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    Categories: World

Remember the Forgotten Victims of the Democratic Republic of Congo: Women and Children of Mitwaba

Are you aware that an estimated four million people have been killed in the Democratic Republic of Congo since 1998?   War and continuous conflicts in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have left many victims. These people are predominately widows and children who have little to no resources.

Kisumu Project, Inc. (a nonprofit organization – 501c3) is in the process of helping COSCCET (a collective of NGOs in DRC) bring victims from Mitwaba, DRC, to Lubumbashi, DRC, to testify in the trial of Gedeon Kyunga Mutanga. Mutanga is the Mai-Mai chief who mercilessly killed villagers, tortured the living, and ate the victims. Surviving villagers were forced to watch these horrific events.

Mitwaba is 600 km from Lubumbashi. Due to the poverty and lack of resources, victims in Mitwaba will be unable to testify at Mutanga’s trial if aid is not provided. Our cause is to raise money to pay for the travel, care, and up keep of the testifying victims who will insure Mutanga’s conviction in the horrific crimes he inflicted upon thousands of innocent people.   HELP US SAVE HUMAN LIVES by supporting the widows and orphans in Katanga North in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

COSCCET and Kisumu Project, Inc. are committed to assisting the victims of these wars. Victims are predominately women and children who have not only been raped and molested but have also been humiliated by being left out of much humanitarian aid due to the continuous conflicts and uprisings. These survivors live with the horrors they have experienced.

The DR Congo court system has charged the Mai-Mai rebel leader Gedeon Kyunga Mutanga with the murders of thousands of fellow Congolese. In order for Mutanga to be convicted, survivors must testify against him. The majority of these victims are poverty stricken women who have nothing left. Our goal is to help bring the victims of Mitwaba to the city of Lubumbashi so that adequate testimony is given to solidify the conviction of Gedeon Kyunga Mutanga. Without adequate testimony, Mutanga could be set free to continue his criminal activity.

Your support in this endeavor will solidify the conviction of a murderer. Additionally, you will help us reach out to those people who have had little assistance after such traumatizing events. Survivors have been left with nothing in their villages. Rebel troups plundered and pillaged homes, stealing or destroying all of villagers possessions. Many villagers were not even left with the clothes on their backs!

COSCCET and Kisumu Project, Inc. propose to create an outreach to these forgotten souls so that they may have their dignity and human rights restored to them. This outreach will begin with bringing many of them to testify in the trial of a Gedeon Kyunga Mutanga. We will provide the victims with transportation, food, shelter, and clothing. When these individuals are returned to their village, out-reach services will be implemented to assist in the redevelopment of this ravaged area to help the survivors become self-sufficient.

Everyone who assists in this endeavor is a volunteer. It is our sincere hope that you will vote in the Facebook "Razoo Speed Granting" contest so that prize monies can be applied to this cause. Help us by volunteering your vote to assisting the forgotten souls of Mitwaba.

You can personally help remember these victims by voting in the "Razoo Speed Granting" contest on Facebook. Our project proposal is titled, "Remember the Victims…" We appreciate any and all assistance you can provide.  Refer to the website at: http://apps.facebook.com/speedgranting/proposal.php?pid=557&ref=NTU3fDU5NzE1OTA4OA%3D%3D

 

Brenda Thonsgaard: I have many interests and passions! My interests include education, social justice, cultures and cultural identities, East Africa, ethnographic studies, narrative inquiry, adoption, orphans, reading/language development disorders/problems, gangs/gang behavior, correlation between reading & behavioral disabilities, and environmental science. My job titles include teacher, consultant, mentor, company president, associate director, dyslexia coach, volunteer, and mother!



I am passionate about many things! One of those things is my work with nonprofit organizations that work with orphans and people of poverty in East Africa. At present, I represent Kisumu Project, Inc. as the Assistant Director. I have found this volunteer position to be both challenging and invigorating. Not only have I met many new people, providing assistance and support to some of them, but I have broadened my understanding of the world and its complex social systems! My experiences working and planning with individuals who are also passionate about making the world a better place has been quite rewarding to say the least!



Teaching, instructional practice, and curriculum development all fit together into another of my passions! At present, I am a doctoral student who is trying to finish up a dissertation and a Dyslexia Coach in school districts in the Houston, Texas, area. My “paycheck earning” career is education! I love teaching and have found that the US high schools can be an invigorating place to teach and learn about human development and behavior! I also enjoy teaching adults/educators how to use a variety of instructional practices to teach students of all ages! I volunteer for Kisumu Project, Inc. in addition to my full-time position as a teacher and Dyslexia Coach. Through Kisumu Project, Inc, I do public speeches, presentations, and world issues activities/fundraisers.



Through Ground Report, I hope to share first hand knowledge about Eastern Africa, its concerns, and potential solutions through the eyes of those who had first hand experiences! I plan on using my background as an educator and life-long student/learner to augment the education levels in Kenya and awareness levels in the United States.



I fervently believe that education and a spiritual foundation can overcome most of the things that haunt our world today. I believe in peace, love, and happiness, in addition to acceptance, support, and caring.



See some of my websites:

http://www.kisumuprojectinc.org

http://kisumuprojectinc.blogspot.com/

http://www.freewebs.com/1avenueforall/index.htm

http://brendatflores.wordpress.com/
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