Artists Striving to End Poverty at BC, BC for Congo, and the Arts and Social Responsibility Project will host "Concert for Congo" at Boston College's Robsham Theatre on December 2nd.
The concert will include several student performances and and guest speakers include Raise Hope for Congo's Student and Youth Coordinator Alex Hellmuth and Omekongo Dibinga, a Congolese poet and motivational speaker.
Tickets are $10 and proceeds will be donated to Panzi Hospital in Bukavu, DRC.
As my travels continued, I made my way from Alabama to South Carolina to meet with even more fired-up Congo activists. After spending a day in Greenville with students at Furman University, who are now working to pass a conflict-free campus resolution, I made a trek out to meet with different members of the faith community in Columbia. Read More »
Actress and activist Robin Wright recently traveled to eastern Congo with the Enough Project. Her op-ed reflecting on the trip and what advocates can do to promote peace originally appeared on CNN.com, along with her video trip diaries. Read More »
When lawyer Emmanuel Katcha*, a father of two, casts his vote in Congo’s presidential election on Monday, he said he will be voting for change. “My voice is like teacher's red pen that I want to use to proofread errors of those in power,” Katcha said, adding that he is frustrated that Congo’s leaders seem to see themselves as “gods, superhuman,” and above the rest of the Congolese. “We deserve patriotic leaders,” he said.
With far less international fanfare than the country’s first elections stirred in 2006, Congolese will vote in countrywide presidential and legislative elections. The lead-up to the polls has been tumultuous. Read More »
Final preparations are underway in eastern Congo for the elections, now just days away. The National Independent Electoral Commission, known by its French acronym CENI, is ardently posting ballot papers, giving accreditations to political parties’ witnesses and independent observers, printing new voter cards for those who lost them, and setting up ballot boxes. It is also sorting out how to handle ghost polling stations and settling claims by voters whose names have gone missing from polling lists. Read More »
Our car stopped at a government checkpoint on the way to Mumosho, a small town about an hour outside of Bukavu in eastern Congo, and Enough researcher Amani Matabaro jumped out to talk to the armed guards inside a ramshackle hut perched precariously along the cliff at the side of the road. Amani travels this route two to three times per week, and as one of the individuals we were in Congo to profile, we were riding along to meet his friends in the remote village where he grew up and check in on his many projects in the area. Before he could say a word to the guards inside, they laughed and shook their heads, “Come on, man, we know what you’re going to ask us. And you already know the answer,” and with that, Amani handed over his payment. Read More »
This week's post in the series Enough 101 looks at the history of the Democratic Republic of Congo from colonialism through the rule of dictator Mobutu Sese Seko. Read More »
Congo is also known for its impressive natural resource wealth, yet it is as rich in resources as it is in atrocities given the fact that it has been ravaged by successive wars for more than 15 years. The province of South Kivu and its capital city, Bukavu, is one of the worst conflict-affected areas in eastern Congo. In light of the conflict and hardship in the East, I asked myself: Do the upcoming elections matter here?
Across the country and here in South Kivu the campaign is the subject of countless conversations among the locals. I spent some time walking around in town to capture the sentiments of people. Read More »
As electoral campaign violence flares in parts of Congo, officials and onlookers are becoming increasingly concerned about increased foul-play and violence threatening free and fair elections just over a week from now. Nothing could be a better illustration of such activity than the recent kidnapping of traditional Hunde singer Fabrice Masumbuko in Goma. Read More »
