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| © U.S. Fund for UNICEF/2007/McKenzie | |
| Lucy Liu shows photos to young girls outside a UNICEF-supported education center for street youth in Goma, Eastern DRC. |
I met with a series of young boys who had escaped from armed militia, where they had been forced to serve for ruthless commanders who had stolen their childhoods. I talked to Fabian who was only 15 when he was forced to join a militia group in the Eastern Congo. He worked as a porter and then was taught how to fight.
Thanks to a Cajed, a UNICEF-funded program in Goma, Fabian has been given a chance to turn his life around. The center provides for emotional and practical support. The children here are taught skills and given a basic education to help them reintegrate with society. The center also managed to trace Fabian’s family and he hopes to go home in the next few weeks.
When the children leave this center, they join other vulnerable kids to learn real-life skills; I saw children learning how to bake bread, make furniture and even repair old stereos. Though it might seem modest, they are learning practical skills for the real world that will help them in their new life.
In the afternoon we visited Heal Africa, a hospital supported by UNICEF to provide medical and psychosocial support to survivors of sexual violence in North Kivu. The Heal Africa team also goes out into the field to get emergency care to the worst cases of rape. The hospital is the first in eastern Congo to provide pediatric care for HIV-positive children and children with disabilities.
All three of these groundbreaking programs are funded 100% by UNICEF.
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| © U.S. Fund for UNICEF/2007/McKenzie |
| UNICEF Ambassador Lucy Liu kneads dough with young bakers at a UNICEF-supported skills center in Goma, DR Congo. |
For more information visit: unicefusa.org/drc
Donate now to support UNICEF's work in the DRC: unicefusa.org/donate/drc
Comments (4)
Great work Lucy!
I just came from Goma 2 weeks ago, I have a blog alert set up for my personalised google to receive blog and news about Goma and that's how I came across your blog. I was born in Goma but was brought up and live in London UK and I had not been back to Goma for 14yrs. In 1999 I had the privilege to work with inner city kids from from New York projects as a summer camp counsellor. Very touching experience, while I was in Goma I also visited Heal Africa projects I think they are doing a great Job and I hope unicef will continue to support them.
I would also recommend a movie called "Lumo" that was filmed in the Heal Africa hospital in Goma.
Hope you enjoy the experience in Goma, and as a Unicef ambassador I hope your presence will create new projects that will change the lives of those kids for much better.
God bless you!
Paul
Posted by Paul Ng | June 15, 2007 5:02 AM
Posted on June 15, 2007 05:02
It is astounding to know that the horrors of war are affecting our children in such brutal ways. And even more alarming is that the media in the US does not seem to give enough attention to what's going on in such places as the DRC. To read about it is daunting, but to watch the videos and see the children's faces, you know there is hope, that continued action must take place.
Thanks to Lucy for taking us there.
God bless all children.
Posted by Gina Ahn-Cooper | June 19, 2007 8:35 PM
Posted on June 19, 2007 20:35
well done! central africa definitely needs more exposure...movie stars are good at giving that! all the best,
allen
Posted by Allen Wilder | June 23, 2007 4:21 AM
Posted on June 23, 2007 04:21
Earth quake is a natural calamity but as humans our thoughts should be to heal the injuries of people with love and donate something or cut our monthly income a little for these human counterparts: it shows us the love and the meaning of humanity. Politics and manmade lines are nothing; love is the great ammunation which flush all these lines by its super natural power, so be one and only one to support humanity.
Sheikh Mujeeb Ali
New Delhi 24 India
Posted by Sheikh Mujeeb Ali | August 18, 2007 2:30 AM
Posted on August 18, 2007 02:30