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.

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

(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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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