HEAL Africa Blog

Blog Moved...

2008-04-23T21:36:00.000-07:00

The HEAL Africa blog has now moved to: http://healafrica.org/cms/news - please update your links. Thanks!

Update from Harper in Goma

2008-04-17T14:22:00.000-07:00

Arriving at the hospital today I expected to find the hundreds of people who have been visiting their loved ones in the hospital the past few days, but I was surprised to find the number significantly diminished. HEAL Africa admitted 79 patients, both passengers and bystanders, who are still living. 14 people were brought in already dead which makes a total of 93 people who flooded the hospital the day the plane crashed.

The staff was able to efficiently triage all the patients coming in at once and our surgeons performed several emergency burn operations. Many people have already been discharged and all the emergencies successfully treated. HEAL Africa received the majority of the patients as the government doctors are on strike because the government is not paying their salaries. Government officials, including the head of Parliament, came to visit HEAL Africa yesterday, but did nothing about their failure to pay adequate salaries to state doctors, clearly making health care difficult for the majority of the population.

Despite the massive destruction and loss, we were confirmed in our staff’s ability to handle a massive crisis. The medical director and the head orthopedic surgeon are doing outreach surgery in the rural regions and will not return for two more days. Despite the lack of senior supervision, our doctors, residents, and nurses, showed their capability to handle an unprecedented medical emergency.

The hospital was depleted of medical supplies and continues to support an excess of patients. If you would like to donate, please donate through the website or mail a check to HEAL Africa, P.O. Box 147, Monroe, WA 98272, with the specification, ‘plane crash’.

From Harper in Goma, April 16

2008-04-16T08:18:00.000-07:00

I stood in the street in a quarter of Goma called Birere yesterday around noon. It is the busiest district in town with all the wholesale markets selling bulk sugar, flour, milk, crates and crates of drinks, fruits, vegetables, fabric, spare parts, tvs, radios, lumber, everything you can think of. The pot-holed road is always packed and a little difficult to drive through as you have to navigate through all the buses, pedestrians, and people pushing crates with hundreds of pounds of goods. If it rains you have avoid all the muddied potholes and puddles. Behind these markets are the poorest neighborhoods in Goma. The houses are on top of one another and made out of wood and iron sheets. It is not uncommon to hear of a fire which starts in one house and spreads to the whole row. The runway for the airport is just behind the markets.

I was with two of my co-workers after buying fabric and all of the sudden a deafening noise from a plane made us duck a bit and cover our ears. I looked up and a plane barely passed over the electrical lines right in front of me. It looked like a cargo plane that was probably weighed down with cassiterite, tantalum, copper, etc. I said to my co-workers, ‘ someday a plane is going to crash here and it is going to be an absolute disaster.’

2 hours later Birere was up in flames in the exact spot I was standing before. A passenger plane carrying 79 people started its take off in the market instead of on the runway. Pieces of the plane laid scattered across the street and stores were hallowed out by the fires. The UN peacekeeping force gave water hoses that didn’t work to civilians who ended up trying to put on the flames by buckets.

Located about a 5 minute drive from the crash site, the HEAL Africa hospital started receiving patients right away. We received over 90 patients, 11 of whom died. People gathered around the hospital gate reading a list of patients checked in to see if one of their missing family members or friends were admitted . People were panicked to see if their loved ones where on the deceased list, several people walked away, sobbing or falling on the ground once they saw a name they loved.

The same day we had a visiting medical team from Colorado arrive and they were thoroughly impressed with the rapid response of the doctors, nurses, and logistics at the hospital. The new medical team didn’t even have to stay late and help which was a huge testimony to the efficiency of our staff. They were working into the night and I was driving around with a doctor trying to find critical saline and vaccination we were missing. Some of our staff spend the evening building a temporary cover with mattresses under it for the patient overflow. This morning, the hospital is packed with families visiting patients and representatives of the Congolese parliament are here right now.

It is hard to think about why Goma has to suffer another catastrophe apart from war and a volcano eruption. In the last few days several people have told me, “Goma ni ajabu”, Goma is a miracle. It is really a miracle that daily life functions amidst complete chaos. Yesterday, I realized how close I have become with the people I work with and how their work is completely miraculous in spite of everything that is stacked against them.

Love,

Harper

HEAL Africa hospital full of patients from airline crash in Goma

2008-04-15T09:31:00.000-07:00

Goma, DR Congo. Tuesday, April 15th.

Harper McConnell, volunteer worker at HEAL Africa, is right now trying to get more saline solution and tetanus vaccine for the many patients at HEAL AFRICA's hospital. The plane crash today in Goma has caused many casualties and has flooded HEAL Africa's hospital spaces. A visiting medical team from Cherry Creek Presbyterian church in Colorado arrived in Goma today for a two-week teaching at HEAL Africa; they have been impressed with the way the staff is handling this emergency. The counseling staff will be busy with the families and friends of this unexpected disaster.

The plane crashed into one of the most crowded areas of Goma. Please pray for the many families of victims, and for the staff, working to save lives. The hospital's supplies of saline solution,tetananus vaccine and many other reserve supplies are gone. HEAL Africa is working with all the other agencies in Goma to provide help and medical care. HEAL Africa welcomes your help at this difficult time.

You can change the world - get invovled inadvocacy

2008-02-23T14:38:00.000-08:00

You have seen the film Lumo. You want to know how to help?
Hold a showing of the film in your home for your friends, or at your book club, in your high school, to your church group, or at a meeting of your professional association. We can supply an advocacy pack.
Here is a suggestion for a lobbying letter to your MP or Representative. Change it as you wish to make it personal. Instead of ***, put the name of your country.

Dear ….

I have been informed of the horrible violence against women in the ongoing conflict in Eastern DR Congo. I am now aware that there are over 750 000 internally displaced people in the province of North Kivu alone as a result of this conflict.

As a member of the *** electorate, I wish to know:
1. How is *** supporting the peace process in D R Congo? How did *** vote on the mandate of the UN peace keeping mission in DR Congo? What suggestions has the *** government made to strengthen the effectiveness of the UN peacekeeping mission in D R Congo? How much does the *** government contribute to the UN peacekeeping mission in D R Congo?

2. As a concerned ***, I wish to know how much *** is contributing to the World Food Program in D R Congo. WFP has had to cut rations to many essential programs assisting vulnerable children in the province of North Kivu, in order to meet the survival needs of the hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the ongoing war in the east. Does *** plan to increase its contribution to the WFP, in the light of this crisis, and by how much?

3. The Humanitarian Agencies working in D R Congo have developed a Humanitarian Assistance Plan for 2008. Donor governments have so far committed funding for only 27% of this budget. What is *** ’s contribution to this budget and by how much could it be increased urgently in 2008?

4. Are the Justice Minister and the Foreign Minister aware of the Security Council Report on the Illegal Exploitation of the Resources of the D R Congo? Has the *** government taken any action against the companies and individuals named in this report? I would like to suggest: examination of the assets of these companies, a ban on doing business with these companies and their subsidiaries and affiliates, regulation of the source of minerals, gem stones and hard woods illegally exported from eastern DR Congo through neighbouring countries (Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda).

Documentary evidence of the link between the war, the warlords and the mineral exploitation can be viewed on the following link
http://www.mediastorm.org/0022.htm

The UN Security Council report on the Illegal Exploitation of the Resources of Congo can be downloaded through the following link
http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N02/621/79/pdf/N0262179.pdf?OpenElement

Documentary footage on rape used as a weapon of war, and the impact of sexual violence on young women can be viewed with the film Lumo www.gomafilmproject.org

CBS's 60 minutes in eastern Congo this Sunday 13 January

2008-01-11T20:11:00.000-08:00

Please watch or set your video recorders to CBS's 60 Minutes this Sunday evening.

This Sunday, January 13th, 60 Minutes is scheduled to feature a
report by Anderson Cooper on Congo's war against women. 60
Minutes airs on CBS at 7pm ET/PT. For more information about the
broadcast, please visit:

http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/60minutes/main3415.shtml

CBS' 60 minutes features Congo Sunday January 13th

2008-01-11T20:00:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends of HEAL Africa,

Please mark your calendar and set your video recorder:

This Sunday, January 13th, 60 Minutes is scheduled to feature a report by Anderson Cooper on Congo's war against women. 60 Minutes airs on CBS at 7pm ET/PT. For more information about the broadcast, please visit:

http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/60minutes/main3415.shtml

Season's Greetings!

2007-12-28T09:07:00.001-08:00

Greetings from HEAL Africa!
We hope your Christmas and holiday season has been full of peace, love for your neighbor, and the joy of knowing you are Loved.

We wish for you a happy new year, 2008, filled with the joy of challenges which will build new strength and skills, health to carry out the tasks you have, and the peace in which to dream, to build, and to reach out to those around you in love. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Men (and Women) could actually begin with us?

We love the quote from Margaret Mead which is seen on T-shirts and many other venues,
“Never doubt that a small, group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

We ask you to continue to pray for the upcoming peace talks in Goma, delayed now until January 7th, 2008. These are scheduled to include all parties causing such injury to the Congolese people in North Kivu. We sincerely hope that these talks actually occur, and that the welfare and well being of the population are considered by all military and political parties to the talks.

Thanks to all of you who are supporting the ongoing programs, making it possible to continue the work of HEAL Africa!

Judy Anderson, on behalf of the whole team of HEAL Africa

Here’s what happened at HEAL Africa in Goma, from Lyn Lusi, on December 26th:
“Yesterday was a great Christmas day. We had a Swahili service from 7 to 9.30am and the hospital chapel was packed to bursting. There was great music, many choirs, including HEAL Africa staff and also the patients' choir.
The women in the transit house did a nativity play which was hilarious, but had a good message. We had a preacher who was one of the best I have ever heard - short, clear and effective. Then after the service, all the patients had a soft drink and bread, and then gifts to all the patients at the bedside (soap, rice and meat to cook). After that, they showed the Jesus film.

There's going to be a consultation between the politicians, the rebel leader, militia leaders and representatives of the villages that have been destroyed. It will be chaired by Abbe Malomalo, who headed the electoral commission during the transition. Please pray for this process - it's a hope for peace in North Kivu.”

Merci a nos amis francais!

2007-12-10T12:09:00.000-08:00

Au nom de toute l’équipe de HEAL Africa à Goma je vous remercie de votre soutien au travail qui se fait actuellement au Nord Kivu, Congo.

Notre travail se base à Goma, mais nous avons un tout petit bureau aux EUA pour soutenir leur travail et pour partager les nouvelles de ce qui se passe dans cette région du Congo.

Notre équipe est au travail, même si la plupart des ONG internationales ont été évacuées, parce que HEAL Africa est Congolais et dévoué à aider la population. Je vous envoie un courrier reçu de cette équipe cette semaine dernière. Ils passent à travers toutes les lignes tenues par les groupes militaires différents, car depuis des annees l’équipe de HEAL Africa est reconnu sur terrain pour leur soutien médical pour toutes les différentes tribus. Ils enseignent sur les maladies, la transmission VIH, et essayent de sensibiliser les militaires sur la violence sexuelle. Voici un email du chef d’equipe au program manager,
« Permettez nous de vous faire part de notre rapport de mission pour assister les IDPs venus de Nyazale et de Kikuku. Les récents affrontements de dimanche 2 déc. ont fait plusieurs déplacements et victimes de conflits. Curieusement tous les humanitaires ont été interdits de se rendre sur terrain pour secourir les victimes de conflits. Sollicités par le CSR kibirizi et soucieux de remplir notre mission de la clinique mobile en zone de front j'ai sollicite une autorisation a OMS et OCHA et je l'avais obtenu. Sommes actuellement en poste a Kanyabayonga et en supervision mensuelle avec Timothée et Kabuyaya le nouveau superviseur de territoire car la situation est toujours très préoccupante et attendons poursuivre notre assistance si nécessaire.
Priez pour nous et notre province qui est en proie au conflit avec flambée de haine tribale. »

Nous vous remercions de tout cœur pour votre soutien, surtout dans cette période qui est tellement troublée pour les gens du Nord Kivu.

Nous vous souhaitons la paix,
Judy Anderson pour l'equipe de HEAL Africa

Where in the world is HEAL Africa staff?

2007-12-10T12:06:00.000-08:00

We thank you for your support for the programs of HEAL Africa during this difficult time. Yes, the violence is worse than it's been in many years around Goma and North Kivu. We wonder, when will it end?

Yet the staff has chosen to continue to work in spite of the hazards. They've asked for prayer. We just got this from Lyn Lusi, Program Manager in Goma. It tells the story. It highlights one of HEAL Africa's distinctives. It is a local organisation in Congo, doing the work that needs doing--in spite of the challenges. The staff has built credibility because they have been going into each of the militarily-controlled areas over the past years--bringing medicine, training nurses and community leaders in preventing HIV, raising awareness about violence, bringing agricultural help, working with families with disabled children, grouping mothers into solidarity groups to save for their own maternity care; they've become known as bringers of good news.

So please continue to pray for their safety and wisdom as they continue their dangerous work to build a better future for Congo!
Thanks again,
Judy Anderson

Here's the letter:

Dear friends,

While I was travelling away from Congo last week, I received a travel warning from the UN security forces, formally forbidding any travel outside Goma.

I passed it on to all the project staff.

I had an immediate response from Ndungo and Ciza, both of them reminding me that if they did not bring help to the civilian populations trapped behind the battle lines, no one else would go.

Today I heard from Ciza exacty what happened. All the staff were unanimous in their determination to continue bringing whatever help they could to the remote villages. Ciza called Patrick Lavand'homme (OCHA coordinator) and asked for special permission to go on with the work. Two hours later, Patrick called him back and gave permission, because we are not an international NGO.

3rd December, the ambulance loaded up and went out to Kibirizi, to bring desperately needed medical supplies to thier hospital. They went on through the park and up north, rescuing some runaway child soldiers on the way, and taking them to the nearest demobilisation camp. Their whole story is one of terrified displaced people running in every direction, hungry, cold and desperate. Different bands of militias and soldiers occupy villages without any central command. Ciza and the driver at one time had 20 women (pregnant, old, disabled) packed into the ambulance, to drive them to the next safe place. At every road block, they had to explain who they are and negotiate access and safe passage. I am amazed by their courage.

Today they came back to Goma to resupply. This time they are targetting the isolated population that has taken refuge behind Nkunda's battle lines - almost exclusively Tutsi farmers from Masisi. To have access to these people, the team needs safe passage from General Mayala commanding the FARDC; Camille Ntoto knows this man, and is getting the permissions. It is very important to take the message to these refugees that they are Congolese like us, and we will do all we can to bring them help as well.

Please pray for Ciza, for Ndungo (Choisir la Vie) and Bolingo (Comites Nehemie), for Mama Neema (Safe Motherhood), for Adelard (Enfants Comme Nous) - all of them are using their project resources right now to bring help to the people stranded and in desperate need because of this fighting.

Pray for a speedy end to this fighting.

Thanks.

What's it like to live and work in Goma right now?

2007-11-18T18:46:00.000-08:00

Do you wonder how people live and work in Goma in the middle of the conflict? Do you wonder how the Congolese continue to work, go to school, farm, and write music in the circumstances of the country in the eastern provinces, with many armies and militias vying for power and control of the land?

Here's a blog from Harper McConnell, a young woman who grew up in Kansas, lived in Minnesota before coming to HEAL Africa as a volunteer in September 2006. She was sent by the Upper Room community in Edina in a new type of partnership model. She's been involved in developing the HEALing Arts program (skills training and school), and in new ways to help families keep kids in school. She's smart, sensitive, and has learned Swahili and French as she's lived in Goma this past year and a half. We're grateful for the way she gives of herself on a daily basis!
Judy Anderson

Here's Harper:

I am sitting on my balcony as the sun is setting. It rained a lot today so I can see the island which is about 20 km in lake in front of me. The mountains are a deep violet and its sharp points are balanced out by rolling contours. The sky is pink in the place where the horizon converges at the furthest point you can see.
But, outside of my house on the lake and right outside of Goma the beauty is completely demolished…it still exists tangibly but how could rural inhabitants notice it with the recent developments in the war? Since January 2007 over 370,000 people have been displaced in North Kivu province alone and new internal refugee camps have popped up surrounding Goma. About 80km away refugees are rioting against the UN peacekeeping troops for allowing Nkunda (the pro-RPF Rwandan backed rebel) to remain in their town in order to keep his supply line from Rwanda open as well as rioting against other non-profits who are filling the refugee registration process with complicated bureaucracy. There is an 18 year-old sharp mouthed, strong girl in the hospital who was shot in her hip by Nkunda’s soldiers and fled, but has no idea where her parents are. We brought back another bloody 18 year old with a shattered femur who had been hit by a huge truck. The 1 ½ drive back from the village was filled with excruciating anticipation of how every bump on the dirt road would hurt this boy laying on the floor of the car.
There is a boat pulling a wakeboarder blaring techno music driving past me right now on the lake just to show the dichotomy in living situations here.
War and insecurity hinders any type of development. HEAL Africa is a development focused organization rather than relief focused and so it adds an extra problem to our programs when we must concern ourselves with security. Despite this our staff is wonderful. In Maniema province we have someone doing extensive research on income generation grants and over 900 women from North Kivu have received fistula repair surgery as well as income generation grants to start a business or start cultivating when they return home. Our public health nurse has been invited by vying military factions and rebel groups to come and educate their troops about HIV AIDS and basic health care. We are starting a program called Gender and Justice which educates rural communities about the new constitution, the justice system, provides justice and gender relations curriculum in primary and secondary schools, and will establish 18 legal clinics throughout the province. We believe these are taking steps to developing a grassroots movement to enforce the law and deliver justice. We have had successful training seminars for health care professionals, pastors, and activists throughout the past several months at HEAL Africa. Participants came from all over the provinces seeking professional development so that they could do their job better.
The other day over lunch I was discussing with two of my best friends from Goma the feeling of complacency and victimhood that seems to permeate the population’s attitude towards the war. We all have fairly revolutionary attitudes, but they tried to get me to see how the mentality now has been shaped. Up until 1997, DRC (then Zaire) was ruled by Mobutu who brutally killed and tortured anyone who spoke against his regime and used the state treasury as his personal pocketbook. From the coup that overthrew Mobutu until present, different military and political groups have instilled an incredible fear in the population that if you criticize or involve yourself with the wrong people you will pay for it with your life. There is not a weekend that goes past without hearing some story about how someone was robbed or shot because he/she associated with someone from the other side, etc. This fear has inhibited any type of revolution of the people. If you go on a peace march through Goma tomorrow, several people will inevitably die that night at their homes.
These friends I was having the discussion with started a film, music, art, dance, and culture organization called Yole! Africa which has been operating for about 5 years and seeks to portray Africa in film and art through an African perspective. You can check out their website at http://www.alkebu.org/index1.html . They are trying to break this cycle of victimhood through film, art, music, and communication. They put on a 10 day film festival in Goma last month showing both fiction films and documentaries. Many of the documentaries focused on struggles for freedom in surrounding African countries and social issues many African countries have in common. One of the nights we had the festival at HEAL Africa. Government ministers attended as well as HEAL Africa staff, the youth of Goma, Yole Africa participants, non-profit foreign workers, and uneducated patients from the hospital who are from rural areas. The demographic that night was incredible and we all went away with hope and a bounce in our step because we were able to bring together completely different groups through film and art and have a constructive conversation between the different groups after the film.
Despite all the setbacks and discouragement with the recent increase in violence and insecurity I still am encouraged every day by my Congolese co-workers and friends. Though they are used to these situations as the regular ebb and flow of life, there is never a pervasive attitude of negativity, but instead a tireless attitude with the conviction that they are in the historic process of building their country.
peace,
harper

ps. If you would like to read more regular updates please check out my blog at www.where-is-harper.blogspot.com

Program updates from Goma

2007-11-10T09:37:00.000-08:00

Goma and Congo have been in the news a lot. We're thankful to all the reporters and news teams who are bringing this news to the public. We urge you to read and get informed about the situation, and to let your elected representatives know that you're concerned that peace be a priority.

Remember that this is the Goma that has been flooded with refugees. The latest MONUC report (6 November 07) is that there are about 800,000 displaced persons in North Kivu province, and that about 150,000 have been displaced since September 07. Many of the women who've been healed, many of the residents of villages where there have been Nehemiah committees have had to flee the advances of various military groups. The roads have often been closed to places where HEAL Africa has been working with clinics and community groups. The fact that staff continue to go out to these communities as soon as roads are cleared is a tremendous sign of their commitment and passion to bring peace and hope in the midst of war. Thank you for your support for these men and women!

Judy Anderson

Dr. & Mrs. Jo Lusi were on a month-long break and have just returned to Goma. Here's an update from Lyn.

VVF campaign with Dr Christina De Wind
The whole hospital is taken over by VVF (fistula repair) care! Dr Christina is back (2nd visit this year) and she has already done 52 cases in 3 weeks. Please pray for strength for her: she is sometimes discouraged by the cases referred to her, where other people have tried a repair and failed. They are such difficult cases. Elsewhere, she has fresh cases and can get almost 100% success rates. Please pray for the patients to heal; pray too for the nurses, who are working extremely hard and devotedly.

PMTCT program has started!
We are really excited about the start of PMTCT services (prevention of transmission of HIV from mother to child). Dr William and Ghislain started the services in Nyamilima Binza zone in October in the hospital and 3 out of four health centres. And yesterday Ghislain went to Masisi, where they hope to be able to start in the hospital and two out of four health centres. Just as soon as there was a lull in the fighting, these men were out there, skirting around the battles to get to the places where the programme can start. I admire their courage. Please pray for their safety.

Lumo's house
Ndungo and Prosper took advantage of the lull in the fighting to get up to Maissi to start work on building Lumo's house. She and her mother are going to live in the town, where she will have a little business, and a nearby field for her mother to cultivate.

Family Medicine
Dr Vindu (HIV clinic) and Dr Masoda (Shyira, Rwanda) are in Kinshasa for thier written final exams in Family Medicine. They both wrote to us yesterday, delighted that they have passed. So are we. It's not easy doing exams like those in English! Next week they go to RSA for the oral finals. They still need our prayers.

A new training strategy
South Africawill no longer offer a decentralised program for Family Medicine. This is a setback for the young doctors hoping to specialise. We had a meeting with them all on Wednesday, and they have devised a new approach. We will no longer offer Family Medicine alone as the specialty. We have other specialists working with us (Dr Bitwe - pediatrics, Prof. Tsongo - Medicine, Dr Rogatien - Ob Gyn, Dr Didier - Radiology, Dr Kimona - Surgery, Dr Lusi - orthopedics, Dr Likofata - public health), so each can take a registrar or two and prepare them for specilialisation. While waiting to get a study grant and register in a University outside the country, they will follow the internal academic program within HEAL Africa. The doctors were very happy with the proposal and each one is working to put together his or her own program.

Six project staff are registering for the Masters in Community Based Care for HIV. This is a decentralised program of the University of Wales, supervised by St Paul's Limuru. The staff are Ndungo, Felicien Maisha, Roger Basungeli, Dr William Bonane, Fred Kahunde and Ciza Nakamina; maybe also Richard Malungule. The whole programme is taught in English. Oh !!! Their first semester starts in April. These candidates have no funding yet, so if anyone wants to sponsor one of them, we will be grateful.

We are thankful to the sponsors of Dr Luc Malemo, Dr Justin Paluku and Mr Siva in Makerere, Uganda, starting surgery, gynecology and dentistry respectively. Dr Aldy Tahuhana is registered in Ophthalmology in Kinshasa, and Dr Flory is now in South Africa registered in Ob-Gyn.

I think that's enough for today - it's not the end of the news, but probably the end of your time. God bless you too.
LL

PMTCT work goes ahead in the middle of the war

2007-10-26T12:30:00.000-07:00

Hey folks. We just got great news from Dr William Bonane of the HIV outreach team. He just got back from Binza - a health zone right on the eastern border, inaccessible for months because of the war. PMTCT (Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV, for the uninitiated) is now installed in four out of the five health centres chosen for the Zone. According to Dr William, uptake by expectant mothers in the zone is MASSIVE. That means many babies saved from a miserable life of HIV infection.

Congratulations to the very brave team that went out just as soon as the conflict abated. Katwiguru is not yet accessible. Masisi is still totally off limits. Pray for a speedy solution to the conflict.

Lyn Lusi

Goma news from Dick Anderson

2007-10-17T15:03:00.000-07:00

Goma, DR Congo….estimated to be at the center of the most violent war since WWII. The local population and the international community are at a loss to explain the brutal nature of this war….especially toward women! During the 6 weeks I was there (July -September) the UNFPA reported that the numbers of rape in North Kivu were up 60% over the past 8 months….351 cases in Aug. Everyone acknowledges that this is only the tip of the iceberg. When I arrived the UN briefing paper stated that there were approx. 370,000 internally displaced people in the region this year (over 700,000 in total)….and during the time I was there, another 30,000 were estimated to have fled due to the war. Goma is one of the major safe sanctuaries (surrounded by the UN Peacekeeping force) but has also become the home of thousands of militias and armies. The UN now says that approximately 150,000 people have been cut off from food aid.

HEAL Africa, based in Goma, has primarily a community-based focus…which puts our work (and workers) smack in the middle of the conflict. As always I am amazed at the dedication and commitment of the team, who risk their lives daily to work in this conflict-ridden region. I see not only their dedication but what they bring… compassion, hope and a bright ray of light from Jesus in an otherwise dark world.

To illustrate this: in late July I accompanied a group of visitors to Rutshuru (40 miles north of Goma) to meet with one of the community groups (HIV) with whom we work. In the 90 minutes of driving to get there we crossed several lines crossing either the rebel faction or the government troops. Rutshuru is a divided town. As we met with the local leaders one visitor asked what their biggest problem was…they said hunger. They can’t safely get to their crops without risk of rape and or being shot. They said they take turns eating…one meal every other day. It made me think: what if I had to make a daily decision ….watching my children starve to death or take the risk of being raped and/or shot or taken hostage as a sex slave? This is what a woman faces daily in Rutshuru. This is just one town of many in eastern Congo. The HEAL Africa team goes there weekly to encourage, train and equip them in a variety of ways….intensive urban food production, HIV/AIDS education, school construction, counseling for victims of rape, and community mobilization (around their priority needs).

Mama Muliri, one of the leaders in Heal My People, the sexual violence program, was shot and robbed 3 weeks ago in Goma. Today (10/17), she is going back to work (after surgery) to face more unknowns. Mama Virginie was beaten and robbed in her home the month before that. As soon as she was released from the hospital she returned to Sake and other hostile regions to encourage widows and support their work. These are women on the front line! Every trip I find myself asking the question: what makes people so brutal? On the other hand, I am also forced to ask the question, what makes women like Mama Muliri and Virginie take such risks to love their neighbor? The oft quoted verse “Love your neighbor as yourself” is easy to say but hard to practice. These two women are doing it. And they represent many more who’re working on a daily basis for a better future for the children, women and men of Congo.

I ask your prayers and help….pray for
Peace
Demilitarization of the region
Protection for the HEAL Africa team
Ethnic healing and conflict transformation
Access and resources to help the victims …healing physically, emotionally, socially, economically

Board Member, HEAL Africa

Watch LUMO - national broadcast on PBS

2007-09-17T16:53:00.000-07:00

LUMO will have its national broadcast premiere on the PBS series P.O.V. on
Tuesday, September 18. Check local listings.

Send this link to help us spread the word:
http://www.pov.org/tunein/2007/lumo/
Official PBS web page
http://www.pbs.org/pov/lumo
PBS press release
http://pressroom.pbs.org/programs/p.o.v./lumo.eps

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Read reviews of LUMO

Variety
http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117934268.html?categoryid=31&cs=1
Film Journal International
http://www.filmjournal.com/filmjournal/features/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003612302

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LUMO is available for sale on DVD.
Go to www.gomafilmproject.org to purchase.

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Upcoming festival screenings

Festival do Rio, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sept. 20-Oct. 4, 2007
DOCSDF, Mexico City, Sept. 27-Oct. 6, 2007
Films from the South Festival, Oslo, Norway, October 7-10, 2007
The Sao Paolo Film Festival, Sao Paolo Brazil, Oct. 19-Nov. 1, 2007

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Thank you for your support!
-- The Goma Film Project
www.gomafilmproject.org

situation and conflict increases - PLEASE PRAY!

2007-09-10T13:20:00.000-07:00

From Dick, the week of September 2nd, 2007.

Monday:I have so much to do so haven't had much time to even pick up email.Yes, the situation here is really bad. Nkunda attacked DRC forces at Katale on Friday and since then the fighting has increased all over. Masisi, Sake, Kitchanga, Rutshuru..yesterday the Sake road was full of old mamas and papas and little children carrying everything they had moving toward Goma for security. So tragic.
Mugunga area has easily 10,000 tiny grass shelters and the rains are coming (have arrived)and everyone is soaked. 1500 fresh troops arrived from Kinshasa yesterday along with two helicopter gunships.

Goma is looking more like a garrison town. Buhimba road to GFH is full of new troops.
Pray for peace.
Word is the army is preparing for a major attack..17,000 mai mai are marching to Rutshuru to support the DRC army.

Yesterday I was in Ruwengeri (Rwanda). The one thing that really struck me was the lack of military..I realized that it has become "natural" here. Tensions are rising. I had to hitch a ride back on one of those to stop at every village til Gizenye buses..20 people in it, along with lots of produce. Then the last few miles took a moto to the frontier..a long wait there while the nite driver came.

Today I was at Buhimba along with all the mamas from Grounds For Hope (a sheltered community for survivors of violent rape that haven't healed). They were clearing the land, whooping and hollering..high motivation for us..

Tuesday:
The food situation here is becoming a crisis..tens of thousands displaced, no water, no sanitation, no food. UN seems paralyzed by it, too. I'm sure they are planning but I don't see any action. We sent out a team this afternoon to the Mugunga settlement to assess the situation. It far exceeds HEAL capacity, but I think we should be sounding the alarm.

notes from the field

2007-09-10T13:15:00.000-07:00

Dear friends,

I am traveling with the Maniema team for one week. I am so very grateful to you for praying, because today was an object lesson on howimportant prayer is for the safety of our teams. We landed in Punia with an AirServ plane. Two young pilots were flying the Grand Caravan. There were no passengers to go back to Goma from Punia so they took off with minimal weight. Five minutes intothe flight, the control system failed. The plane was losing height over the forest. With just engine power and the rudder they managed toget it within sight of the river Loa, and they brought the plane down into the water. The plane somersaulted and landed upside down witho ne wing torn off. The pilots got the doors open as they went intothe water, and by the grace of God they were able to swim out. Thent hey stood on the upside down plane in the middle of the river andwaited for help. A passing fisherman picked them up and paddled themto the end of a forest path; so they are now sleeping in our househere at Punia, waiting to go out tomorrow. We are so grateful to Godfor saving thier lives.It has been remarkable this evening to hear telephone calls from allover the world, saying how people were compelled to pray for us today. It is so very important. Mama Muliri, Julienne Chakupewa, Francesca Feruzi, Fred Kahunde, Mama Kahindo, Paulin Bukundika and I, as well as Dr Neihbuhr, the evaluator from KfW, we all say thank you.

Please keep on praying.

Best wishes.Lyn Lusi

will you pray?

2007-09-10T13:14:00.000-07:00

September 10, 2007

Hello all,
We often talk about praying for people. What good does it do when bad things seem to happen anyway? It is a miracle that in all the travel that the HEAL Africa team does, no one has been harmed or lost while traveling for work. HEAL Africa has a lot to be thankful about this week, in spite of the outburst of the war near Goma, which continues to wreak havoc in the lives of tens of thousands of ordinary Congolese. This is to remind us all of the importance of prayer—and of advocacy.

Lyn Lusi left to visit the work in Maniema province over a week ago (her first time there) with the main team of Heal My People, the UNICEF representative and the KfW (German aid organization). The first email is from her, sent from Maniema by cell phone.

The people on the plane were the basic leaders of the programs for fistula repair, Heal My People. There’s a documentary being shown on PBS/POV this September (or check your local listings) called “LUMO”, (the young woman’s name, which means “Joy”) in which she tells her story. In it you will visit North Kivu, see how women are identified by the network of local counselors, and come to the hospital for treatment of fistula. It’s a beautifully told story. I urge you to see it and spread the word among your family and friends. We thank you for your support in so many ways. First, read the note from Lyn below, then check our website (www.healafrica.org) for a trailer of Lumo. We are so grateful that Mama Muliri and Mama Julienne and Lyn and all the others are safe!!!!! As of September 7, they returned to Goma safely, but on that same day a commercial airliner with passengers from Kinshasa crashed at Goma and all were lost. We mourn with the many families represented in that crash.

The second item is from Dick, who’s been in Goma for the past 5 weeks. The situation is not good. Please call your senators and elected officials and ask what their policy is on peace in Congo. The “world war” of Africa continues, and the people are fleeing once again. Who is arming these parties? Who will feed the people who’ve left their fields, their homes, and livestock once again---and who’re afraid to go out and farm their fields because they’re afraid of the military encamped in the forests around?

Thanks for praying! And please keep doing so!!!
Judy

A Good Day in Goma...

2007-08-09T23:43:00.001-07:00

In this article, Lyn Lusi writes about the events of a recent day in Goma: the joys and the sorrows that are a routine part of the work at HEAL Africa.

Summer 2007 Newsletter

2007-07-01T16:33:00.000-07:00

Our summer 2007 newsletter is now online in PDF format. Thanks for all your support!

Minnesota: Fundraising Walk for HEAL Africa, June 24th

2007-05-31T15:38:00.001-07:00

If you're in the greater Minneapolis area, you'll be interested to know that Hope Walks (a program of Global Strategies for HIV Prevention) is organizing a fundraising walk to benefit HEAL Africa on Sunday, June 24th 2007 at Mt Normandale Lake in Bloomington. The walk starts at 3:30pm and is 1.9 miles long, leisurely in pace and accessible to wheelchairs and strollers. After the walk itself there will be refreshments and a barbeque, followed by a service.

Find out more and register at the Hope Walks website.

HEAL Africa Benefit CD Released

2007-05-24T21:57:00.001-07:00

A long standing member of the singer-songwriter scene in Philadelphia, Lizanne Knott has been captivating audiences throughout the Northeast and garnering attention from radio listeners across the globe. Well known locally for her floating vocals and lyrical juxtapositions, her apparent depth and transcending warmth make for an inviting mix of music which moves easily through dark poetic ballads - to soulful jazz - to folk driven rock. You just have to scan the reviews for her last album, Under the Burning Sky, to see the high regard in which her music is held.

Now Lizanne has brought her talents to bear in a special benefit album for HEAL Africa. Titled simply "HEAL Africa", the album features songs written about Goma as well as the popular title track from her last album. 100% of the proceeds from this CD go directly to HEAL Africa. It's a great gift for friends and family as well as an informal way to let them know more about HEAL Africa's work.

You can buy the album by clicking on this link (from CD Baby). It's $15 USD, with a 10% discount for orders of two copies or more. We're most grateful to Lizanne for sharing her talents and gifts for the benefit of HEAL Africa: her star is in the ascendancy, and we're delighted that she's broadening attention to HEAL Africa's work.

Healing Arts Update

2007-05-22T22:38:00.001-07:00

This new program was begun in September 2006 to support women recovering from fistula repair in improving their income-generation skills. They are making and selling skirts, tops, bracelets, placemats, baskets and baby layettes.

Before Healing Arts, most of the 120 women waiting for or recovering from fistula surgery were hopeless and wandering. If a woman returned home with nothing to show from her time away, she would continue to be looked upon as a worthless.

After surgery, the women are required to stay at the hospital while they heal. The doctors found that fistulas would often reoccur because some women were sexually active after surgery in order to make money for when they returned home.

There were ten women recently released who had complete recovery with no complaints. Healing Arts has contributed to facilitate the medical repair, because many women are no longer prostituting themselves.

One woman said, "at home I was despised by my brother-in-law who is a tailor. He would always tell me I could not help him, that I did not have any skills". Now she says, "I will go home and tell him, I have also become a tailor."

Another woman said, "we have been overwhelmed with exceeding joy from God and people will be amazed at what you do when you do things with joy."

Healing Arts also funds a school for children at the hospital for long periods of time.

Grounds of Hope is Inaugurated

2007-05-22T22:35:00.001-07:00

The new sheltered housing community for twenty women who have not healed was inaugurated in early April, and the women have moved in. They have small business loans and vegetable gardens onsite. Another piece of land is being purchased to help them grow staple crops.

In the picture to the right, you can see the women sewing in their new setting.

Lyn Lusi writes: "I visited last week unannounced and took these pictures. I was impressed by the peace of the place, and the women working hard, and the vegetable garden. They told me they are going to the local church, and they have a good relationship with their neighbors."

Thank you for your gift of this place of hope and healing!

Hello from Goma!

2007-03-16T23:05:00.000-07:00

Hello from Goma! Dick and I are here, working with various programs and people, catching up on the new areas of work, the building projects (the Jubilee Training Center and the Grounds for Hope housing community), and looking ahead with the staff. The visitors here are Ned, from S. Carolina, working with administrative capacities, Huw and Fred, surgeons from Saskatchewan teaching orthopedics and general surgery, and a group of 10 from Minneapolis (CPC) coming today to work with a variety of programs for a week. Andy, Sara and Cindy leave today after helping with grant writing, inputing research and working with Children Like Us, identifying handicapped people in villages who need medical treatment and support.

There's a fundraiser in Washington DC on 23 March for HEAL Africa (write to info@healafrica.org for more info).

LUMO the film will be shown at the Human Rights Watch film festival in London, England, the 23rd as well. The film crew of LUMO has been here for two weeks and they'll be going from here to London, then to North Carolina Africa Documentary Film Festival April 12th. PBS has chosen LUMO for it's POV series, and it will be broadcast in October 07.

Thanks for the help and support in getting out the message!

Judy Anderson