“When you save one life it is as if you saved the world.”
— Talmud, Sanhedrin 37a
Each day we journey out early in the morning to visit current and prospective projects; and each day we meet the people of Congo who are making the most significant changes for future generations.
The problems here are vast. Poverty is at an alarming level with many people living with no electricity, no running water, limited shelter and sanitation, and lacking basic every day needs. Rape and gender-based violence are rampant, illiteracy is extremely high, health care in most outlying villages is non-existent, malnutrition and unemployment are raging, and most live off the land, depleting the forests of natural resources. Many travel miles of unpaved roads to get their wares to market.
But, through all this misery, there are lives that are being saved, one at a time, and Jewish World Watch and its partners are making this happen. Dr. Namegabe at BVES is saving the most vulnerable victims of the war: child soldiers, young orphaned children and women turned into sex slaves.
We have visited small mountain villages every day, and we see hundreds of small children begging along the side of the road with tattered clothing and no shoes. In the village of Miti, we hear directly from the women about how our micro animal husbandry business project is feeding families, paying school fees, and providing children with shoes and clothing. One life has been saved.
We visit the village of Kasha in South Kivu where there have been 7 cases of reported rape in the past two months. Through International Medical Corps’ Behavior Change project, we talk with the newly formed council, comprised of 5 women and 16 men. Mama Janet explains that this is the first time men and women are working together to change attitudes about women, their role in the community, and gender-based violence. When the program started, women were viewed as inferior, “under the feet of men.” Mama Janet says that before she went through that the IMC training, “I had much shame, but look at me, it no longer appears in my eyes. Today I can stand up in front of men and talk.” Another life has been saved.
We go back to the main city of Bukavu to meet with 20 secondary school students (boys and girls, ages 12-18) belonging to We Lead, a recently established leadership team. The students are asked to share their dreams and aspirations with us. One by one, they explain that they need to work hard in school and be serious students. They want to become lawyers, judges, engineers, doctors, communication experts, governors and even the first woman president of Congo. They all want to be leaders of tomorrow, “creating solutions to problems, to open eyes to change.” Many lives have been saved.
Today, after a four-hour, 60-mile car ride, crossing four check points, forging washed-out bridges and maneuvering non-roads, we are greeted by the people of Chambucha to tour the JWW’s Rape and Crisis Center. We begin with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. With melodic voices abundant, we dedicate the first community birthing center with an operating room for c-sections, fistula repair, and labor. Though this may be the Center’s dedication, it has been humming with activity for months. Three women are in recovery with their new babies. One of the women has walked 30 miles to get care. Another life has been saved.
Tomorrow we will visit Panzi Hospital and meet Dr. Mukwege, the Noble Prize nominee and veritable Congolese hero who founded the first hospital and treatment center for rape survivors needing fistula repair. Then, with our partner Amani Matabaro Tom, we will see the success of the Kivu Sewing Workshop and the JWW-supported Educational Assistance Program. More lives saved.
In a country so ravaged by war and poverty, it is about saving one life at a time, one day at a time. In meeting some of the faces of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and witnessing their spirit, I know they will make change happen.