June 2009 Notes
Democratic Republic of Congo Committee
June 14, 2009
Present: Kelley Ready, Jean Miller, Coleen Houlihan, Jackie Fletcher, Samba Halkose, Mary Georges, Pat Aron
The Democratic Republic of Congo Committee met on June 14, 2009. This third meeting of the group was enthusiastic and inspiring. We were sorry that everyone couldn’t attend.
The meeting began with a discussion of Refugee (the play Maman Jeanne is supporting in New York) and the possibility of bringing the play to Boston for a fundraiser. Kelley will look into this possibility. We may try to co-sponsor this event with another organization.
The group discussed items we’ve read. Pat talked about King Leopold’s Ghost and Jean discussed In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz. Coleen discussed the Enough Project and distributed materials that she had complied - we will read them prior to our next meeting.
Samba gave an inspiring report on her recent trip to the DRC. She met with many people, including Dr. Mukwenge at Panzi Hospital and women who’ve been attacked. It’s clear that people in the Congo are ready for a change. There’s a need for people from the U.S. to go to the DRC to speak for the women who have no power and to make it clear that people are watching what is happening there. One of the few U.S. officials who’ve spoken out strongly about the DRC is former representative Cynthia McKinnon.
While in the DRC, Samba met with Wilhelmine Ntakebuka who has been working closely with women who were driven from their village (Village Cobay). She has formed a non-profit organization (VICO) and now has four staff working with her. The goal is to empower the women. VICO is arranging for surgeries, providing material goods, and offering microfinance to support small businesses. The women have many needs including clothes and shoes. Postage is expensive so it’s better to send money to the DRC for the purchase of needed items. VICO has gotten some funding from the UN and the Red Cross. Samba may go back to the DRC to work with VICO. She is developing a PowerPoint presentation and will show it at our next meeting.
Mary announced a Congo Independence Day march to stop the violence in the DRC. It will be held on June 30 in Manchester, NH. She gave us flyers that we will distribute.
The meeting ended with a discussion of letter-writing. Pat gave out copies of a letter to be sent to U.S. senators in support of the Congo Conflict Minerals Act of 2009. We will all write to our senators (Kennedy and Kerry in MA, Gregg and Shaheen in NH) before our next meeting. Letters may be mailed before the meeting or brought to the meeting. We’ll try to identify a letter or other action to be taken at each meeting.
The next meeting of the group will be on Sunday, July 12, at 3:00 at Pat’s house in Jamaica Plain. This will be an extended meeting that includes Samba’s PowerPoint presentation. We’re planning to end at 5:30.
June 14, 2009
Present: Kelley Ready, Jean Miller, Coleen Houlihan, Jackie Fletcher, Samba Halkose, Mary Georges, Pat Aron
The Democratic Republic of Congo Committee met on June 14, 2009. This third meeting of the group was enthusiastic and inspiring. We were sorry that everyone couldn’t attend.
The meeting began with a discussion of Refugee (the play Maman Jeanne is supporting in New York) and the possibility of bringing the play to Boston for a fundraiser. Kelley will look into this possibility. We may try to co-sponsor this event with another organization.
The group discussed items we’ve read. Pat talked about King Leopold’s Ghost and Jean discussed In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz. Coleen discussed the Enough Project and distributed materials that she had complied - we will read them prior to our next meeting.
Samba gave an inspiring report on her recent trip to the DRC. She met with many people, including Dr. Mukwenge at Panzi Hospital and women who’ve been attacked. It’s clear that people in the Congo are ready for a change. There’s a need for people from the U.S. to go to the DRC to speak for the women who have no power and to make it clear that people are watching what is happening there. One of the few U.S. officials who’ve spoken out strongly about the DRC is former representative Cynthia McKinnon.
While in the DRC, Samba met with Wilhelmine Ntakebuka who has been working closely with women who were driven from their village (Village Cobay). She has formed a non-profit organization (VICO) and now has four staff working with her. The goal is to empower the women. VICO is arranging for surgeries, providing material goods, and offering microfinance to support small businesses. The women have many needs including clothes and shoes. Postage is expensive so it’s better to send money to the DRC for the purchase of needed items. VICO has gotten some funding from the UN and the Red Cross. Samba may go back to the DRC to work with VICO. She is developing a PowerPoint presentation and will show it at our next meeting.
Mary announced a Congo Independence Day march to stop the violence in the DRC. It will be held on June 30 in Manchester, NH. She gave us flyers that we will distribute.
The meeting ended with a discussion of letter-writing. Pat gave out copies of a letter to be sent to U.S. senators in support of the Congo Conflict Minerals Act of 2009. We will all write to our senators (Kennedy and Kerry in MA, Gregg and Shaheen in NH) before our next meeting. Letters may be mailed before the meeting or brought to the meeting. We’ll try to identify a letter or other action to be taken at each meeting.
The next meeting of the group will be on Sunday, July 12, at 3:00 at Pat’s house in Jamaica Plain. This will be an extended meeting that includes Samba’s PowerPoint presentation. We’re planning to end at 5:30.