Mapendo Blog

Rose Mapendo in Minnesota

Mon, 08 Mar, 2010 00:00:00

Mapendo's Ambassador, Rose Mapendo travelled to Duluth, Minnesota to speak to the local community about her experience as a survivor of the genocide in the Congo and her road to forgiveness.

Watch her interview here.

Mapendo Gives Hope to a Desperate Refugee Family

Fri, 26 Feb, 2010 00:00:00

We want to share a story about a family Mapendo is helping and caring for in Nairobi. They had no one to turn to for help until we met them recently.

John* is a 34-year old Congolese married father of eight children. The children are between the ages of 2 – 16 years old. In 2008, he and his family fled their home as a result of ethnic wars. During their flight, his wife was captured, tortured, and raped. She eventually escaped, and they made their way to Nairobi.

In Nairobi, the entire family lives in a tiny room with no access to water or electricity. The room is dirty because they cannot afford water to clean it. The children sleep on the floor using old clothes and rugs as a mattress. Food is often scarce, and the school-aged children bring part of their school lunches home to share with the family for dinner and sometimes for breakfast the next morning.

This was their situation when Mapendo met John and his family. Mapendo is now caring for them. We are providing them with food, bedding, and clothing for the children and will continue to monitor their situation closely.

Mapendo helps families like John’s when they have no one to turn to.

*Name has been changed to protect his identity

Emotional Family Reunion in Kentucky

Wed, 10 Feb, 2010 00:00:00

Six years ago, war in Congo separated Christine from her husband and three children. Last night, Mapendo helped facilitate their reunion in Kentucky - see the video footage from the emotional reunion here!

How to Help in Haiti

Mon, 18 Jan, 2010 00:00:00

The crisis in Haiti following last week's devastating earthquake has shocked and saddened us all. The scale of loss of life, property, and livelihoods is almost inconceivable. While Mapendo does not work directly in Haiti, we wanted to let you know that we are monitoring the crisis and are participating in advocacy efforts to help the Haitian people. Mapendo is a member of a consortium of refugee agencies called Refugee Council USA (RCUSA). Here are a few examples of the advocacy we are engaged in through RCUSA:

- Last week we succeeded in persuading the U.S. Government to grant Temporary Protected Status for Haitians who are already in the U.S. and cannot return home. Haitians are now eligible to remain in the country for 18 months, or until it is determined that Haiti is safe for return. This is estimated to benefit roughly 130,000 people.

- Through RCUSA, we are also advocating for more favorable treatment of Haitians in need of evacuation from Haiti for urgent medical care. The U.S. is allowing some to seek care in the U.S., but on a very restricted basis.

- RCUSA is engaged in contingency planning in the event of mass outflows of refugees from Haiti. Various scenarios for sheltering and caring for large numbers of refugees are being considered - including possible use of the base at Guantanamo, which has been used in the past to temporarily house refugees from Cuba and Haiti.

- Some members of RCUSA are using this new spotlight on Haiti to push for more favorable policies towards Haitian refugees generally. While the U.S. is generous in other aspects of its refugee program, it is notoriously ungenerous where Haiti is concerned. Haitians fleeing to the U.S. by boat are intercepted by the U.S. Coast Guard before they reach our shores and returned to Haiti, in order to prevent them from applying for asylum in the U.S. This is in breach of the 1951 Refugee Convention and the obligations of the U.S. as a signatory to the Convention.

Several of the member agencies of RCUSA are operating on the ground in Haiti to help alleviate the humanitarian crisis, notably the International Rescue Committee and Jesuit Refugee Services. Both of these agencies are well respected and well run, in our experience. Many people have asked us which agencies working in Haiti we would recommend donating to. The two above are among those recommended, as are Partners in Health, Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group, and Doctors Without Borders. One strong recommendation that I would make is whomever you give to, don't earmark the gift for Haiti. Give to the agency's unrestricted funds so that they can use the funds where they see the greatest needs. Earmarking money for a particular crisis can result in wasteful and ineffectual spending and also very lopsided treatment of various crises. Here's an excellent commentary (if you overlook the title) on why it's important to give unrestricted funds.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the Haitian people. Mapendo will continue to join with our Refugee Council colleagues in helping to alleviate the crisis as best we can.

Oxfam: Kenya threatened by new urban disaster

Wed, 06 Jan, 2010 00:00:00

Here's a troubling report (froom 2009) from Oxfam on Nairobi's urbanization:

"The scale of urban poverty in Kenya is something that policymakers can no longer afford to ignore. Between a third and half of the country’s urban population live in poverty. The country is urbanising at such a speed that it is projected to be 50 per cent urban by 2020, and half of all Kenya’s poor will be living in urban areas. In this respect there can be no doubt that poverty itself is rapidly urbanising in Kenya.

Oxfam GB Kenya’s report highlights the mutually reinforcing dimensions of vulnerability in Nairobi’s slums, including the following:

• Urban residents are almost twice as likely to be infected with HIV as their rural counterparts.

• Children in Nairobi’s slums are among the unhealthiest in the country. Over half are likely to suffer acute respiratory infection and almost half under 5 are stunted; moreover they are less likely to be immunised than children elsewhere in Kenya and more prone to diarrhoea and fever."

CBS on How Hollywood Saves the World

Fri, 01 Jan, 2010 00:00:00

Interesting piece from CBS news, see it here...

Great article on Mapendo Advisor Kitty Dukakis

Wed, 25 Nov, 2009 00:00:00

The Boston Globe has a wonderful article on Mapendo's long-time advisor Kitty Dukakis - read it here!

Kitty Dukakis in Newton...

Tue, 24 Nov, 2009 00:00:00

Thanks to everyone who joined Kitty Dukakis and Mapendo at Temple Beth Avodah, in Newton, MA!

Here's the video coverage from NBC 7 News Boston

Please see an article in the Boston Globe on the event here.

Join us in Newton, MA, with Kitty Dukakis on 11/22

Mon, 09 Nov, 2009 00:00:00

Click here for more details!

Anderson Cooper's blog: A Lesson in Forgiveness

Fri, 25 Sep, 2009 00:00:00

Anderson Cooper's AC360 blog showcases Rose Mapendo's amazing story of forgiveness... click the click below for the post!

http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2009/09/25/a-lesson-in-forgiveness/