US Secretary of State at HEAL Africa 2009

On Tuesday, August 11, 2009 Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spent some time at HEAL Africa to listen to patients in the gender-based violence program and hear a panel discussion with various civil society organizations represented.   One of the things she said was, “HEAL Africa is doing amazing work”. WATCH VIDEO  and Personal Letter

HEAL Africa knows that music communicates from the heart, to the heart.nbsp; This video is based on the song written by Prince AgaKhan Balume and sung by MAISHA SOUL, the four Balume brothers’ band.nbsp; They have never left Goma in their lives.nbsp; They have lived through the conflict, the volcano eruption, and experience the continued violence and insecurity, yet their music is full of life and hope.nbsp;

Follow staff members as they visit a widows’ group, or villagers displaced into an IDP camp.nbsp; See the face of a child whose head was hacked by machete, home was burned, siblings killed, and mother shot.nbsp; Her father brought her, her little sister and her mother to HEAL Africa for care.nbsp; They are now living in a refugee camp, unable to return home.nbsp; Their physical wounds are healed.nbsp;  You also visit a house for women, the Wamama Simameni (Women Stand Together) where counselors listen and refer women victims of rape to treatment, or where women come to learn new skills.nbsp; The children are the children of every village who gather when there is something going on. The women you see in the banana fieldsnbsp; are widows from an AMAVESA support group, farming for a living.nbsp; These are all peoplenbsp; of Congo, the heart of Africa, the strength of the future.nbsp;  Listen to the music, watch the faces, and understand why Congo is important, and why peace is necessary.nbsp;

 WATCH VIDEO