister had been raped and gone insane. But she and her kids were alive.
I gave her a lift, and it was only after a few hours of chat along on cratered roads that I noticed there was something strange about Marie-Jean's children. They were slumped forward, their gazes fixed in front of them. They didn't look around, or speak, or smile. 'I haven't ever been able to feed them,' she said. 'Because of the war.'
Their brains hadn't developed; they never would now. 'Will they get better?' she asked. I left her in a village on the outskirts of Goma, and her kids stumbled after her, expressionless.
There are two stories about how this war began – the official story, and the true story. The official story is that after the Rwandan genocide, the Hutu mass murderers fled across the border into Congo. The Rwandan government chased after them. But it's a lie. How do we know? The Rwandan government didn't go to where the Hutu genocidaires were, at least not at first. They went to where Congo's natural resources were – and began to pillage them. They even told their troops to work with any Hutus they came across. Congo is the richest country in the world for gold, diamonds, coltan, cassiterite, and more. Everybody wanted a slice – so six other countries invaded.
These resources were not being stolen to for use in Africa. They were seized so they could be sold on to us. The more we bought, the more the invaders stole – and slaughtered. The rise of mobile phones caused a surge in deaths, because the coltan they contain is found primarily in Congo. The UN named the international corporations it believed were involved: Anglo-America, Standard Chartered Bank, De Beers and more than 100 others. (They all deny the charges.) But instead of stopping these corporations, our governments demanded that the UN stop criticising them.
There were times when the fighting flagged. In 2003, a peace deal was finally brokered by the UN and the international armies withdrew. Many continued to work via proxy militias – but the carnage waned somewhat. Until now. As with the first war, there is a cover-story, and the truth. A Congolese militia leader called Laurent Nkunda – backed by Rwanda – claims he needs to protect the local Tutsi population from the same Hutu genocidaires who have been hiding out in the jungles of eastern Congo since 1994. That's why he is seizing Congolese military bases and is poised to march on Goma.
It is a lie. François Grignon, Africa Director of the International Crisis Group, tells me the truth: 'Nkunda is being funded by Rwandan businessmen so they can retain control of the mines in North Kivu. This is the absolute core of the conflict. What we are seeing now is beneficiaries of the illegal war economy fighting to maintain their right to exploit.'
At the moment, Rwandan business interests make a fortune from the mines they illegally seized during the war. The global coltan price has collapsed, so now they focus hungrily on cassiterite, which is used to make tin cans and other consumer disposables. As the war began to wane, they faced losing their control to the elected Congolese government – so they have given it another bloody kick-start.
Yet the debate about Congo in the West – when it exists at all – focuses on our inability to provide a decent bandage, without mentioning that we are causing the wound. It's true the 17,000 UN forces in the country are abysmally failing to protect the civilian population, and urgently need to be super-charged. But it is even more important to stop fuelling the war in the first place by buying blood-soaked natural resources. Nkunda only has enough guns and grenades to take on the Congolese army and the UN because we buy his loot. We need to prosecute the corporations buying them for abetting crimes against humanity, and introduce a global coltan-tax to pay for a substantial peacekeeping force. To get there, we need to build an international system that values the lives of black people more than it values profit.
Somewhere out there – lost in the great global heist of Congo's resources – are Marie-Jean and her children, limping along the road once more, carrying everything they own on their backs. They will probably never use a coltan-filled mobile phone, a cassiterite- smelted can of beans, or a gold necklace – but they may yet die for one.
Sources: Johann Hari
Thursday, 30 October 2008
Independent. UK
Words of Inspiration
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Perpetrator of Death in the DRC
This is why we are working for peace in the region.
CNDP-Rwanda has a big network worldwide including the U.S. Their agenda against the Congolese is very clear. Attached is the picture of Mr. Bigabo and the picture of what his brother are doing to the Congolese people.
Bigabo Patrick, a Rwandan and CNDP member, a resident of New Orleans had the courage to email to one of our Congolese brother the following when he heard that we were going to hold a vigil at the Rwandan Embassy on Oct 31 asking President Paul Kagame to withdraw Rwandan troops from the Congo.
He wrote:
"WE are not necessarily exchanging hot air. the biggest problem is u ethnicise the issue against the Tutsi. let the 6million die that's their own problem. when we died in 94 all of u guys were just laughing and shying away. u saw bodies of our relatives floating on River akagera into Lake victoria...the same UNAMIR was opportunistically in support of Hutu power, that's why we killed them too.
U GUYS EITHER ALLOW US TO CONTINUE DOMINATING YOU OR WE FORCE YOU TO COMMIT SUICIDE.
we need to accumulate resources from where they are in the region..we are already taking over large chunks of grazing land in uganda but this isnt an issue to you becos there is no hutu diying?*
how do you expect me to go the tutsi govt embassy to protest for the deaths of Hutu genociders dying in DRC? why dont you instead converge at the DRC embassy in US?
u guys remember there is noway you will return to power aslong as we are in power and accumulating wealth and defence strategies..we dont care killing u in masses, injecting you with HIV and also sending you to frontlines in DRC conflict to meet your deaths. this has to go on for 200yrs until u are wipedout in the region..."
Please pass on this message please, the world needs to know, the Congolese need to be aware and wake up. The crimes of his leader Nkunda have erupted once again. As long as there is fighting within our region, our work to bring peace will be threatened.
source:
Bahati Jacques
AFJN
Washington, D.C.
Conference Call #14
Conference Call #14
5 pm PST, Sunday, November 2, 2008
call duration: 46m44s
Tania
Tshilumba
Kono
Summary
Newsletter
Group pledges
$ for keychain
Follow up for J.Walker
Solar follow thru
NYE SD
SF show
Leadership positions
AFJN relations
For further information contact me with any questions.
5 pm PST, Sunday, November 2, 2008
call duration: 46m44s
Tania
Tshilumba
Kono
Summary
Newsletter
Group pledges
$ for keychain
Follow up for J.Walker
Solar follow thru
NYE SD
SF show
Leadership positions
AFJN relations
For further information contact me with any questions.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Goodmorning Leja Bulela Family and Extended Family,
It has been 3 Months since Dallas 2008, it has been a year and 3 months since Milwaukee 2007...what is the state of Leja Bulela Non-Profit Organization?
The Elders, our founders since Detroit 1993, have been working to change and make a positive impact on our homeland of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Formerly known as Zaire). A river of sweat, a lake of tears, and an ocean of blood have been spilt not only in the DRC, but that same blood, sweat, and tears have been shed by our very own LB community. People have made the ultimate sacrifice in order to do the work we do, some by natural causes, some by circumstances that aren't left up to us. What have you or I done to honor them? What have you or I done to make sure that another generation of young Congolese have hope and something to look forward to? Abbe Muyombo has made it clear as the equatorial sun on what needs to be done, and how to do it. He has set off the ticking time bomb that is the Leja Bulela Young Adults Organization. The Legendary Legacy is what we are determined to create. The Never Again message of 1993 did not fall upon deaf ears. My unique perspective of this organization is the narrative of this email, brought on by the recent wave of activity in the LB YAO.
I just turned 11 years old when the first LB meeting was held in my home. I was about to go into 6th grade at Burton International School in the heart of the ghetto of Detroit, MI. In 2007 was the first time I stood up in front of my Elders, 14 years since the beginning, I was 25 years old, one year removed from graduation from San Francisco State University. I was working at University California San Francisco in the Parsa Laboratory working on brain cancer vaccination. I was poised to go to medical school and follow in the footsteps of my living legend father. But, after Milwaukee 2007 everything changed.
During that 14 year period between LB 1 and LB 14 I was learning about my culture. I was reading about our people. I was talking with our people. I was living with our people. I was going to our meetings. And one thing that I learned is that SACRIFICES needed to be made. I saw exactly what the state of the Congolese people were in, and I decided to do, without prompting, without advice, and without counsel, I put my dreams on hold. I have decided to take another revolutionary path. To dedicate my life to the service of others in my community. During that 14 year period I did nothing for anybody else. I was focused on my athletics, my education, my personal relationships, my religion, my lifestyle.
The smoke cleared in 2007 when I was at the zenith of swagger, with great relationship, great job, great living situation, nice cars, great family and friends. The voices of the voiceless called to me and told me that my glory is nothing. That nobody on this Earth has stood up for Our people since Patrice Lumumba and Ernesto Guevara on a global transparent scale. Enough was enough. I stood up in front of Leja Bulela and made a promise to do something for the people of the DR Congo. This I cannot do alone. What has been accomplished thus far is a group/team effort. We ALL have a role to play.
First and foremost, talk about Leja Bulela to others. The pastor preaching to the choir terminology comes to mind. No more wasted emails to our group about ourselves. Get brave, branch out. This is the very least that you can do to help this organization. As the National Communications Chair of LB YAO, I have been doing that. I have called the White House in Washington, D.C. and will do so again. Next is the the Govenor, then the Mayor. We have associates at the University of Chicago, San Francisco State, UC San Francisco, AllState, UC Santa Barbara, AFJN and Sports4Kids NPO. I am talking to those that I know will make the minimal effort of at least telling one other person about who we are and what we do.
Secondly, we need to change the mentality of how we do things. There is nothing that will ever limit us. There are no barriers or obstacles too great for us to do our work. The motto of LB YAO is WE RUN DRC. We are the ones in control and nobody is in the way of the righteous work that is done and will be done. No idea is too small, no contribution is too minimal. Forward thinking is what will drive us for the next 15 years. We started from an idea, now look what we've become.
One cent or $500 no amount of money given to us shall be turned down. Make a donation can for your job or workplace. I will send you an LB graphic, print it on nice paper put it on a container and get donations. If you want to sell candy bars for $1 we have the link for that. If you would like to sell T shirts we have the connection for that. LB should not only be funded by our membership dues, but by the contributions of our community. Get $5 from 5 people and send it in. If you need a power point, we have it. If you need a video, we have it. If you need a brochure, we have it. If you need a website(s) we have them. If you need advice, we have it. If you need help on a presentation, you'll get it.
The proof is here. Our will needs to be transparent. What I mean by that is there should be no illegal business, no under the table dealings, no backwardness to what we are doing. We are trying to give our homeland what it needs to sustain its population. Our country has a myriad of resources yet our GDP is in the basement. That cannot be allowed. We have the potential energy and now we need to ignite it.
Finally, look to each other for inspiration. Each family has a story to bring to the table. It is time to document each of our family's history and compile it in the form of letters, pictures, etc. The people are what make Leja Bulela, and it is the people of Leja Bulela that will help shape the future of the Congo. This work will never be done, but we will work to accomplish our goals day by day, task by task. What is it that motivates you? Use it to help us all. For me it is sacrifice. Some say that I have everything, but I believe I have nothing until all my people have something. Take a stand, make a change.
Weekly Conference Calls on Sunday (712) 432.1601 (307891)
With Respect and Solidarity,
Tshilumba Makanda Kabongo
National Communications Chair
Leja Bulela Young Adults Organization
www.malukayi.blogspot.com
www.lejabulela.org
tshilumba.kabongo@gmail.com
Show and Prove
Muamba believes that action speaks louder than words. We have all seen the conception of this entire process and it has been documented and publicly displayed to show and prove a point. On this very blog are the letters that he sent to get this $500. It starts with an idea, the idea is followed by discussion, the discussion is followed by debate, the debate is followed by action, the action equals results.
Take home message: if you are not talking about Leja Bulela nobody will know how to help us.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Conference Call #13
Sunday, October 26, 2008
5:15-5:45 PST
Participants
Muadi – Fund Chair
Tania – East Chair
Kano – West Chair
Nadine
Muamba
Topics
Key chains – send in $ to Tania
T Shirts – Tania sent link to design, blue or black shirt, need to decide how the layout will look. Since Tania is championing this projects group decided she can just design it and the only criteria is to make it hot. Will f/u on # of shirts to order and that will depend on price. More info to come once she speaks with her t shirt hook up
Muadi spoke more about her trip and need to create urgency, suggested clothing drive. She is in communication with Abbe who will be in Colorado. She will f/u on clothing idea once logistics discussed with Abbe M. Also Muadi through her email communications pushing for LB YAO dues and LB Membership.
Some LB Yao have been giving their dues, would like to see a reg treasury report from Papa Pascal. Advised will f/u with EC Chairman and Treasurer for a most recent rapport
SELF- Muadi and Muamba to collab on picking up on this initiative. Muadi has seen the clinic and has spoken with Engineers. Will read what has been produced thus far and her expertise and her and Muamba will try to get it done as far as intro letter to build relationship so they can bank/partner/and provide hardware for solar power
5:15-5:45 PST
Participants
Muadi – Fund Chair
Tania – East Chair
Kano – West Chair
Nadine
Muamba
Topics
Key chains – send in $ to Tania
T Shirts – Tania sent link to design, blue or black shirt, need to decide how the layout will look. Since Tania is championing this projects group decided she can just design it and the only criteria is to make it hot. Will f/u on # of shirts to order and that will depend on price. More info to come once she speaks with her t shirt hook up
Muadi spoke more about her trip and need to create urgency, suggested clothing drive. She is in communication with Abbe who will be in Colorado. She will f/u on clothing idea once logistics discussed with Abbe M. Also Muadi through her email communications pushing for LB YAO dues and LB Membership.
Some LB Yao have been giving their dues, would like to see a reg treasury report from Papa Pascal. Advised will f/u with EC Chairman and Treasurer for a most recent rapport
SELF- Muadi and Muamba to collab on picking up on this initiative. Muadi has seen the clinic and has spoken with Engineers. Will read what has been produced thus far and her expertise and her and Muamba will try to get it done as far as intro letter to build relationship so they can bank/partner/and provide hardware for solar power
Monday, October 27, 2008
(Muadi's Trip) Part III: Trip to Mbuji-Mayi
Part III
10/26/2008
I want to thank those that have shared words of encouragement and appreciation for my trip notes. Especially Dr. Tshibengabo, Tshiela, Maman Jacky, Mr. Mubalamata, Papa Kakolesha, the LB Executive Committee – everyone, you know who you are.
Today I’d like to talk about about the visit to Tshibombo Tshimuanyi to see where the refugee families live and where the LB project is situated. Mr. Mubalamata sent an email saying that for him Kasai Orientale has a mystical quality as our homeland. I felt the same way especially when I was at Tshibombo. I felt like I was walking on air, experiencing a dream, at the same time, the reality was clicking in my brain.
So, on Saturday, Sept. 27 our group sets out after lunch, in jeeps, to visit Tshibombo. The engineer of the LB clinic, Mr. Samy Tshibangu, has joined us after Abbe Muyombo put him in touch with me. We’re bouncing along on the rough unpaved road, which winds between grassy areas of land. It takes us about 30 minutes from the center of Mbuji-Mayi to get there. The area, just like most of Mbuji-Mayi, is undeveloped. The homes are not as densely placed together, they’re very small houses, and there’s just a lot of open fields around. First we get to the school that OSISA is building. It is very nice, made of brick and spacious, and will probably open in January 2009, offering an exciting beginning for many Tshibombo youth. Across from the school is a maternity whose patient ward was built by OSISA. Europeans have recently sent about 16 beds. The facility is clean and managed by professionals who themselves were victims of the Katanga crisis.
[P.S. I have pictures and video, but I’m experiencing problems attaching them to email and I hope to resolve this problem soon with the help of someone more technologically savvy. Somehow the software I used doesn’t seem to be compatible with most computers.]
Then we drive further to visit the nuns that are taking care of refugee orphans. These are the nuns that LB has also been collaborating with. We see the dormitory where the orphans sleep. It’s small and crowded, again a humbling experience and not an ideal place for lodging – but it’s something. We must keep in mind that the nuns have received no grants, no government support. They are struggling to raise these orphans. They have a field where they grow vegetables that are sold for profit. This profit was used to build a very modest school that when you look at it you can’t even call it a school. It’s made with mud by hand, with a dirt floor, the ceiling not taller than 5 feet and the room holds about 8 rows of old benches. Again, this was a moment that made us all speechless. No one should have to study like that. Nevertheless, the kids perform a song for us to welcome us. Maybe in January they can study in the new OSISA school.
We continue in the jeeps bouncing along about 15 minutes to reach the LB clinic – at long last! It’s nice! The size would perhaps be like your small town health center. The exterior is completed, but it needs paint, a walkway and clearing building materials on the floor inside. All of this is on video. Mr. Samy Tshibangu, the building engineer, says that if all funds are provided now, he can finish the construction in two months!! LB, we are that close! It’s a structure that we can be proud of. It is ready for electricity via a generator or via solar panels. Inflation has not been kind to us over the last two years. The price of cement has increased significantly since LB made the project budget; the price of wood has increased. Trains from Lubumbashi to Kasai are no longer functioning and supplies have to come by air, which is much more expensive. The longer we wait the more expensive it will be to finish the project. The population of Tshibombo Tshimuanyi has waited too long for health care. The OSISA clinic is on the northern side of the community, so the LB clinic will service the southern side. Remember everyone has to walk around there. With the two clinics functioning people still have to walk 45 min to an hour to reach health care. This is life-saving, because now people are dying from the slightest ailments. The government is not doing anything about it. People power can do this. There are qualified medical professionals in Tshibombo ready to staff the clinic. The nuns told me they want to help us with day to day administration.
Having seen the project so close to completion, I want to invite all of us to sacrifice more in our daily lives and to give more to LB. One family made a new pledge of $500 this Friday. Praise God! Let’s join them. Can we ask each family to give at least $300? If you can make it to $500 God bless you, but let’s reach for at least $300. $300 times 50 families will make $15,000! We need to do this NOW. Here’s how all of us can cut back (including me!):
a) Make lunch instead of buying lunch. $6 x 21 days = $126 per month.
b) Cancel satellite TV and stay with basic cable for at least 2 months. No pay per view.
c) If not, at least when you travel for long periods of time downgrade your cable to basic so you’re charged the basic rate instead of your normal rate. Since no one is home to enjoy, why pay full price? Then you can call to turn it back when you’re back from your trip. I do this since I travel for 3-5 weeks at a time.
d) Do your own manicures and pedicures.
e) Don’t buy the newest Warreson and Olomide CDs. Don’t. Or Usher, or Beyonce.
f) When your appliances are off but still plugged in, they consume electricity and you continue to pay. So put appliances on a power strip and unplug the power strip when you leave the house. If this is too much, at least unplug everything when you travel and you will see a dip in your bill.
g) I'm sure you can think of other ideas.
So let me rewind to other visits within the city center of Mbuji-Mayi. We visited l’Hopital Muya, which is a state-run facility that has specialized services for victims of sexual violence. With a grant from UNFPA, they are able to provide comprehensive services including exam, antibiotics, emergency contraception, post-exposure prophylaxis, counseling, fistula surgery, etc., all for free. Their services are life-saving, but it’s like a band-aid approach given that impunity for rape is the norm throughout Congo. 10 percent of the hospital’s patients are under 10 years old. The visit was quite informative and sobering. The older clients forego legal support after medical care, afraid to challenge their perpetrators and lacking support from their families as well as the monetary means to pay legal fees. Save the Children currently takes on only five victims per month for legal support. It is ironic that the hospital refers the most extreme cases to UNFPA and MONUC with the hope to attain justice – not to state agencies.
Kasai Orientale has the 3rd highest rate of sexual violence after the Kivus. In case some of you don’t know, the Congolese government passed a law punishing sexual violence in June 2006. The law is extremely far-reaching; it’s more progressive than laws that exist in countries such as Kenya and Ghana. It punishes sexual harassment, early marriage, rape, child abuse, rape via military order, marital rape, etc. Under this law, an officer who orders his soldiers to rape is himself prosecuted. Under this law, teachers who prey on female students should be put in jail. Rapists should be in jail. But our visit showed us again that law in Congo means nothing. While it’s talked about on TV and on posters everywhere, it is not enforced. The prevalence of rape is increasing, not decreasing. Elected officials and the UN say the right words, but enforcement is still not happening. If you have money to give the police and court officials, the case against a rapist will be dropped. Furthermore, families are so poor that they accept an “informal agreement” to receive financial compensation from the perpetrator instead of taking a rape case to court. So the law exists on paper only. One of our OSISA colleagues visited the Mbuji-Mayi prison and those he found there were being charged with not honoring a $20 debt or with abandoning a marriage after a husband had been absent for five years. But rapists are free to walk around the streets. Isn’t this wrong? Priorities are upside down. We witnessed a moment downtown where everyone has to stop walking/moving when the flag is being raised on the main road. It’s by law – you have to stop or you are arrested. We saw this extraordinary stillness before setting out on a site visit. So tell me, if we can arrest people for not honoring the flag can’t we arrest them for dishonoring someone’s body?
I must add that when we first arrived in Mbuji-Mayi we were received by the Executive Committee of the Provincial Assembly. They shared with us that that week they were introducing in the provincial Parliament legislation to criminalize pornographic film houses and sexual abuse of minors at the mines. Both are very important issues and both have become rampant in Kasai. But can we not extend that sexual abuse of minors to rape of anyone any age? Can we not take a position that here, in Kasai Orientale, we will not tolerate such things? Can we say we don’t care who the perpetrator is, rich or common, whether he did it for fetishe/superstition or not, he must be punished? The challenge remains for us to respect personal dignity.
I continue with what we witnessed at the mines at Bakwa Tshimuna on another day. This was a long day. It took us almost 2 hours to reach the mining sites. After passing all the homes, winding along red, dirt roads (not really roads, just where space for cars had been artificially created), past farms, past everything, and still driving further along until there was nothing along the side except lots of grass – after all of that, after passing MIBA facilities, after passing huge caverns that were former industrial mining sites that are now abandoned, after passing lines of people making the long trek to where they would try their luck to dig for diamonds by hand, after riding through dust and bumpy terrain, we finally stopped in an open field. We were tired, but this was not the end of our journey. Now we walked, for another 45 minutes, under punishing heat, to reach the area where artisanal mining takes place. So imagine rows of very small wooden structures that double as diamond selling counters and people’s homes and fast-food eateries, very densely packed together -- we pass that, to now start walking through the swamps, hilly areas, bushy areas, rocky areas, more swamps. We see smaller caverns (V-shape), earth piled on the sides and water at the bottom. People are digging through the silt water and working to find some speckle of hope in a diamond that is the exception rather than the norm. It’s sad. We talked to people there. The girls selling food there make about 20 cents a day. Here at the mines sexual exploitation and trafficking of minors is rampant. There are terms to refer to girls ages 6-8 and then those 9-15. Someone can make an order as easily as we order from McDonald’s here. So why is there money to pay for sex with minors and there’s no money to pay school fees, mechanize agriculture or create industries that can employ people? When we arrived at the Mbuji-Mayi airport, we happened to be on the same plane as the Governor of the Province, so we saw the level of security that was there for him. Can we not extend that same level of security to our minors? The Provincial Assembly must not just pass a law, they must enforce it and people must be able to see that enforcement.
I must say that our visit generated a lot of excitement. We were received with the most respect and attention by all the people and officials we met. Media sought us out for interviews, including Radio Okapi and Radio-Tele Debout Kasai. I gave two interviews. The non-Congolese in our delegation learned a lot and were able to go away with a comparative view of socio-economic challenges facing DRC vis-à-vis their own country. Suddenly, their country didn’t seem so bad. As a formality we visited the Vice-Governor of the Province as soon as we arrived and also right before we left.
As much suffering as I saw, there are good things about Mbuji-Mayi we must celebrate and work with. The air is clean, skies are clear, there are not piles of trash on the side of the road like in Kinshasa. There is a lot of potential. The people want change. That’s a big plus. And there are many Kasaiens that are ready to partner with Leja Bulela or other people that want to implement development projects.
We have to do more.
I end there today and my final segment will come hopefully before election day!
Thank you for being part of the solution.
Muadi
10/26/2008
I want to thank those that have shared words of encouragement and appreciation for my trip notes. Especially Dr. Tshibengabo, Tshiela, Maman Jacky, Mr. Mubalamata, Papa Kakolesha, the LB Executive Committee – everyone, you know who you are.
Today I’d like to talk about about the visit to Tshibombo Tshimuanyi to see where the refugee families live and where the LB project is situated. Mr. Mubalamata sent an email saying that for him Kasai Orientale has a mystical quality as our homeland. I felt the same way especially when I was at Tshibombo. I felt like I was walking on air, experiencing a dream, at the same time, the reality was clicking in my brain.
So, on Saturday, Sept. 27 our group sets out after lunch, in jeeps, to visit Tshibombo. The engineer of the LB clinic, Mr. Samy Tshibangu, has joined us after Abbe Muyombo put him in touch with me. We’re bouncing along on the rough unpaved road, which winds between grassy areas of land. It takes us about 30 minutes from the center of Mbuji-Mayi to get there. The area, just like most of Mbuji-Mayi, is undeveloped. The homes are not as densely placed together, they’re very small houses, and there’s just a lot of open fields around. First we get to the school that OSISA is building. It is very nice, made of brick and spacious, and will probably open in January 2009, offering an exciting beginning for many Tshibombo youth. Across from the school is a maternity whose patient ward was built by OSISA. Europeans have recently sent about 16 beds. The facility is clean and managed by professionals who themselves were victims of the Katanga crisis.
[P.S. I have pictures and video, but I’m experiencing problems attaching them to email and I hope to resolve this problem soon with the help of someone more technologically savvy. Somehow the software I used doesn’t seem to be compatible with most computers.]
Then we drive further to visit the nuns that are taking care of refugee orphans. These are the nuns that LB has also been collaborating with. We see the dormitory where the orphans sleep. It’s small and crowded, again a humbling experience and not an ideal place for lodging – but it’s something. We must keep in mind that the nuns have received no grants, no government support. They are struggling to raise these orphans. They have a field where they grow vegetables that are sold for profit. This profit was used to build a very modest school that when you look at it you can’t even call it a school. It’s made with mud by hand, with a dirt floor, the ceiling not taller than 5 feet and the room holds about 8 rows of old benches. Again, this was a moment that made us all speechless. No one should have to study like that. Nevertheless, the kids perform a song for us to welcome us. Maybe in January they can study in the new OSISA school.
We continue in the jeeps bouncing along about 15 minutes to reach the LB clinic – at long last! It’s nice! The size would perhaps be like your small town health center. The exterior is completed, but it needs paint, a walkway and clearing building materials on the floor inside. All of this is on video. Mr. Samy Tshibangu, the building engineer, says that if all funds are provided now, he can finish the construction in two months!! LB, we are that close! It’s a structure that we can be proud of. It is ready for electricity via a generator or via solar panels. Inflation has not been kind to us over the last two years. The price of cement has increased significantly since LB made the project budget; the price of wood has increased. Trains from Lubumbashi to Kasai are no longer functioning and supplies have to come by air, which is much more expensive. The longer we wait the more expensive it will be to finish the project. The population of Tshibombo Tshimuanyi has waited too long for health care. The OSISA clinic is on the northern side of the community, so the LB clinic will service the southern side. Remember everyone has to walk around there. With the two clinics functioning people still have to walk 45 min to an hour to reach health care. This is life-saving, because now people are dying from the slightest ailments. The government is not doing anything about it. People power can do this. There are qualified medical professionals in Tshibombo ready to staff the clinic. The nuns told me they want to help us with day to day administration.
Having seen the project so close to completion, I want to invite all of us to sacrifice more in our daily lives and to give more to LB. One family made a new pledge of $500 this Friday. Praise God! Let’s join them. Can we ask each family to give at least $300? If you can make it to $500 God bless you, but let’s reach for at least $300. $300 times 50 families will make $15,000! We need to do this NOW. Here’s how all of us can cut back (including me!):
a) Make lunch instead of buying lunch. $6 x 21 days = $126 per month.
b) Cancel satellite TV and stay with basic cable for at least 2 months. No pay per view.
c) If not, at least when you travel for long periods of time downgrade your cable to basic so you’re charged the basic rate instead of your normal rate. Since no one is home to enjoy, why pay full price? Then you can call to turn it back when you’re back from your trip. I do this since I travel for 3-5 weeks at a time.
d) Do your own manicures and pedicures.
e) Don’t buy the newest Warreson and Olomide CDs. Don’t. Or Usher, or Beyonce.
f) When your appliances are off but still plugged in, they consume electricity and you continue to pay. So put appliances on a power strip and unplug the power strip when you leave the house. If this is too much, at least unplug everything when you travel and you will see a dip in your bill.
g) I'm sure you can think of other ideas.
So let me rewind to other visits within the city center of Mbuji-Mayi. We visited l’Hopital Muya, which is a state-run facility that has specialized services for victims of sexual violence. With a grant from UNFPA, they are able to provide comprehensive services including exam, antibiotics, emergency contraception, post-exposure prophylaxis, counseling, fistula surgery, etc., all for free. Their services are life-saving, but it’s like a band-aid approach given that impunity for rape is the norm throughout Congo. 10 percent of the hospital’s patients are under 10 years old. The visit was quite informative and sobering. The older clients forego legal support after medical care, afraid to challenge their perpetrators and lacking support from their families as well as the monetary means to pay legal fees. Save the Children currently takes on only five victims per month for legal support. It is ironic that the hospital refers the most extreme cases to UNFPA and MONUC with the hope to attain justice – not to state agencies.
Kasai Orientale has the 3rd highest rate of sexual violence after the Kivus. In case some of you don’t know, the Congolese government passed a law punishing sexual violence in June 2006. The law is extremely far-reaching; it’s more progressive than laws that exist in countries such as Kenya and Ghana. It punishes sexual harassment, early marriage, rape, child abuse, rape via military order, marital rape, etc. Under this law, an officer who orders his soldiers to rape is himself prosecuted. Under this law, teachers who prey on female students should be put in jail. Rapists should be in jail. But our visit showed us again that law in Congo means nothing. While it’s talked about on TV and on posters everywhere, it is not enforced. The prevalence of rape is increasing, not decreasing. Elected officials and the UN say the right words, but enforcement is still not happening. If you have money to give the police and court officials, the case against a rapist will be dropped. Furthermore, families are so poor that they accept an “informal agreement” to receive financial compensation from the perpetrator instead of taking a rape case to court. So the law exists on paper only. One of our OSISA colleagues visited the Mbuji-Mayi prison and those he found there were being charged with not honoring a $20 debt or with abandoning a marriage after a husband had been absent for five years. But rapists are free to walk around the streets. Isn’t this wrong? Priorities are upside down. We witnessed a moment downtown where everyone has to stop walking/moving when the flag is being raised on the main road. It’s by law – you have to stop or you are arrested. We saw this extraordinary stillness before setting out on a site visit. So tell me, if we can arrest people for not honoring the flag can’t we arrest them for dishonoring someone’s body?
I must add that when we first arrived in Mbuji-Mayi we were received by the Executive Committee of the Provincial Assembly. They shared with us that that week they were introducing in the provincial Parliament legislation to criminalize pornographic film houses and sexual abuse of minors at the mines. Both are very important issues and both have become rampant in Kasai. But can we not extend that sexual abuse of minors to rape of anyone any age? Can we not take a position that here, in Kasai Orientale, we will not tolerate such things? Can we say we don’t care who the perpetrator is, rich or common, whether he did it for fetishe/superstition or not, he must be punished? The challenge remains for us to respect personal dignity.
I continue with what we witnessed at the mines at Bakwa Tshimuna on another day. This was a long day. It took us almost 2 hours to reach the mining sites. After passing all the homes, winding along red, dirt roads (not really roads, just where space for cars had been artificially created), past farms, past everything, and still driving further along until there was nothing along the side except lots of grass – after all of that, after passing MIBA facilities, after passing huge caverns that were former industrial mining sites that are now abandoned, after passing lines of people making the long trek to where they would try their luck to dig for diamonds by hand, after riding through dust and bumpy terrain, we finally stopped in an open field. We were tired, but this was not the end of our journey. Now we walked, for another 45 minutes, under punishing heat, to reach the area where artisanal mining takes place. So imagine rows of very small wooden structures that double as diamond selling counters and people’s homes and fast-food eateries, very densely packed together -- we pass that, to now start walking through the swamps, hilly areas, bushy areas, rocky areas, more swamps. We see smaller caverns (V-shape), earth piled on the sides and water at the bottom. People are digging through the silt water and working to find some speckle of hope in a diamond that is the exception rather than the norm. It’s sad. We talked to people there. The girls selling food there make about 20 cents a day. Here at the mines sexual exploitation and trafficking of minors is rampant. There are terms to refer to girls ages 6-8 and then those 9-15. Someone can make an order as easily as we order from McDonald’s here. So why is there money to pay for sex with minors and there’s no money to pay school fees, mechanize agriculture or create industries that can employ people? When we arrived at the Mbuji-Mayi airport, we happened to be on the same plane as the Governor of the Province, so we saw the level of security that was there for him. Can we not extend that same level of security to our minors? The Provincial Assembly must not just pass a law, they must enforce it and people must be able to see that enforcement.
I must say that our visit generated a lot of excitement. We were received with the most respect and attention by all the people and officials we met. Media sought us out for interviews, including Radio Okapi and Radio-Tele Debout Kasai. I gave two interviews. The non-Congolese in our delegation learned a lot and were able to go away with a comparative view of socio-economic challenges facing DRC vis-à-vis their own country. Suddenly, their country didn’t seem so bad. As a formality we visited the Vice-Governor of the Province as soon as we arrived and also right before we left.
As much suffering as I saw, there are good things about Mbuji-Mayi we must celebrate and work with. The air is clean, skies are clear, there are not piles of trash on the side of the road like in Kinshasa. There is a lot of potential. The people want change. That’s a big plus. And there are many Kasaiens that are ready to partner with Leja Bulela or other people that want to implement development projects.
We have to do more.
I end there today and my final segment will come hopefully before election day!
Thank you for being part of the solution.
Muadi
Pass It On
"Help your brothers in thier needs...Live for yourself you will live in vain, live for others, you will live again..."
-The Wailers 1973
Our people are wailing and need our help. This song is here as a reminder that the work is never done, and whatever little you can do, do it.
Friday, October 24, 2008
News From DR Congo
Taken from:
http://www.maximsnews.com/news20081022unossgenglish10810220201.htm
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: SECURITY COUNCIL URGES ALL PARTIES TO RESPECT CEASE-FIRE
The Security Council on Tuesday afternoon adopted a Presidential Statement in which it expressed its grave concern at the resurgence of violence in the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and its potential regional implications. It urged all parties to respect a ceasefire immediately.
It also urged the DRC and Rwandan Governments to engage in efforts to settle their differences, including through reactivating the Joint Verification Mechanism, and called upon them to implement the Nairobi communiqué fully.
Meanwhile, according to the UN Mission in the DR Congo (MONUC), rebels from the Lord’s Resistance Army on Sunday killed 6 Congolese civilians in an early morning attack on Bangadi, a village in northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. MONUC also adds that the Ugandan rebel forces looted homes and communal facilities before setting them ablaze.
However, faced with stiff resistance from village residents, the rebels retreated without any further damage. No children were kidnapped during the attack.
The Congolese army has called on the estimated 6,000 members of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) “to adhere to the Nairobi process without delay” or face punitive action. FDLR combatants are Rwandan nationals whose return to Rwanda, it is believed, would help restore security and stability in eastern DRC and in the wider Great Lakes region. They are to be disarmed and repatriated to Rwanda, under the Nairobi process, which was agreed in November 2007 between the DRC and Rwanda.
http://www.maximsnews.com/news20081022unossgenglish10810220201.htm
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: SECURITY COUNCIL URGES ALL PARTIES TO RESPECT CEASE-FIRE
The Security Council on Tuesday afternoon adopted a Presidential Statement in which it expressed its grave concern at the resurgence of violence in the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and its potential regional implications. It urged all parties to respect a ceasefire immediately.
It also urged the DRC and Rwandan Governments to engage in efforts to settle their differences, including through reactivating the Joint Verification Mechanism, and called upon them to implement the Nairobi communiqué fully.
Meanwhile, according to the UN Mission in the DR Congo (MONUC), rebels from the Lord’s Resistance Army on Sunday killed 6 Congolese civilians in an early morning attack on Bangadi, a village in northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. MONUC also adds that the Ugandan rebel forces looted homes and communal facilities before setting them ablaze.
However, faced with stiff resistance from village residents, the rebels retreated without any further damage. No children were kidnapped during the attack.
The Congolese army has called on the estimated 6,000 members of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) “to adhere to the Nairobi process without delay” or face punitive action. FDLR combatants are Rwandan nationals whose return to Rwanda, it is believed, would help restore security and stability in eastern DRC and in the wider Great Lakes region. They are to be disarmed and repatriated to Rwanda, under the Nairobi process, which was agreed in November 2007 between the DRC and Rwanda.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Muadi's Trip Letter 2
Part II
Let me continue sharing the Mbuji-Mayi trip by describing the delegation. It has been apparent to me during the last nine years of doing international development work that the level of donor support in Francophone Africa is negligible when compared to Anglophone Africa. Our political and security contexts have a lot to do with it, along with the English language limitations of civil society in countries that are former French or Belgian colonies. Therefore, I always champion initiatives to respond to the human needs in Francophone Africa, and was therefore eager to join this delegation when invited. The reality in Central Africa is even more dire, and those who know me know that advocacy for Central and Francophone Africa is a core issue for me. I traveled alone to Uvira and to Kinshasa in 2007 to meet women’s rights groups that had been funded by my company under my supervision. Open Society Institute Southern Africa (OSISA), a foundation, led this September 2008 DRC delegation. I work for a foundation, Global Fund for Women (GFW), that was invited along with the African Women’s Development Fund and 3 women’s rights networks from Zimbabwe, Guinea and Swaziland on a joint mission to DRC Sept. 21-Oct. 2 to learn about challenges facing the women’s rights movement as well as key efforts that have been put in place to date in two regions of the country -- Kinshasa and Kasai Orientale – to improve the status of women and girls. The trip included meetings with multiple actors such as NGOs, government officials, women in Parliament, UN agencies, and health and educational institutions. We spent six days in each city. Mbuji Mayi was selected as the 2nd site due to the presence of prominent mining activities, the history of military occupation during DRC’s war, and the current crisis of sex trafficking that is prevalent around the mines. OSISA has funded a handful of projects in Mbuji-Mayi, GFW has funded three, and together, we aimed to educate the rest of the delegation on the history and politics of the region and to strategize on how to collaborate on an initiative to support the women’s movement in DRC. We started our days at 8 am and often returned 10 or 12 hours later.
The second part of my mission was to visit the Tshibombo community where the Leja Bulela project is situated. I was lucky that our agenda had room for additions, and when I suggested visiting Tshibombo, one of the OSISA staff responded very enthusiastically – he is Congolese. Later I found out he experienced fleeing from Katanga and living in makeshift tents in Tshibombo. What a coincidence. Together, we educated the rest of the delegation on this aspect of Kasai history. Coincidentally, OSISA has built a school which is 10 minutes by jeep from the LB clinic. We visited the OSISA project on the same day that we visited the LB clinic and also the small orphanage school run by the nuns that LB has been working with. Everything has come full circle as I was able to see with my own eyes what the elders have been telling us at all the LB meetings. With the experience of 6 (?) LB meetings behind me (as well as numerous lessons from my father), I was able to digest what I was seeing. Did I say that the same Congolese OSISA colleague met young Ilunga Kalala several years ago when he went to South Africa and asked OSISA for NGOs where he could intern in Kasai? Ilunga told OSISA about his father’s death due to a road accident. When I heard that, I saw the world get smaller and smaller and that’s when I told them that the LB health center is named after Kalala.
As you know there have been numerous demonstrations throughout DRC against MONUC and their apparent inaction in the face of mass atrocities committed against Congolese people. There was a large demonstration the day before we arrived in Mbuji-Mayi and also during the time we were there. State and UN police were always visible in the town center, although it was not a frightening context. We learned that the rate of sexual violence in Kasai Orientale is the third highest after North and South Kivu. We had the chance to meet with the UN in Kinshasa and it was a sobering visit – one wonders when will we see bold action to protect Congolese people, especially women? At the same time, the visible military presence demonstrates that priorities do not lie in social and human development.
In Mbuji-Mayi, we met a group of about 30 women’s rights NGOs to present the missions of each of our institutions and to give advice on how these networks could best position themselves to secure financial support for human rights activities. The groups address a range of concerns, including civic education, formal education, economic empowerment, ending discriminatory inheritance practices and sexual violence, provision of safe drinking water, and legal assistance. They are small groups run primarily by volunteers. As donors we spoke candidly about the pitfalls of NGO competition, lack of transparency, and the need for integrated approaches that seek systemic social change. The conservative and rigid aspects of Kasai’s culture emerged repeatedly as barriers to the advancement of women’s rights. This is an area we must address directly. Culture is dynamic. Keeping 51 percent of the population away from progress means that the whole society does not reach its potential.
The context for human rights work in Kasai is daunting. Weak state structures, lack of a road and communication infrastructure, lack of public services, lack of justice, lack of a reliable revenue source for social investments, lack of employment opportunities – all these realities weigh to make social change an uphill task. During our visit the Provincial Assembly was just getting used to its role, negotiating budgets with the central government, improving ministerial facilities and just making do in many cases. It was humbling to see where Kasai is relative to the other parts of Africa I have visited.
If Americans want to know communities where they can make a difference in Africa, let’s suggest Mbuji-Mayi. Let’s insist on their participation despite the language difference and despite the difficult infrastructure. Let’s invite them to build on the foundation that we Congolese in the Diaspora have laid during the first 15 years of Leja Bulela. We have $55,000 to show already in funds raised for the health center! The delegation as well as people in Mbuji-Mayi are applauding us for our initiative and the results to date. All the projects completed in Kenya and Uganda with participation from American volunteers started from modest means and from an idea, and there’s no reason why we can’t do the same. In fact it is imperative that we be active. We can’t just talk – talkers will not be helpful to LB’s mission and should not distract us. I was able to visit the church, school and health clinic that Abbe Gaston Muyombo built way on the outskirts of Mbuji-Mayi with contributions from Americans and they are beautiful. Yet, they took time and persistence and a desire to serve no matter what.
I still have more to share. Specifics about visiting the mines, talking to doctors that treat rape victims, visiting the universities and vocational training programs, etc. After seeing things up close, it's impossible to return an unchanged person. We have a duty to do more for Kasai. By the way, have you mailed your membership fee to the LB Treasurer?
Thanks for staying with me. Next time we’ll travel as a group.
Muadi
(Pls share my writings with your children and nieces and nephews under 45 yo who have never been to Kasai. It's in English on purpose). We have to take up the mantle.
Let me continue sharing the Mbuji-Mayi trip by describing the delegation. It has been apparent to me during the last nine years of doing international development work that the level of donor support in Francophone Africa is negligible when compared to Anglophone Africa. Our political and security contexts have a lot to do with it, along with the English language limitations of civil society in countries that are former French or Belgian colonies. Therefore, I always champion initiatives to respond to the human needs in Francophone Africa, and was therefore eager to join this delegation when invited. The reality in Central Africa is even more dire, and those who know me know that advocacy for Central and Francophone Africa is a core issue for me. I traveled alone to Uvira and to Kinshasa in 2007 to meet women’s rights groups that had been funded by my company under my supervision. Open Society Institute Southern Africa (OSISA), a foundation, led this September 2008 DRC delegation. I work for a foundation, Global Fund for Women (GFW), that was invited along with the African Women’s Development Fund and 3 women’s rights networks from Zimbabwe, Guinea and Swaziland on a joint mission to DRC Sept. 21-Oct. 2 to learn about challenges facing the women’s rights movement as well as key efforts that have been put in place to date in two regions of the country -- Kinshasa and Kasai Orientale – to improve the status of women and girls. The trip included meetings with multiple actors such as NGOs, government officials, women in Parliament, UN agencies, and health and educational institutions. We spent six days in each city. Mbuji Mayi was selected as the 2nd site due to the presence of prominent mining activities, the history of military occupation during DRC’s war, and the current crisis of sex trafficking that is prevalent around the mines. OSISA has funded a handful of projects in Mbuji-Mayi, GFW has funded three, and together, we aimed to educate the rest of the delegation on the history and politics of the region and to strategize on how to collaborate on an initiative to support the women’s movement in DRC. We started our days at 8 am and often returned 10 or 12 hours later.
The second part of my mission was to visit the Tshibombo community where the Leja Bulela project is situated. I was lucky that our agenda had room for additions, and when I suggested visiting Tshibombo, one of the OSISA staff responded very enthusiastically – he is Congolese. Later I found out he experienced fleeing from Katanga and living in makeshift tents in Tshibombo. What a coincidence. Together, we educated the rest of the delegation on this aspect of Kasai history. Coincidentally, OSISA has built a school which is 10 minutes by jeep from the LB clinic. We visited the OSISA project on the same day that we visited the LB clinic and also the small orphanage school run by the nuns that LB has been working with. Everything has come full circle as I was able to see with my own eyes what the elders have been telling us at all the LB meetings. With the experience of 6 (?) LB meetings behind me (as well as numerous lessons from my father), I was able to digest what I was seeing. Did I say that the same Congolese OSISA colleague met young Ilunga Kalala several years ago when he went to South Africa and asked OSISA for NGOs where he could intern in Kasai? Ilunga told OSISA about his father’s death due to a road accident. When I heard that, I saw the world get smaller and smaller and that’s when I told them that the LB health center is named after Kalala.
As you know there have been numerous demonstrations throughout DRC against MONUC and their apparent inaction in the face of mass atrocities committed against Congolese people. There was a large demonstration the day before we arrived in Mbuji-Mayi and also during the time we were there. State and UN police were always visible in the town center, although it was not a frightening context. We learned that the rate of sexual violence in Kasai Orientale is the third highest after North and South Kivu. We had the chance to meet with the UN in Kinshasa and it was a sobering visit – one wonders when will we see bold action to protect Congolese people, especially women? At the same time, the visible military presence demonstrates that priorities do not lie in social and human development.
In Mbuji-Mayi, we met a group of about 30 women’s rights NGOs to present the missions of each of our institutions and to give advice on how these networks could best position themselves to secure financial support for human rights activities. The groups address a range of concerns, including civic education, formal education, economic empowerment, ending discriminatory inheritance practices and sexual violence, provision of safe drinking water, and legal assistance. They are small groups run primarily by volunteers. As donors we spoke candidly about the pitfalls of NGO competition, lack of transparency, and the need for integrated approaches that seek systemic social change. The conservative and rigid aspects of Kasai’s culture emerged repeatedly as barriers to the advancement of women’s rights. This is an area we must address directly. Culture is dynamic. Keeping 51 percent of the population away from progress means that the whole society does not reach its potential.
The context for human rights work in Kasai is daunting. Weak state structures, lack of a road and communication infrastructure, lack of public services, lack of justice, lack of a reliable revenue source for social investments, lack of employment opportunities – all these realities weigh to make social change an uphill task. During our visit the Provincial Assembly was just getting used to its role, negotiating budgets with the central government, improving ministerial facilities and just making do in many cases. It was humbling to see where Kasai is relative to the other parts of Africa I have visited.
If Americans want to know communities where they can make a difference in Africa, let’s suggest Mbuji-Mayi. Let’s insist on their participation despite the language difference and despite the difficult infrastructure. Let’s invite them to build on the foundation that we Congolese in the Diaspora have laid during the first 15 years of Leja Bulela. We have $55,000 to show already in funds raised for the health center! The delegation as well as people in Mbuji-Mayi are applauding us for our initiative and the results to date. All the projects completed in Kenya and Uganda with participation from American volunteers started from modest means and from an idea, and there’s no reason why we can’t do the same. In fact it is imperative that we be active. We can’t just talk – talkers will not be helpful to LB’s mission and should not distract us. I was able to visit the church, school and health clinic that Abbe Gaston Muyombo built way on the outskirts of Mbuji-Mayi with contributions from Americans and they are beautiful. Yet, they took time and persistence and a desire to serve no matter what.
I still have more to share. Specifics about visiting the mines, talking to doctors that treat rape victims, visiting the universities and vocational training programs, etc. After seeing things up close, it's impossible to return an unchanged person. We have a duty to do more for Kasai. By the way, have you mailed your membership fee to the LB Treasurer?
Thanks for staying with me. Next time we’ll travel as a group.
Muadi
(Pls share my writings with your children and nieces and nephews under 45 yo who have never been to Kasai. It's in English on purpose). We have to take up the mantle.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Letter From Muadi
Dear Leja Bulela Family,
I went to Mbuji-Mayi! At long last, after many years of hearing about it, learning about it, reading about it, even dreaming about it – I got to experience it! The trip was an honor, as well as a revelation. An honor in that many Kasaiens of my generation have never been there and I get to share my insights with them. An honor as well to know my family’s origins, and to return there in both a professional and personal capacity. A revelation in that I can now say with conviction what my elders have been saying since the founding of Leja Bulela – this is our home, and we have to show that we care. Because of my job I’ve been all over Africa, but this trip was the most important.
I return to the U.S. with a sense of intense urgency that those of us in the Diaspora have a duty to do even more than we are doing now to improve the living standards of our people. It is a sense of urgency because there is a huge chasm between the potential of Kasai Orientale, and the reality. The reality is a struggle for a daily meal, women still carrying humongous piles of wood for miles on their heads, a rate of inflation where the price of commodities doubles in the span of two or three months, children poorly clothed and mostly out of school, a large population eking out an existence from petty trading and the desperate hope of a diamond from Kasai’s soil. The reality is an infrastructure of extreme modesty, an asphalted, small, town center, clean and bustling with activity, while most of the city sprawls across miles of bumpy, dirt roads and deep red soil. Most of the tiny homes are made of mud and a few of red brick, nestled among grasslands or along the rolling hills. And what makes you speechless are the many scattered, deep caverns of soil – abandoned mines that were excavated by MIBA, a range of private companies, and many Kasaiens digging by hand – now lying empty and inviting erosion to take its toll. The depth of the caverns match the depth of the poverty I saw during my stay. Everything was taken out – nothing was put back in.
As Kasaiens in the Diaspora, what will we put back in? I have so many emotions about my trip that I can’t put it down in one sitting. I will continue my commentary and share with you in several parts. But let me start by saying that without my opening my mouth about Leja Bulela, many people I met mentioned us with respect and gratitude. It was a blessing to be able to witness that Leja Bulela has a good reputation in Mbuji-Mayi. LB would come up in conversations without my prompting – I did not advertise since I was working -- and all that was said was good. Yes, I did go see the LB health center in Tshibombo, and it’s almost finished! I have video, I have photos, and I hope to be able to share them with you soon.
LB Community, yes, we have a financial crisis in the U.S., but there is an even bigger crisis in Congo. It’s been going on for decades, and if we think we have something to complain about here, think of the youth who have not gone to school in Kasai, think of a rate of sexual violence that is the third highest after the Kivus, think of Kasai’s mineral wealth that continues to be whisked off to industrialized nations instead of installing running water, a sanitation system, proper roads, schools, libraries, manufacturing plants that can hire the millions that are out of work, mechanized agriculture to end the backbreaking work of toiling the land.
I promise to share Part II soon.
Muadi Mukenge
I went to Mbuji-Mayi! At long last, after many years of hearing about it, learning about it, reading about it, even dreaming about it – I got to experience it! The trip was an honor, as well as a revelation. An honor in that many Kasaiens of my generation have never been there and I get to share my insights with them. An honor as well to know my family’s origins, and to return there in both a professional and personal capacity. A revelation in that I can now say with conviction what my elders have been saying since the founding of Leja Bulela – this is our home, and we have to show that we care. Because of my job I’ve been all over Africa, but this trip was the most important.
I return to the U.S. with a sense of intense urgency that those of us in the Diaspora have a duty to do even more than we are doing now to improve the living standards of our people. It is a sense of urgency because there is a huge chasm between the potential of Kasai Orientale, and the reality. The reality is a struggle for a daily meal, women still carrying humongous piles of wood for miles on their heads, a rate of inflation where the price of commodities doubles in the span of two or three months, children poorly clothed and mostly out of school, a large population eking out an existence from petty trading and the desperate hope of a diamond from Kasai’s soil. The reality is an infrastructure of extreme modesty, an asphalted, small, town center, clean and bustling with activity, while most of the city sprawls across miles of bumpy, dirt roads and deep red soil. Most of the tiny homes are made of mud and a few of red brick, nestled among grasslands or along the rolling hills. And what makes you speechless are the many scattered, deep caverns of soil – abandoned mines that were excavated by MIBA, a range of private companies, and many Kasaiens digging by hand – now lying empty and inviting erosion to take its toll. The depth of the caverns match the depth of the poverty I saw during my stay. Everything was taken out – nothing was put back in.
As Kasaiens in the Diaspora, what will we put back in? I have so many emotions about my trip that I can’t put it down in one sitting. I will continue my commentary and share with you in several parts. But let me start by saying that without my opening my mouth about Leja Bulela, many people I met mentioned us with respect and gratitude. It was a blessing to be able to witness that Leja Bulela has a good reputation in Mbuji-Mayi. LB would come up in conversations without my prompting – I did not advertise since I was working -- and all that was said was good. Yes, I did go see the LB health center in Tshibombo, and it’s almost finished! I have video, I have photos, and I hope to be able to share them with you soon.
LB Community, yes, we have a financial crisis in the U.S., but there is an even bigger crisis in Congo. It’s been going on for decades, and if we think we have something to complain about here, think of the youth who have not gone to school in Kasai, think of a rate of sexual violence that is the third highest after the Kivus, think of Kasai’s mineral wealth that continues to be whisked off to industrialized nations instead of installing running water, a sanitation system, proper roads, schools, libraries, manufacturing plants that can hire the millions that are out of work, mechanized agriculture to end the backbreaking work of toiling the land.
I promise to share Part II soon.
Muadi Mukenge
Conference Call #12
Sunday, October 29, 2008
5:00 pm PST
39 mins
Callers:
Muadi
Tania
Nadine
Tshilumba
Topics
1. Muadi's Trip
2. T-shirts
3. Keychains
4. Concert update
5. Congoweek
Summary
Muadi's trip was the focus. Over the next few weeks she will be giving us all commentary and insight into her journey to Mbujimayi. We discussed the member incentives and the Bay Area concert to be held in February 2009. Congo Week is this week October 20-26, 2008.
5:00 pm PST
39 mins
Callers:
Muadi
Tania
Nadine
Tshilumba
Topics
1. Muadi's Trip
2. T-shirts
3. Keychains
4. Concert update
5. Congoweek
Summary
Muadi's trip was the focus. Over the next few weeks she will be giving us all commentary and insight into her journey to Mbujimayi. We discussed the member incentives and the Bay Area concert to be held in February 2009. Congo Week is this week October 20-26, 2008.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
LB YAO UPDATE (Conference Calls and Notes)
$500.00 for LB from LB YAO is on it’s way! See below from Allstate.
Conference call notes, no call 9/28
Conference call #11 10/5 5:00 – 5:15 pm pst
Felicia – Fund Chair
Muamba
Discussed fund raising thus far. Need more efforts from region chairs. Focus on 1-3 tangible and actually fundraisers that will work. So far TK and Kano Bay Area concert/event, Kabongo NYE Soiree, Felicia planning an event in Milwaukee area for May 09. Discussed key chains briefly.
Conference Call #12 10/12 5:00 – 5:15 pst
Kano – West Chair
Tania – East Chair
Muamba
Decided on Leopard key chain for paid LB YAO and LB members as token gift, confirmed need to have Kano/TK concert event be the launch event to attract more participation and members. Tania to send info to regional heads on candy fund raiser. $90 investment gets 180 candy bars, sell for $1 to make money back and net $90 profit. MK to get $500 from Allstate to add to $10k goal
Muamba's efforts have raised $500 for the LB YAO funds! Congratulations Muamba on taking initive and leading by example.
$500 From AllState Insurance San Diego, CA
From: Fiorino, Judy (Kelly Services)
Sent: Monday, October 06, 2008 1:58 PM
To: Kabongo, Muamba
Subject: RE: Helping Hands grant application
Importance: High
Hi, Muamba. I jut confirmed with the Home Office that the $500 check for your Helping Hands grant is being issued tomorrow & I should have it by Wednesday or Thursday. I will mail it to you as soon as I receive it. Have a nice afternoon. -Judy
Conference call notes, no call 9/28
Conference call #11 10/5 5:00 – 5:15 pm pst
Felicia – Fund Chair
Muamba
Discussed fund raising thus far. Need more efforts from region chairs. Focus on 1-3 tangible and actually fundraisers that will work. So far TK and Kano Bay Area concert/event, Kabongo NYE Soiree, Felicia planning an event in Milwaukee area for May 09. Discussed key chains briefly.
Conference Call #12 10/12 5:00 – 5:15 pst
Kano – West Chair
Tania – East Chair
Muamba
Decided on Leopard key chain for paid LB YAO and LB members as token gift, confirmed need to have Kano/TK concert event be the launch event to attract more participation and members. Tania to send info to regional heads on candy fund raiser. $90 investment gets 180 candy bars, sell for $1 to make money back and net $90 profit. MK to get $500 from Allstate to add to $10k goal
Muamba's efforts have raised $500 for the LB YAO funds! Congratulations Muamba on taking initive and leading by example.
$500 From AllState Insurance San Diego, CA
From: Fiorino, Judy (Kelly Services)
Sent: Monday, October 06, 2008 1:58 PM
To: Kabongo, Muamba
Subject: RE: Helping Hands grant application
Importance: High
Hi, Muamba. I jut confirmed with the Home Office that the $500 check for your Helping Hands grant is being issued tomorrow & I should have it by Wednesday or Thursday. I will mail it to you as soon as I receive it. Have a nice afternoon. -Judy
Monday, September 22, 2008
Conference Call #10
Felicia Kadima- Fundraising Chair
Tania Kasongo- East Coast Regional Chair
Kano Kadima- West Coast Regional Chair
Muamba Kabongo- Special Advisor to Communications Chair
Tshilumba Kabongo- National Communications Chair
Summary
Ideas for Fundraising:
Concert in San Francisco (4 5 month planned date)
NYE Benefit Dinner in San Diego
Membership pledges
Token gifts for contributing LB YAO members
Communication to public via letters of introduction
Sunday, 5:00pm-5:45pm, September 21, 2008
Tania Kasongo- East Coast Regional Chair
Kano Kadima- West Coast Regional Chair
Muamba Kabongo- Special Advisor to Communications Chair
Tshilumba Kabongo- National Communications Chair
Summary
Ideas for Fundraising:
Concert in San Francisco (4 5 month planned date)
NYE Benefit Dinner in San Diego
Membership pledges
Token gifts for contributing LB YAO members
Communication to public via letters of introduction
Sunday, 5:00pm-5:45pm, September 21, 2008
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
