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People just like you are passionate about the Congo. Read about the types of activities they're planning and their creative approaches to raising awareness about the DR Congo. Please note that the views expressed by some members at their own events are not necessarily the views of the Coalition as a whole. Our Unity Statements provides the common foundation for many concerned about Congo as well as the freedom and flexibility for these individuals and groups to undertake activities outside the coalition.
Let us know about your efforts and activities so that they can inspire others worldwide to actively work to make
a difference in the DR Congo.
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www.runforcongowomen.org
Lisa Shannon, a small business owner and creative professional, was home sick one day watching Oprah when she learned of the crisis in the DR Congo. She set out to raise sponsorships for Women for Women International's Congo program through a lone thirty mile trail run. Since that first run in September 2005, with over $100,000 raised and counting, Run for Congo Women has grown into an international effort, now with run organizers in places from Louisiana to Australia, from Maui to Singapore. Lisa's message of hope for Congo has reached millions through the audiences of National Public Radio affiliates, O-The Oprah Magazine, Runner's World, and Fitness Magazine.
Chicago Congo Coalition's Lobby Days
Last November, a group of Chicagoans organized a week of lobbying on Capitol Hill surrounded the passage of S.2125, a bill that committed the United States to putting more energy and resources into helping the Congo. This group of dedicated and concerned people held dozens of meetings throughout the week, urging members of Congress and their staffs to make this bill a high priority. As the House session neared its close, we all feared that they would simply run out of time before they got to vote on this very important bill, but the persistence of the members of the Chicago delegation and all those who called and wrote to their representatives paid off as the bill was approved in the last hours of the session.
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On Saturday, April 14, 2007 about 100 people converged for a march and rally in opposition to the World Bank (WB) funding of environmental exploitation and damage. The march, called for by the Friends of the Congo and members of local Congolese communities, demanded an end to the funding that allows multinational mining corporations to abuse Congo's vast natural resources.
Shortly after 2 PM the march took off from McPherson Square, a few blocks from the Bank and Fund buildings, with Congolese flags, anti-World Bank and IMF banners, and some "Wolfowitz Resign" signs. Some of the members were marching in opposition to the existence of the Bank and Fund as institutions, not just reacting to the recent scandals involving Wolfowitz. Along the route, demonstrators passed out information leaflets and engaged passersby. The march was spirited and energetic, with chants and songs in Lingala, French, and English.
The rally lasted for 2 hours and was complete with forceful chanting, harmonic singing, and a brief interlude of street theater with cell phones covered in fake blood to symbolize the destructive mining of coltan and cobalt, minerals used in manufacturing cell phones. There were no speeches to be had here, just people expressing their collective anger with the results of Bank-funded activities in the Congo.
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We started with "Congo's Tin Miners," a documentary about the grim reality of mining in the Congo as a nexus between global corporate greed and local militarization. The documentary was followed by two speakers: Jean-Louis Peta Ikambana of American Friends Service Committee and Charles Lowery of the Center for Responsible Lending.
In the spirited discussion that followed, Ruth Castel-Branco of MGJ and 50 Years is Enough drew attention to how the IMF is promoting these same forms of predatory lending abroad through the "liberalization" of the banking industry.
The event was ultimately about broadening public awareness of how the same powerful force of un-checked capitalism is undermining people's lives, livelihoods, and self-determination in both the Global South and the United States.
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