Tag Archives: Democratic Republic of Congo

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

A gift that can save a life

12/20/2013 Nativegrl77

I’d like to offer you 10 Reasons to Gift a Net through the United Nations Foundation‘s Nothing But Nets campaign to make your holiday shopping easy and affordable:

Because nets work. Malaria deaths are down 45% since 2000!
Because a bed net lasts longer (up to three years) than fruit-of-the-month, but your friend will actually appreciate the gesture.
Because our UN partners are extremely efficient at distributing the bed nets to those who need them most, like refugees.

Convinced already? GREAT! Gift a Net today!

Because a $10 bed net is more meaningful than a $10 gift card.
Because you want to make a difference in the world and so does Aunt Berta.
Because the card we’ll send to your friends and family is beautiful and has a little piece of a sample bed net.
Because the card explains to your mom how an insecticide-treated bed net saves lives (so you don’t have to).

It really is a great gift! Please Gift a Net right now!

Because it’s the most thoughtful gift your family and friends will receive this year.
Because helping those in need is what the holidays are all about.
Because it can save a life (Is there a better reason?)

How could you pass that up?
You can’t. Partner with Nothing But Nets and Gift a Net for everyone on your holiday list.
Here’s all you have to do:

Choose the gift amount that is right for you. Each gift starts at just $10.
Select the print or e-card that you want to send to your special gift recipient telling him or her about your thoughtful choice.
Sit back and enjoy the holiday season.

It’s just that easy.
Start a new holiday tradition this year. Give gifts that give back and save lives. Gift a Net.
Sincerely,
Chris Helfrich Director Nothing But Nets

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

MercyCorps

05/17/2013 Nativegrl77

Double the difference you can make for children in need.

Photo: Gerry Ellis/Mercy Corps

Every gift before May 30th will be matched, $1 for $1!

In the packed refugee camps of the Democratic Republic of Congo, cholera spreads rapidly, and kills quickly. One sip of dirty water is all it takes for a healthy child to fall ill and die – often in just a few hours.

But we know how to stop a disease like cholera in its tracks. Through simple solutions like water-purifying tablets and clean, accessible latrines, Mercy Corps is working to save lives in Congo and around the world – and right now, you can help us reach twice as many children in need.

Every dollar we raise before May 30th will be MATCHED, up to $600,000 – which means your support today will go twice as far to deliver clean water, emergency food, and other help to families in need around the world.

Preventing deadly diseases like cholera is just one of the ways you can help families in the world’s most desperate places. Thanks to generous supporters like you, Mercy Corps is working to:

Rush emergency food assistance to families in Mali, where a devastating food shortage and violent conflicts have displaced more than 300,000 people. Your gift today will go TWICE as far to stop the hunger pains of a child in Mali.
Build wells and reservoirs in Niger and Ethiopia that will help crops and animals – and the farmers who tend them – withstand another dry season. You can help deliver TWICE the relief to hungry families who desperately need it.
Give children in South Sudan a safe place to learn, building temporary classrooms so they can get the education they deserve. Your matched gift today can give children a brighter future.

There’s never been a better time to give than right now – and every dollar counts. Your $75 becomes $150, $150 becomes $300, $250 becomes $500 – up to $600,000! That means that together, we can deliver over $1.2 million dollars in food, water, and other aid where it’s needed most – but we can only reach these families if people like you step up to help.

I’ve seen the difference Mercy Corps supporters like you are making around the world.

Please, don’t miss this chance to make that compassion go even further for suffering families – donate today to have your gift matched, dollar for dollar!

Your support today will truly change lives – thank you.

Sincerely,

Dan O’Neill Mercy Corps Founder

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Eve in Congo

03/07/2013 Nativegrl77

Dear All… A Letter From Eve in Congo

Eve Ensler has been in Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for the last month. Here she shares with you all her experiences with the women at City of Joy, life on the V-World farm, and how she ROSE with women and girls of Congo on 14 February.

Dear All,

First let me begin with the deepest thank you to all of you who believed in City of Joy and have stood by us with your confidence and support. I have spent the month here and all I can say, is you would be proud. Let me start by describing the current state of Bukavu. It is nothing short of catastrophic. In one of the richest resourced countries in the world, the poverty is inconceivable. In a place where it rains almost every day, there is no water.

It is a country with the most fertile green fields, people are starving. There is no electricity. Most of the month the children have been sent home from school as the teachers are on strike. (they have not been paid). Even the policemen are begging for food. The road is better but most of the time we have not driven on it as there are so many reasons for detours. This is the environment our director Christine and her astounding staff face and transcend every day. Then of course there is the issue of security. The month I have been here there have been no incidents, but it feels arbitrary as there is no real political basis for security and one feels anything can happen at any time.

I will not even begin to tackle here the many proposals that seem to be circulating for peace in Congo. They either feel rhetorical or implausible. I think it is safe to say that if Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi were to get out of Congo, if there were real leadership and a functioning government in Kinshasa, there would be change. But that is not the nature of what I am writing about. We made a decision four years ago to put our energy into the grassroots women of Congo, to support their visions, their plans, their desires, their futures. To believe in their strength. To find the support for them to heal from gender violence of all forms, to be trained and educated in skills and their rights, to become leaders in their communities so that they could build a grassroots movement that eventually would be strong enough to transform this country and turn pain to power.