One of my real life heroes...Elige
Elige is one of my heroes. This is a lady who is incredibly brave and courageous. She counsels rape survivors at great personal risk and danger. She sees the tremendous need in her country, the pain and suffering endured by the survivors and feels committed to help however she can. Her husband supports and encourages her because he knows she is called by God to do this. She is truly a heroic woman and a role model not only for her fellow country women and men but also for men and women in the western world.
Last year Elige attended one of the conferences we did when we were in Congo in May 2007. As a result of our teachings, she started a program in her church to care for rape survivors. As part of this program she visits survivors in their villages often traveling up to 150 km a week on foot! Elige described to me how she is so terrified when she visits these ladies, as she has to travel many kilometers through the jungle on her own. She told me that she would wear the wooden cross on a string that I had given her last year. When she would come across rebels and bandits who wanted to harm her they would see the cross around her neck and say, “this is a woman of God – let her pass”. This happened time and time again. She mentioned that the string had broken and she had lost the cross. I was able to give her another cross. This lady counsels women with boldness and courage. She is determined to continue despite the danger she faces. As a result of her ministry she has ministered to over a 100 women in the past year. She is a hero – a woman whom I admire and respect so much.
CEPIMA and Hopeless the Goat
We visited a mental health clinic and hospital – CEPIMA - that we had visited last year. Since last year this organization has opened up five more clinics including one in Beni where we were based. This organization deals with some of the most severely traumatized survivors of abuse. Often these women and men are so severely traumatized that they are catatonic or severely mentally ill. They literally have gone mad because of the severe and extreme evil they have experienced. We heard of how CEPIMA has helped so many patients. Last year we visited their clinic in Butembo - the only one that existed a year ago. This year we were able to visit their new clinic in Beni which had recently opened.
We visited a mental health clinic and hospital – CEPIMA - that we had visited last year. Since last year this organization has opened up five more clinics including one in Beni where we were based. This organization deals with some of the most severely traumatized survivors of abuse. Often these women and men are so severely traumatized that they are catatonic or severely mentally ill. They literally have gone mad because of the severe and extreme evil they have experienced. We heard of how CEPIMA has helped so many patients. Last year we visited their clinic in Butembo - the only one that existed a year ago. This year we were able to visit their new clinic in Beni which had recently opened.
Last year we heard that the caregivers at CEPIMA walked for miles just to see patients in villages so on our return to the USA we raised money to buy them two motorbikes (the common form of transportation in Congo). As a result in the past three months alone CEPIMA has been able to do a year’s worth of work in terms of visiting patients and facilitating their treatment. When we arrived at the clinic in Beni we were surprised and honored to be greeted by hoards of patients and villagers waving flowers and singing. We were ushered into a mud hut meeting room where we were presented with a live goat, tons of passion fruit, potatoes and onions. What an honor! A live goat is the highest honor we could be given. It costs more than a month’s wage to buy a goat. This clinic often barely has enough food to feed its patients on a given day. We went home that day in a van crowded with team members and Hopeless the goat (see photo). We originally called the goat Hope but it got changed to Hopeless when we all realized that it would be eaten for dinner one day. We made our hosts promise not to tell us when they ate the goat, as we want to treasure the memory of a live goat!!!!! We felt truly honored that day. This organization has done so much good work and has helped numerous patients over the years.
This is Mama Abia - the founder of CEPIMA which stands for "Centre de Protection des Indigents et Malnouris" (the center for protection of indigents and the malnourished).
I love Congo: my people, my home...
The people of this country are great. I may be a mzungu (white person) but I come back to the US having been given an African name - Kasoki. My name means first born daughter in the local language. I have a father in Africa - his name is Pastor John. I have a twin sister in Beni - her name is Kassie. And I have many, many friends. I knew when the plane took off from the dirt airstrip in Beni in May 2007 that I would be back and I did return - this July 2008. Taking off again this July, I had the same feeling. I will be back. Congo is so much part of me that I can only return to be there in the place where I feel so much at home.
The DRC may be a land where there is so much evil, pain and suffering but it is also a land where there is so much hope, healing and restoration. God is doing amazing things in Congo. There are amazing men and women who have risen up to help the land heal, to give people hope and to help bring restoration. These people know the true meaning of the Gospel of Jesus - reaching out to help the broken. God is doing BIG things in Congo and it is an incredible honor and privilege to be a small part of what God is doing.
Hakuna Mungu Kama We We - there is no God like you.
