UNADRCongo.org

United Nations Assoc. of the Dem. Rep. of Congo

Our Partner in Congo - The grass roots team who brings bed nets, education, awareness, and help to the people of Congo.

Technology in Education: Global Program - The Congo Cause project began from recognizing the need for awareness in the United States about Congo. This need became apparent when we were working on a graduate project, www.AmaniDRC.org during graduate studies and our international residency in Geneva, Switzerland.

In the Global Program, graduate students created meaningful humanitarian projects using technology for teaching topics of global importance.

The Congo Cause was began later (2008) by students who responded to the need for support and awareness for UNA-DRC and the Congo. We thank Jeff Kupperman and the other professors with University of Michigan, who dreamed and created the Global Program.

The Congo Cause works to bring awareness and education about the Dem. Rep. of Congo and its challenges along with bringing help to support its programs, with an emphasis upon malaria prevention and education.

(You can view other Global Program students projects)

UN Millennium Development Goals

The MDG Monitor shows how countries are progressing in their efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The MDG Monitor is designed as a tool for policymakers, development practitioners, journalists, students and others to: TRACK progress through interactive maps and country-specific profiles; LEARN about countries' challenges and achievements and get the latest news and more.

UNA Greater Detroit

UNA Michigan Division

UNA-USA Michigan promoted and co-sponsered our March 14, 2009 Mosquito Bed Net Fund Raising Kick-off event, a talk by Dr. Cissa Wa Numbe, Director of UNA-DRC, our grass roots partner in Congo.

Please visit the UNA-USA Michigan and UNA Greater Detroit web sites to find out more about UNA-USA, how UNA-USA is " a constructive critic of the United Nations and of U.S. policy at the United Nations," and how you can be a part of this organization.

UNA Greater Detroit is the local chapter in Michigan which also assists The Congo Cause through awareness and fund raising. Please visit to learn about happenings in the greater Detroit area.

APAC

ARC Detroit

AIDS and Malaria:

The Connection

According to research published in the journal Science, Malaria increases the AIDS epidemic:

"When people with Aids contract malaria, it causes a surge of HIV virus in their blood, making them more likely to infect a partner, the research says." -- Aegis news/BBC

December 17, 20007 - Paul Salopek "Congo: The Invisible War"

"With the Congolese death toll now 20 times higher than that of Darfur, and given that the worst killing in Darfur ended in 2004, why aren't outraged U.S. activists lighting candles in Central Park to "save" hapless Congo?"

A CNN Anderson Cooper Report - August 2008 (Revised from January 2008)

Anderson Cooper's Blog Article - War Against Women in the Congo

Bill Moyers Journal - April 2008 and a video of the broadcast "Hope in the Congo" which is a report of Congo's history and the continued death of 45,000 Congolese people from starvation and disease.

Part 2: Audio-Video Podcast with photos - 3 minutes - A second report showing the challenges of food aid workers and the food shortages of Congo after the war.

Excerpts from: 100 Years of Darkess - A book by Photojournalist Marcus Bleasdale. And some Congo history information

"They are Destroying the Female Species in Congo" - Congolese Human Rights Activist Christine Schuler Deschryver on Sexual Terrorism and Africa’s Forgotten War

March 2008 - Interview of of Jan Egeland, former UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and the former UN Emergency Relief Coordinator.

Why the Congo Matters

This informative article gives facts such as:

• "The Congo sits in the heart of Africa and is bordered by NINE other countries, therefore as the Congo goes so does the rest of Africa."
• "The rapes, slaughter and savagery being committed in the Congo are affronts to the human conscience. Every individual and leader in the global community should be ashamed and outraged that we have allowed almost 6 million Congolese to die since 1998 as a result of a resource war."
• "Western nations under the auspices of the cold war assassinated an elected nationalist leader (Patrice Lumumba) and put in place a brutal dictator (Mobutu Sese Soko) and propped him up for 37 years while he brutalized the Congolese people and systematically stole the riches of the country."

Congo Week: Friends of the Congo also offers a resourceful page with informative materials that you can download to read, share with others, and use in your classrooms.

Please visit their websites for ways to advocate for Congo.

Lisa F. Jackson, Director of the Documentary:

Brief Interview on Sundance
HBO Clip

Tracking the conflict in Eastern DRC: Ushahidi is a Crowdsourcing Crisis Information tool.

Ushahidi, which means “testimony” in Swahili, is a brand new platform that "crowdsources" crisis information.

BBC Article about the Ushahidi tool (December 2008)

Newsweek photos, November 2008: Congo's Descent by Marcus Bleasdale, Photo Agency Studio VII. (Parental age warning - images are disturbing.)

Congo's Cries: A Country Torn Apart. An article by Rod Norlund, Newsweek

BBC News - Photos of escalating conflict - November 2008

In BBC Pictures: Cry for Peace in Goma - November 2008

Tragedy in Congo - "Uwimana Ruhuwreru has been displaced seven times in the last 15 months in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo"

BBC News - Recent photos - "Surviving Congo" According to the BBC news, "The majority of deaths – estimated to be nearly 60% higher than the average in sub-Saharan Africa – are due to preventable and treatable diseases, such as malaria, diarrhoea and pneumonia."

Working to Heal DR Congo's Wounds - November 2008

Photos of Cry for Peace in Goma - November 2008

Malaria photographs by John Stanmeyer, VII Photo Agency Studio. (We want to extend a gracious appreciation to John Stanmeyer for use of his photograph.)

Photo exhibition - Congo: Forgotten War by VII Agency

Podcast "Never Again" by Photojournalist Marcus Bleasdale who has covered the war in Congo for over eight years.

Chaos in Congo - Marcus Bleasdale photographs and commentary -- YouTube

Photos of the Goma Region

Breaking the Silence - a New York Times Video, October 2008. The United Nations says Congo has the worst sexual violence in the world.

Ben Affleck returned to Congo in November 2008 and investigates conditions in the IDP camps. Article: "Ben Affleck tours refugee camps in war-torn eastern Congo, says more aid money needed"

Quote from Ben Affeck in article by ANITA POWELL, Associated Press as stated online: Star Tribune, Minneapolis, Minnesota:

"I'm not an expert in international affairs or diplomacy, but it doesn't take that to see the tremendous suffering here," he told The Associated Press on Thursday in Goma, the regional capital. "It's not something that we as human beings can, in good conscience, ignore."

Again, our sincere thank you to Ben Affleck for using his gifts to help people in the most dire circumstances. We believe that when people bring awareness and advocate for action, change can happen.

Gimme Shelter: Ben Affleck's short film to bring awareness and raise funds for refugees.

Read Ben Affleck's Guest Essay on ABC News relating what he has learned about Congo during his three recent trips. This is an excellent summary of events in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Ben Affleck's photo journal and videos during his recent Congo trips with ABC Nightline

Ann Curry was in Goma in February, 2008.
Read her stories and view the videos Please pass the word along for awareness. And photos by Antoine Sanfuentes, NBC.

Photos - War and Displacement in Congo

Fox News documentary about Child Soldiers.

Documentary and additional airing of "24: Redemption" which depicts the almost unbelievable stories of child soldiers who are forced into rebel militia in places like eastern Congo and other areas of Africa.

You can watch replay of the show and of the documentary on the Fox TV Network website. (Trailer)

Bravo to Fox for bringing awareness and the airing and making of these films.

Congo crisis worsens by Ann Taylor, Boston Globe.
November 2008. Amazing photography.