Dear Friends,   I greet you in the midst of these very trying times for my country. Since April, nearly a half million Congolese have been displaced and rendered homeless by a Rwandan-backed rebel mo…

Dear Friends,

 

I greet you in the midst of these very trying times for my country. Since April, nearly a half million Congolese have been displaced and rendered homeless by a Rwandan-backed rebel movement in the east of our country. A United Nations Group of Experts report says Rwanda is training, arming and financing rebels that have destabilized the east of the Congo.

 

The reason we host Congo Week in the month of October is because it was in October 1996 that mainly Rwanda and Uganda first invaded the Congo and triggered the catastrophic crisis that we have endured for the past 16 years. Since we began Congo Week in 2008, sixty countries and over 300 communities have joined us to demonstrate their support and value for Congolese lives.

 

Due to your support along with others throughout the globe, world leaders are finally listening to Congolese voices and applying pressure to the dominant source of the instability in the east of our country. The United States, Netherlands, Sweden and a number of other donor nations are finally holding the Rwandan government accountable by withholding aid as a result of Rwanda's support for rebel groups inside the Congo.

 

As youth and future leaders of our country, we are clear that Congo's challenge is both external and internal. Young people will gather throughout the country during Congo Week (October 14 - 20, 2012) to discuss and examine the path that Congo took to arrive in its current condition and build on strategies for realizing peaceful and lasting change.

 

We call on you to join us in addressing our external challenges as we face and tackle the various internal forces that have rendered our country dependent, impoverished and unstable.

 

This is an historic opportunity for you to be a part of the global movement to bring an end to what is described as the greatest humanitarian crisis at the dawn of the 21st century and the deadliest conflict since World War Two.

 

We encourage you to seize the moment and become a part of a noble pursuit for justice and human dignity in the heart of Africa, my home, the Democratic Republic of Congo.

 

Samya Lugoma

Student Coordinator

Friends of the Congo

 

Sign-up for Congo Week! 

Support Congo Week! 

Remember to post your event on the events calendar

Share the Congo Week promotional video 

Download Congo Week Organizers Tool Kit and Materials 

Screen the film Crisis in the Congo: Uncovering the Truth 

Participate in the CELL-OUT, on October 17, 2012. The CELL-OUT is a one-hour digital moment of silence in support of the Congolese people.

 

Follow on Twitter @congofriends and tweet your support using hashtags #CongoWeek and #CW2012 leading up to and during Congo Week.   

Friends of the Congo

 

info@friendsofthecongo.org

202-584-6512

www.friendsofthecongo.org

Views: 31

Comment

You need to be a member of Regional Council of Churches of Atlanta to add comments!

Join Regional Council of Churches of Atlanta

Now is the time to act on the budget

From the GA Center for Nonprofits

Check out our Advocacy Toolkit for scripts and contact information.

What to do

  1. Call your U.S. Representative and urge them not to accept the Senate version of the budget reconciliation bill without amendments that:
    1. Protect vulnerable populations by restoring or preserving funding for food assistance, healthcare, housing, education, and childcare.
    2. Avoid placing new, unfunded administrative burdens on states and nonprofits.
    3. Retain programs that are essential to local jobs, services, and economic resilience in communities across your district, including Inflation Reduction Act funding.
  2. Reach out to local officials to speak about the economic harm involved, and ask them to speak out against provisions that harm your nonprofit as an employer and contributor to the local economy.
  3. Mobilize your network to do the same. Every voice counts!

Shallowford Center

for Mindful Living a place for contemplative practice, deep listening, and compassion 

Visit here for programs and events.

email ecarter@rccatl.org

P. O. Box 11561

Atlanta, GA 30355

Our Work 

Our History 

Officers & Staff  

Our Mission

Directions & Map to Our Offices

Ignatius House

6700 Riverside Drive NW 

Atlanta, GA 30328 ignatiushouse.org

© 2025   Created by RCCAtl.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service