CPGRBC’s is currently constructing a center for women in the Goma area to support our extensive program work with rape survivors and vulnerable women.

Described by the United Nation as the “rape capital of the world”[1], the Democratic Republic of Congo is often considered one of the worst places in the world to be a woman. Yakin Erturk of the U.N. Human Rights Council said that communities in Eastern Congo in particular perceived sexual violence as “normal.”[2]

In 2009, CPGRBC commenced programming to work with rape survivors to understand and manage their trauma, and learn income-generating skills. In Congo, victims of rape are almost always cast out by their husbands and families and left to fend on their own with their children without land to farm. Granting micro loans and teaching skills such as sewing, basket weaving, and crocheting helps these women feed and provide for their children.

The program for rape survivors was quickly expanded to help a broader range of women. Many women, including widows and wives of soldiers, have become the heads of their households during wartime. CPGRBC helps these women learn job skills, holds literacy classes, and organizes support groups in addition to conflict resolution and trauma healing trainings.

CPGRBC believes building the Tumaini Women’s center will support and expand opportunities for programming with women. We aspire to create this women’s center as a permanent space for workshops, skill trainings, and classes, with room for support groups and dormitories for women who need a safe place to say. By giving a home to our women’s programming, we will be able to better meet community needs.

[1] BBC “UN official calls DR Congo ‘rape capital of the world’”, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8650112.stm

[2] CNN “UN: Brutality against women in Congo ‘beyond rape’ http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/africa/07/30/congo.rape.reut/