About the appeal

The Babes in Arms Congo Appeal aims to create awareness, and to raise funds to make a practical, and emotional difference to the lives of women and children in the eastern part of Congo. Donations go towards medical supplies, hospital fees, food, clothes and accommodation shelter for women and children in crisis; crisis counselling for raped victims; education for abandoned children.

The Appeal is headed by Leah Chishugi who describes herself as a survivor of the Rwandan genocide. Now 34, she grew up in eastern Congo but by 16 she had moved to Kigali, the Rwandan capital, to find work as a model, later marrying and having a son. In 1994 she was caught up in the conflict and wounded, and her father was killed. She escaped only after being left for dead under a pile of corpses, fleeing to Uganda, and later South Africa and the UK, where she was granted asylum.

It was this summer, after the death of her mother, whom Chishugi, 34, describes as “the biggest supporter of the women in the east part of Congo”, that she decided to return to record women’s experiences in the lawless region. “It is not normal for women to suffer so much,” she says. “We have to refuse to allow this suffering to continue.” She says she is the first person from “the outside world” to reach the villages, thanks to her ability to blend in with locals - she speaks 15 African languages.

Visits to Kinshasa, the Congolese capital, and a meeting with the Rwandan president, Paul Kagame, have convinced her that neither government is concerned about the women’s situations.

“I am not a politician but I want to let the world know what is going on. I believe that Kagame, [Joseph] Kabila [the Congolese president] and [Laurent] Nkunda [the Tutsi rebel leader] all know exactly what is going on.”

“I am grateful to have my life, grateful to have a roof over my head and grateful to live in Europe. I want to fundraise to help these women and take back medical supplies. I am a survivor of genocide and this trip has changed me. It made me see that because I had to chance to survive now I have a chance to change things for other people who are suffering.”

Information on the suffering can be found on:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/dec/05/rwanda-congo-genocide-rape