AFRICaide Benefit for Mutuelle Jeunesse Active in the Democratic Republic of Congo
The lasting impact of Africa’s World War
The lasting impact of Africa’s World War
hear about. And they come back to nothing because their homesteads weres destroyed. And they suffer a lot of other problems including rape. So they come
back to an environment that is alien to them. Then you have refugees who fled to Tanzania. A lot of Congolese fled to that region. Members of our own family
fled there. Some met death there by illness or whatever. Now the returning refugees program is a very interesting one. The Congolese refugees who have
decided to come back are given the equivalent of $50, a hoe to till the soil and a blanket to start a new life regardless of whether or not they have children and
how many. This is a reality. This has left a lot of frictions and a lot of problems and despair.”
While the situation in Uvira might seem hopeless, Nguidjol has seen through her previous efforts in her native Cameroon that seemingly small efforts can
have a big impact in Africa. “In Cameroon, the government has opened clinics with no resources,” Nguidjol said. “Sometimes there is a building, but no
resources. That year, with the help of the community, I was able to raise 3,000 francs. That can go a very long ways in Africa. It was very encouraging. I was
going to Cameroon that year. So people were very excited because we were able to get small medical supplies and medicine. I helped pay salaries for
teachers for over three months. That’s the amazing thing. I’m trying to educate everyone that a small amount of money by American standards can go a very
long way when you are working with these small organizations. The money is going directly to the goal of the project.”
And so now, Nguidjol wants to have the same kind of impact in Uvira, DRC where local resources have been overwhelmed. In her research, Nguidjol came
upon an organization called Mutuelle Jeunesse Active (MJA), which runs a community center in Uvira. “They work in the areas of education, health care,
peace building and recreation,” Nguidjol said. “They just received uniforms to play soccer. You see a lot of young children without a lot to do. So they have
small schools. And at MJA, they teach children, even those who are blind and deaf. I’ve been communicating with them. There’s a local woman there whose
husband died from AIDS and he passed the HIV virus to her and left her with small children. She would like to come to the center and conduct workshops to
educate people about HIV/AIDS. She wants to talk about her experience and look to the future. These are the kinds of things that the center is interested in.”
Nguidjol wants to raise cash and in-kind donations so she can bring books, medical supplies and other things to MJA. She wants to fund teacher salaries.
Through AFRICaide, she hopes to help empower MJA to teach the children and people of Uvira how to help themselves. “Nobody is caring for these people,”
Nguidjol emphasized. “To me, it is a concern that I have. And in the spirit of giving back to the community — any community from the one I live in to any
community where I know something is happening — if I stay indifferent, I would simply not be me. Really that’s what drives me in this thing. The young people
in Uvira are very enthusiastic and encouraged.”
On August 23, AFRICaide is sponsoring Building a Future for Congo’s Children at the Wil-Mar Neighborhood Center, 953 Jenifer Street, from 6 p.m. to
midnight. There will be African food, a cash bar, music and a silent auction, all for the benefit of MJA’s work. A donation of at least $10 is suggested. Free
child care will be provided.
While Nguidjol and AFRICaide may not be able to save all of the children of Uvira and DRC, they are starting to save them one child at a time. Who knows
how many of the children can be saved. It is up to me and you.
back to an environment that is alien to them. Then you have refugees who fled to Tanzania. A lot of Congolese fled to that region. Members of our own family
fled there. Some met death there by illness or whatever. Now the returning refugees program is a very interesting one. The Congolese refugees who have
decided to come back are given the equivalent of $50, a hoe to till the soil and a blanket to start a new life regardless of whether or not they have children and
how many. This is a reality. This has left a lot of frictions and a lot of problems and despair.”
While the situation in Uvira might seem hopeless, Nguidjol has seen through her previous efforts in her native Cameroon that seemingly small efforts can
have a big impact in Africa. “In Cameroon, the government has opened clinics with no resources,” Nguidjol said. “Sometimes there is a building, but no
resources. That year, with the help of the community, I was able to raise 3,000 francs. That can go a very long ways in Africa. It was very encouraging. I was
going to Cameroon that year. So people were very excited because we were able to get small medical supplies and medicine. I helped pay salaries for
teachers for over three months. That’s the amazing thing. I’m trying to educate everyone that a small amount of money by American standards can go a very
long way when you are working with these small organizations. The money is going directly to the goal of the project.”
And so now, Nguidjol wants to have the same kind of impact in Uvira, DRC where local resources have been overwhelmed. In her research, Nguidjol came
upon an organization called Mutuelle Jeunesse Active (MJA), which runs a community center in Uvira. “They work in the areas of education, health care,
peace building and recreation,” Nguidjol said. “They just received uniforms to play soccer. You see a lot of young children without a lot to do. So they have
small schools. And at MJA, they teach children, even those who are blind and deaf. I’ve been communicating with them. There’s a local woman there whose
husband died from AIDS and he passed the HIV virus to her and left her with small children. She would like to come to the center and conduct workshops to
educate people about HIV/AIDS. She wants to talk about her experience and look to the future. These are the kinds of things that the center is interested in.”
Nguidjol wants to raise cash and in-kind donations so she can bring books, medical supplies and other things to MJA. She wants to fund teacher salaries.
Through AFRICaide, she hopes to help empower MJA to teach the children and people of Uvira how to help themselves. “Nobody is caring for these people,”
Nguidjol emphasized. “To me, it is a concern that I have. And in the spirit of giving back to the community — any community from the one I live in to any
community where I know something is happening — if I stay indifferent, I would simply not be me. Really that’s what drives me in this thing. The young people
in Uvira are very enthusiastic and encouraged.”
On August 23, AFRICaide is sponsoring Building a Future for Congo’s Children at the Wil-Mar Neighborhood Center, 953 Jenifer Street, from 6 p.m. to
midnight. There will be African food, a cash bar, music and a silent auction, all for the benefit of MJA’s work. A donation of at least $10 is suggested. Free
child care will be provided.
While Nguidjol and AFRICaide may not be able to save all of the children of Uvira and DRC, they are starting to save them one child at a time. Who knows
how many of the children can be saved. It is up to me and you.
Emilie Ngo-Nguidjol formed AFRICaide in
2005 to help rural areas in Cameroon.
2005 to help rural areas in Cameroon.
By Jonathan Gramling
With the advent of the Rwanda genocide in 1994 that forced millions of people to seek refuge in
surrounding countries, the Great Lakes region of Africa has been in almost continuous upheaval. The Second
Congo War, also known as Africa’s World War involved eight African nations and resulted in over 5 million
people dead and many more millions living as refugees in surrounding countries as well as internally within the
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Although a peace agreement was signed in 2004, the violence continues
on today.
One of the hardest hit areas of this turmoil has been the provinces of North Kiva and South Kiva in eastern
DRC that borders Rwanda and Burundi, the effective ground zero for the turmoil. “You have armed groups,
perpetrators of genocide who ran away and came into the Congo from Rwanda, said Emilie Ngo Nguidjo;,
founder of AFRICaide, a local African relief organization she founded in 2005. “So the population of Uvira —
from what I have been following — went from 50,000 people to 400,000 people. It decimated the institutions
they had there and there wasn’t that much to begin with.”
Nguidjol’s husband, Aliko Songolo is from the DRC. “You have a lot of Congolese who got displaced
internally and have nothing,” Nguidjol said. “And when things started settling down, a lot of people have been
coming back who were displaced internally. And they don’t benefit from any of the refugee programs that you
With the advent of the Rwanda genocide in 1994 that forced millions of people to seek refuge in
surrounding countries, the Great Lakes region of Africa has been in almost continuous upheaval. The Second
Congo War, also known as Africa’s World War involved eight African nations and resulted in over 5 million
people dead and many more millions living as refugees in surrounding countries as well as internally within the
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Although a peace agreement was signed in 2004, the violence continues
on today.
One of the hardest hit areas of this turmoil has been the provinces of North Kiva and South Kiva in eastern
DRC that borders Rwanda and Burundi, the effective ground zero for the turmoil. “You have armed groups,
perpetrators of genocide who ran away and came into the Congo from Rwanda, said Emilie Ngo Nguidjo;,
founder of AFRICaide, a local African relief organization she founded in 2005. “So the population of Uvira —
from what I have been following — went from 50,000 people to 400,000 people. It decimated the institutions
they had there and there wasn’t that much to begin with.”
Nguidjol’s husband, Aliko Songolo is from the DRC. “You have a lot of Congolese who got displaced
internally and have nothing,” Nguidjol said. “And when things started settling down, a lot of people have been
coming back who were displaced internally. And they don’t benefit from any of the refugee programs that you