This well produced music video was produced in honour of Saasita as he thanks her for her council, her care and he prays to God for her longevity.
I have no idea why he is wearing three watches.
Canadian winters can be a challenge for many people. Michael started clearing snow for a neighbour, Gwen, who is a retired lady. When Gwen offered to compensate Michael, a deal was quickly struck that any money received for snow shovelling would be forwarded to Congo.
Saasita recently asked for some support for the women of Kalondo, a small community south west of Butembo. She is developing a program for the capacity building and empowerment of Kalondo women and this seemed like an ideal way to direct some funds. I’m sure I will hear more about this program. After a quick confirmation with Gwen, USD $100 has been forwarded to Saasita for the women of Kalondo.
Our daughter Michelle has just returned to our home in Waterloo, Ontario with her husband Mike after living in Beijing, China the past 4.5 years. She hasn’t seen a Canadian winter in over eight years, but jumped at the chance to try our new snow blower!
At least 36 civilians are dead after a massacre just north of Beni. The main attack took place late Tuesday in Manzingi, a village 20 kilometres northwest from Oicha, while a pastor was also killed in nearby Eringeti.
All were hacked to death with machetes. The extremist Islamic ADF is being blamed.
President Tshisekedi, in his first state-of-the-nation address to Congress, last month said he had changed the army (FARDC) command in Beni and sent 22,000 troops to the region. The ADF are believed to number only around 450 but the local terrain has allowed them to evade capture. This attack was further west than usual, as the ADF originated in western Uganda and usually stay closer to the border.
Kesho Njema translates as Tomorrow is Better.
One of our favourite projects was “Kuku yangu, tenga yayi!” which translates to “My chicken, give me eggs!”
In that project, a village received 20 chickens. The village elders delivered a male and female to ten young families. The obligation of the recipients was to return two chickens a year later that could be distributed to another young or needy family. Our seed money to acquire the chickens is enabling local wealth accumulation in the form of chickens.
Keshi Njema is designed to repeat this concept with goats.
Under the supervision of James Kataliko, 11 goats were purchased for a Kihunde speaking community on the north-west shores of Lake Kivu, about 15-20 km west of Goma. People here badly suffered from MaiMai attacks but it has become calmer. BTW, Google Maps says that you would average a pace of 30 km per hour (18.6 mph) to travel and arrive from Butembo. That sounds about right!
9 are female and 2 are special male breeding goats. The goats were divided between groups in two villages who gave themselves competing names: The N’tsh (“love between people”) and the Mughole (“the wife of the King”). The females were distributed with the recipients having drawn by lot. The elders retain control of the males and will make them available on a rotation. (Ah, the life of a stud. Produce or you become a stew.)
It was agreed that the recipients should contribute $10 towards their goat. $15 was considered too much for the people to afford. The elders will manage this project that we expect will be sustainable. In return, the elders will provide salt licks that will encourage the goats to fatten up. A local goat costs ~ USD $80 to acquire and deliver. We would love to repeat this project if funds were available.
A special thank-you to Jack from Peterborough who contributed towards this project. Also a special thank-you to James Kataliko (shown below) who once again demonstrated his strong commitment to help make these projects happen. We couldn’t possibly do this from Canada without local help!
This video was shot in the same location. Enjoy!
In 2018, we started a resell business in the Butembo market from the liquidation of the water filter business. The business employs two women full time with a fair wage and has been able to grow their stock of inventory by almost 100% from re-invested profits. The business continues to flourish due to the commitment and good efforts of the women involved.
10% of earnings are directed monthly to support Dieula, an orphan who is now 5 years old. Her father died as an indirect result of Maimai intrusions and her mother then died while 3 months pregnant. Dieula is now living with a grandmother of limited means. I’m told that Dieula (Dieu Est là which translates to God is there) is in 3rd kindergarten, so they must start school young, yet from the photo mature quickly! Over the past two years, the Butembo market business has been able to take care of her schooling (school fees, uniforms, school bags and textbooks). I’m told that she is doing well at school with a promising future.
Riots have broken out in all major eastern Congo cities, protesting against the ineffective MONUSCO (U.N.) soldiers who have been able to stop the rash of violence against citizens. The result has been the deaths of many protesters in Beni, Butembo and Goma.
Confronting MONUSCO in Beni
The recent wave of attacks on innocent civilians has resulted in a tipping point anger at the DRC security forces but especially the MONUSCO forces who have been there for years. The U.N. has long treated peacekeeping missions as an employment program for soldiers from developing world countries with soldiers unwilling to take any risks on behalf of the civilians they are supposed to protect.
Civilians have clearly had enough. I have been sent the following photograph of an unarmed protester facing off against MONUSCO soldiers.
Ebola remains a serious complication of this turmoil. Medical workers are evacuating their clinics.
Tension with the U.N. has existed for a long time. Back in our 2011 Healing Streams seminar, attendees learning to help rape victims were being taught “all or nothing thinking”. In the context of a woman having been raped, a woman could think that because a man raped me, all men are bad. The seminar leader, Dawn Penner, had used the example that just because a U.N. soldier does a bad thing, it doesn’t mean that all U.N. soldiers are bad. The seminar burst out and claimed that yes, all U.N. soldiers are bad! The video picks up the conversation from there.
A plane with 17 passengers and 2 crew members crashed into a crowded residential area in Goma shortly after take off. The Dornier 228-200 was at full capacity and was headed for the city of Beni, 350 km (220 miles) to the north when it went down. There are at least 9 casualties on the ground.
Goma was given the title of the World’s Most Dangerous City (as per this 2011 post that is a recommended read – we were going to fly this route) for reasons this didn’t include the poor safety record of their airlines.
Dornier 228-200
Turmoil near Beni and Butembo has been increasing lately. Mama Dorcas reports a significant increase in young orphans being brought to her.
There are virtually no government support services in eastern Congo. Extended families try to help but in many situations they just can’t.
No matter where you are in the world, can you help with a donation of any amount? If you would like Dorcas to personally acknowledge your donation, please provide us with your contact information by messaging michael.ben @ rogers.com.
** Can you believe that YouTube took down the video of Dorcas bathing a new born baby for violating Community Standards? **
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