Message From the Chairman

Roster 2009-2010

Advisers
Thierry Tubajikka
Felicia Kadima
Marco N.
Muadi Mukenge

Chairman - Muamba Kabongo
Communications - Tshilumba Kabongo
Media Chair- Isabelle Kalubi
Chief Editor LBYAO Newsletter- Tania Kasongo
Travel Coordinator - Kanku Kabongo
West Rep/LB Photographer/Cameraman - Kalongi Kadima
East Rep- Ilunga Kalala
Felicia Kadima-Fundrasing Chair


LBYAO needs a presence in every section of USA

Southwest (Dallas area, maybe Marco or those on facebook can find us a new friend to rep LB cause in Dallas Area)
South (especially ATL and Miami, we need contacts out here)
Midwest (shall we tap Jolie Kadima?)

Call Schedule

5:00 pm PST (8 pm est)

7/19
8/2
8/16
9/13
9/27
10/11
10/25
11/8
11/29
12/6
12/20
Holiday Break Christmas
1/10
1/24
Winter Break
2/21
3/7
3/21
Spring Break
4/11
4/25
5/16
5/30
6/20

6/30 Congo Day
7/2-7/4 Miami 2010 18th LB Annual Conference
Meeting Agenda And Minutes to be handled by Comm Chair

With Schedule and Agenda Planned Prior to Call Would like to rotate a Call Monitor to take roll of participates and moderate/facilitate during call.


Message from the Chairman

As we start another year, let's not forget why we do this work. This is a labor of love and the work of God. Each one of us knows this is our moral obligation. With any organization there needs to be structure and a foundation. We are accountable to each other, the Leja Bulela board of directors and the almighty. Let us bring out the best in each other to complete the work that was started before us. We RUN DRC.

LBYAO
Muamba

Congo opens bidding for Inga 3 hydro dam investors

Democratic Republic of Congo has opened bidding for partners ready to help finance the long-delayed $7-billion Inga 3 hydroelectric plant, its energy minister said on Friday.

The government has created a new company to manage the project's construction, which is expected to last eight years and has attracted interest from mining giant BHP-Billiton.

The combined potential of Congo's Inga dams, in the relatively peaceful west of the country, has been estimated as high as 100 000 MW. But current output is around 700 MW and projects to revamp the dams have failed to find investment.

Congo opened the bidding process for companies interested in investing in the 4 320 MW Inga 3 plant after hosting talks on the project in Kinshasa this week, United Nations-backed Radio Okapi reported on Friday.

"Today, BHP-Billiton is interested in this production, because it wants to build an aluminium smelter in Bas-Congo (province). This is the first client we have," Energy Minister Laurent Muzangisa Mutalamu told the radio.

BHP-Billiton, the world's largest diversified miner, could contribute up to $35 million in financing, Radio Okapi reported.

Inga 3 is expected to link up with the southern African power grid to help address growing strains on the region's power supply as well as provide electricity to Congo's mining heartland in the country's southeast.

Congo's government is currently focusing on repairs and upgrades for the faltering Inga 1 and 2 hydro projects. It hopes to increase their capacity to 1 700 MW by 2012.

Congo plans one day to bring on line the 40 000 MW Grand Inga project. However, investors have so far been wary of the risk involved and have baulked at its $80-billion price tag.

source:http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/congo-opens-bidding-for-inga-3-hydro-dam-investors-2009-06-19

Flags of the DR Congo

The preview of our next fundraiser, flags for the Congo!

Dallas Banquet Photos

http://www.imagequix.com/photog.php?id=P9LYW9E&ec=lejabulela

Go to the following link to access photos from a truly fabulous night!

INDEPENDENCE DAY!

CHOIR
Debout Congolais,
Unis par le sort,
Unis dans l'effort pour l'indépendance,
Dressons nos fronts longtemps courbés
Et pour de bon prenons le plus bel élan, dans la paix,
O peuple ardent, par le labeur, nous bâtirons un pays plus beau qu'avant, dans la paix.

VERSE
Citoyens, entonnez l'hymne sacré de votre solidarité,
Fièrement, saluez l'emblème d'or de votre souveraineté, Congo.

REFRAIN
Don béni, (Congo) des aïeux (Congo),
O pays (Congo) bien aimé (Congo),
Nous peuplerons ton sol et nous assurerons ta grandeur.
(Trente juin) O doux soleil (trente juin) du trente juin,
(Jour sacré) Sois le témoin (jour sacré) de l'immortel serment de liberté
Que nous léguons à notre postérité pour toujours.

A Reminder of Why We Do This Work

The Street Children of Kinshasa

Screening of 2009 Pan African Film Festival Selection, "The Street Children of Kinshasa," to be shown in Dallas, Texas Friday July 3rd

New York, NY, June 9, 2009 -- As part of the Congo Independence Celebration weekend and the Leja Bulela, Inc. 2009 Annual Conference, a screening of the documentary The Street Children of Kinshasa will be made available to a large audience. The event is scheduled for Friday, July 3rd at 6:30pm at the Hilton Garden Inn DFW Airport South Hotel, located at 2001 Valley View lane in Irving, Texas. The event is free for all who are registered for the conference and open to the public (a suggested donation of $10 is welcomed).

The Street Children of Kinshasa is a groundbreaking documentary, by Gilbert Mulamba, that places the street children phenomenon of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) into a proper context. Mulamba, an artist and scientist, is a Congolese native who resides in Raleigh, NC.

On a recent trip back to the Congo, Mulamba was moved to capture and document the extreme injustices the street children of Kinshasa suffer. The Street Children of Kinshasa is Mulamba’s effort to not only show how these children are suffering, but also inform the public about how they can help.

The Street Children of Kinshasa was selected for the 2009 Pan African Film Festival, a momentous achievement for the first-time filmmaker. The BFM International Film
Festival sponsored by the British Academy of Film and Television
Arts and the BBC has requested the possibility of featuring The
street children of Kinshasa as part of the 2009 program, which will
be taking place from November 6th through the 10th in London, England

For additional information on The Street Children of Kinshasa documentary visit http://www.drcongochildren.org/
ABOUT DRCONGO CHILDREN – DRCongo Children is an organization that strives to make the plight of DR Congo children known to the world and provide information on how to help these children get out of the streets. Our hope is to foster a collaborative approach and effort of people and organizations working together to a make difference in the lives of abandoned children of the DRC!