being of service
Support an NGO
On this page I will introduce you to organizations that not only need our financial support through donations. These organizations are run by extraordinary people, who inspire and uplift through their way of being despite all difficulties. They are torchbearers, pioneers, enablers and facilitators of the change we need to make happen on an individual and collective level. My invitation to you is not only to donate, but to let yourself be inspired and moved through them.
“Money is a current, a carrier, a conduit for our intentions. Money carries the imprimatur of our soul.”
HERO WOMEN RISING
Hero Women Rising is an NGO I support because I’m deeply touched by the work they do in one of the toughest places in the world. Their founder Neema impresses me because of her perceverance despite difficult circumstances. Rape of women and children is a common tool of warfare in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Domestic violence, Ebola outbreaks, life threats through rioting militia are part of the reality of every day life. Empowering herself and empowering others and pointing towards a new possibility for the future I consider Neema’s strength. I would love to strengthen her achievements even further through your donations to enable even more women in Congo.
Hero Women Rising is an NGO located in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. A country, where the hardship due to wars and outbreaks of Ebola are indescribable. Women and children often suffer the most. The initiative of Neema Namadamu, a visionary game changer dedicated to the empowerment of women, conducts a number of programs, all with the same ultimate goal: to build and strengthen women's capacity and guide them toward the "why" and the "how" of realizing their own visions.
To this end, their activities include
A women's Media Center: internet is crucial to women's personal development. It gives them a window to the outside world, when they would otherwise be living in "a house with no door" - providing inspiration, ideas, and opportunities they would otherwise be unable to access. Most women in DRC don't have the means to access the internet through their phones or in internet cafés, as their male peers might more easily be able to do. We not only provide affordable internet access for women, we also conduct trainings and workshops to help them master basic computer and web skills.
A girl-centered primary school: In remote areas of eastern DRC, access to quality education is still very limited. Most children have to walk very far to reach school, and even then, the quality of the school may be very low. In addition, girls are expected to assume responsibility for many household chores, so they often fall behind their male classmates. That is why we have built a model primary school in a remote rural area, centered on supporting girls in their educational journey. Its proximity means that girls still have time to study. Because quality education is so scarce in this region, and boys who don't go to school often end up joining armed groups, we feel it is important to include boys at the school as well. But teachers here keep a special watch over the female students, encouraging them and offering additional support when they see they are struggling. This will eventually be a K-12 school.
Keep Girls in School sani-pad program: Another major obstacle to girls' thriving in school is simple: menstruation. With a lack of access to feminine hygiene products, girls in many rural areas stay home for a week each month, eventually falling behind or failing - a reason for their struggling parents to stop paying their school fees. Our team of seamstresses earns a modest living by producing affordable, washable and re-usable sani-pad kits which last girls more than three years. The difference this makes in their classroom success is remarkable.
And more...
Water for Itombwe: A clean, easily accessible community water system means girls and women don't have to travel so far to carry water for household needs.
Kitenge Fashion: A training program for women experiencing poverty to become tailors, providing an income for themselves and their families.
Women Reforesters: In this rural area of the High Plateau, what used to be a lush forest is now a series of bare hills. Our Women Reforesters have planted over 100,000 trees in the last 4 years.