Resilience has taken on new meaning in Congo. In the U.S., we use the word resilience to describe someone who has made something of their life after a hard childhood, or managed to recover after a deep personal loss, or has endured a difficult situation. All of these scenarios can be painful and deeply troubling,…
“Sexual violence.” We hear these two words over and over in Congo. They have become a part of the vernacular — and in many ways are a symptom of a highly traumatized society. In every meeting, sexual violence is mentioned and everywhere we go, we meet girls, women and children who have survived rape and…
For the last several years, we at Jewish World Watch have been educating about and advocating to change the situation in Eastern Congo — a situation that is largely the result of conflict over ownership of the mineral mines. Today, I had the amazing opportunity to visit the Kalimbi Tin Mine, crawl up into it…
I cannot believe that in a few days, I will be leaving on my fourth trip to Congo. I always have mixed feelings at this point — excitement about going back to a country I have truly begun to love on many levels, and yet some anxiety about being so far from home in a…
I have fallen in love with two men on this trip to Congo. They are two men from very different backgrounds and with different skills but who share the same unshakeable passion and vision for Congo’s women. They are each extraordinary in their own right, and I am in awe of their humility, strength, and…
It’s always the children that break me down. I can listen to women tell stories of unspeakable atrocities — incomprehensible brutalization, devastating rapes, terrible sadness and loss. And while my heart breaks and my anger rages, I can stay calm — perhaps comforted in a small way by the fact that we are there to…
She was raped by a man claiming to be a pastor. He was newly arrived in her village, so when that she felt she needed help with her husband and his refusal to provide for her, she went to see the “pastor” to pray. Instead, he robbed her and raped her and then fled the…
These trips fly by for me. It seems like I just get acclimated to the schedule, to the food (or lack thereof), to not sleeping (somehow I never sleep in Congo), to 18 hour days, and suddenly it’s time to go home. And as I seem to always say, at the end of every trip,…
I have fallen in love with two men on this trip to Congo. They are two men from very different backgrounds and with different skills but who share the same unshakeable passion and vision for Congo’s women. They are each extraordinary in their own right, and I am in awe of their humility, strength, and…
Jewish World Watch is actively working to develop a partnership with BVES, the organization described below. If you are interested in supporting JWW and BVES’s work in eastern Congo, please contact Naama Haviv at Naama@jww.org or 818-501-1836. It’s always the children that break me down. I can listen to women tell stories of unspeakable…