Thoughts in the DRC

After traveling for several days we've arrived at the town of Mwenga in the DRC. We crossed the length of Lake Kivu by boat (a seven-hour ride) and drove five hours from Bukavu on a winding road through beautiful mountains.

I've seen such a variety of lanscapes during this trip. The Serengeti plain was dry and flat, Dar es Salaam had a tropical feel on the Indian Ocean, and now I see impressive mountains in the DRC.

My room tonight is basic. No running water or electricity... and no internet.

How am I posting this message? Believe it or not my Blackberry still works!

It's funny, I've been able to catch up on email while sitting in the dark listening to the rain hit the tin roof of my hotel room.

We've kept a fast pace all trip, but tonight has been very good. I was able to catch up on some much needed sleep. I want to make sure I'm ready when my focus shifts to Mt. Kilimanjaro in a few days.

The sun is just about up and I'm starting to hear people stirring outside - waking to start the day.

Yesterday we visited the staff for the USHINDI project in the mwenga office and today we're planning to visit two health centers in the area.

USHINDI is a US government funded project to help women (and men) in this area who are surivors of rape.

This has been a conflict area for quite some time and one instrument of war is mass rape.

IMA works with several strong partners on the ground to give women a chance to stabilize their life after an attack and improve their standing in their village.

They are given a safe place to live, medical treatment, counseling and are provided access to a lawyer to advise them of their rights and be with them as they police and local legal process.

I'll have more later. I won't be able to show the faces of the women I talk to today... there is a real fear of reprisal. However, I will be able to tell you their stories.

They are stories of tragedy that will make you shake your head in disbelief. But more importantly they are stories of women with an incredible will to live and overcome that tragedy.

With the help of IMA and our partners here in the DRC they are able to come back to their village with the ability to read and the skills to start a new trade so they can support themselves.

I frequently have people ask me what we do at IMA and I have a difficult time summarizing it into a 30 second conversation.