CONGO 101: The V-Day Teach-In
at the Centre for Social Innovation

Buy tickets for Sunday April 19th @ 10:30 am
Buy tickets for Sunday April 19th @ 1:30 pm
Also available by phone at 1.866.9.GET.TIX

You are a man. Imagine a woman.... your mother, sister, wife, daughter... living in the country declared the most dangerous place on Earth to be female.

You are a woman. Imagine that this woman is you.

V-Day and UNICEF, representing UN Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict, have launched a global campaign "Stop Raping our Greatest Resource: Power to Women in the DRC". The Campaign calls attention to the wide-scale atrocities committed against women and girls in Eastern DRC and demands an end to the impunity granted to those who commit them. For the first time in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as part of the V-Day/UNICEF campaign 12 survivors of sexual violence publicly spoke out in front of an audience of government and UN officials, international delegates and civil society members. The women told the stories of their rape and its impact on their lives. They issued a call to the world to put an end to the sexual violence that has ravaged and shamed them and hundreds of thousands of other women and girls in the DRC.

CONGO 101 is designed simply to inform our community about the history and current situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo where women are bearing the brunt of the vicious war in the region. It is our way of activate and motivate you, the public, to do what you can to make inspire change. This could take the form of putting pressure on elected officials, raising awareness and funds for V-Day, and supporting projects on the ground in the DRC. There is no way that a teach-in can teach everything. The Congo's story is incredibly complex. However, there is great hope amidst the heinousness. There are women whose courage and strength are mind-boggling. They have faced what most of us can hardly wrap our minds around, and through sheer will, they rise above. They raise huge families, protecting and nurturing the children they love in the face of constant danger. Within every moment exists the threat of unspeakable violence. Still, they persevere.

However, they CANNOT do it alone. Their voices go unacknowledged, their screams ignored. And so whenever we can and however we can - WE must be their voices. It is as simple as asking yourself "what is this was me?" How desperately each of us would want someone to care. These are not women OVER THERE. They are our sisters. They are our kin. The only thing - the ONLY thing - differentiating them from us... is circumstance. Join us on Sunday April 19th for CONGO 101 to learn more about this situation and how you can help. Thank you.

Produced by T. Taitt.
Associate Producers: Christine Gresham, Tanya Porter, Ingrid Wirsig
Production Manager: Daphne Simone

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