The Gilroy Public Library will be showing a documentary, “Lumo,” which gives a face and a name to women abuse issues in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Known as the “rape capital of the world,” according the HEAL Africa organization, the Democratic Republic of Congo has seen the rise of rape as a weapon of war in recent years.
The film will be shown at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 9. The program will include information about HEAL Africa, an organization renowned for its work in combating sexual violence.
“A lot of humanitarian work is like mopping up around a leaky faucet. We are trying to fix the leak at the tap,” said Dr. Kasereka “Jo” Lusi, founder of HEAL Africa.
HEAL Africa treats survivors of gender-based violence and also provides psychosocial care, education, vocational training, and micro-grants. The organization has trained more than 360 counselors and assisted more than 15,000 survivors of sexual violence. HEAL Africa also works with local and religious leaders to challenge villages to view sexual violence as a community issue and not just a women’s issue.
HEAL has drawn recognition from New York Times columnist Nick Kristof, actors Ben Affleck and George Clooney, CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki Moon.
For more information, go to the HEAL Africa website at www.healafrica.org or send an email to [email protected].
