Judith also wrote about her experience in the Presbyterian Herald. Writing about Hope (pictured below), one of the DRC’s many victims of sexual violence, she says that Hope ‘smiles with her entire face’ - a smile that can change 'the atmosphere in the room.'
‘I honestly couldn’t take my eyes off Hope as she told me this story. Pain constantly wrote itself across her face. But joy and love continually overwrote it. “God loves me so much,” she kept saying. Here is a young woman with a message. To those going through their own suffering she says “Don’t think God doesn’t exist or isn’t there. I've seen God.” Every story is unique. But stories like Hope’s are heartbreakingly common in the DRC.”
You can watch Judith’s first vlog here.
Judith has been a reporter with UTV for over eight years and heads up a community storytelling project called Tell It In Colour. She attends Redeemer Central Church in Belfast.
World Development Appeal 2017
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is one of the world’s most fragile states. Since 1999, six million people have died as a direct or indirect result of the ongoing civil conflict.
The extreme insecurity experienced by families and communities on a continuing basis leads to displacement, hunger, and the breakdown of basic health services. The best and bravest work of community development can be undone in just a few moments of violent destruction.
The reality of good sustainable development work is that it is hard, it is long-term, and the forces ranged against you can seem overwhelming. Yet the wonder is not that the work is so hard, but that so many have the courage to embark upon it.
The DRC and Zimbabwe are the focus of ‘A beautiful idea: Women's voices in fragile states’, the 2017 World Development Appeal. The title ‘A Beautiful Idea’, was first used by a Congolese woman whose story is featured in a special video that was filmed in the DRC and demonstrates what happens when women and men work together to create new hope in their community.
For more information visit the World Development Appeal page here.
Action Entraide seeks to reduce poverty among destitute people through mutual support in the DRC and one of its projects is featured in the World Development Appeal. Kalongo Rwabikango's is the founder of Action Entraide and you can read his blog here.