Democratic Republic of Congo
Into the Bush
This morning we are headed into the bush for the next five days. More unknowns than knowns, so it is hard to say how the trip will pan out. What is known is that we’ll be driving around 24 plus hrs during that period. Hard to say for sure until you are done, as you…
Read MoreClinton in Congo
I’m excited to report about Hillary Clinton’s recent trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo. She has pledged an additional $17 Million in funds to help address sexual violence in eastern DRC. Obviously from my past posts, this is an issue that is close to my heart. I’m very glad to see that momentum is…
Read MoreToo Close to Home
When the world is your home there are many consequence to how small the it is. Events half way around the world can trigger images faster than google can call up BBC. In this case it was images of Islamabad from its majestic mountains, but the events were not so serene. It was the recent…
Read MoreNightmare
I talked with my grandmother last night and she was proud of the work that I am doing. She said that she had talked to her friends about my last post, and reflected on her own experience with sexual violence as a method of control back in 1950s’ Haiti. She urged me to keep up…
Read MoreSexual Violence in DR Congo
There is a topic that is dear to my heart that I have been thinking about writing about for some time. It is a far too silent epidemic that has ravaged the lives of countless women around the globe, but particularly in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. It is an epidemic of rape and horror,…
Read MoreBeautiful Drive
The heart of Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo is simply one of the most beautiful places on earth. DRC presents itself with vistas so incredible that they can only render you speechless.In the past two months I’ve spent approximately 90 hours traveling eastern DRC, Rwanda, and Burundi. Traveling most often by landrover and the…
Read MoreGorillas in the Mist
After working nonstop for two months I decided that it was necessary to take a break and make sure to get out and see a bit of Congo. The best place for that was gorilla trekking.Two of my colleagues and I headed an hour out of town to go see gorillas in the wild. Given…
Read MoreRelative Calm
I’m in Burundi for a week of proposal meetings with a partner; a nice change of scenery from DRC. Though not much of a break, as I still have to catch up with DRC stuff on my break times. Since I don’t have much free time I figured I’d share this New York Times article…
Read MoreAfrican Movie Theaters
My husband pasted this article on to me, Africans improvise the movie house. I thought it was apt, as I’ve seen a few of this during my time in Africa. Recently at a large Internally Displaced Peoples (IDP) camp I saw one of these. Staff that frequently visit the camps said that as long as…
Read MoreSacked
That’s the most common expression in Africa for being fired. I sacked the Country Director of my project here in DRCongo yesterday. It had been in the works since I arrived in country, but it is amazing what a difference it has made already. Day one as the Acting Country Director and already things are…
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