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ENLARGE
Editor's note: This story mentions specific acts of violence in Congo and therefore may not be appropriate for all ages. However, we urge adults to inform themselves about “the largest war that no one has heard of” by reading this story and visiting listed websites.
Approximately 1,400 people in Democratic Republic of Congo have died every single day for the last 14 years (and counting) in what Oprah and others call “the largest war that no one has heard of.” For Breckenridge resident Jenny Murphy, the murders — 1,400 of which happened today — are just too devastating to ignore.
From the list of ski towns Murphy has lived in for the last couple of decades — Aspen, Telluride, Crested Butte, and now, Breckenridge — you might think her priority is skiing. And it is, to a point. She moved to Aspen for seven years, right out of college, worked as a restaurant manager and concierge, then headed to Telluride to work for the mountain's ski and snowboard club for seven years, where she met her husband, Bobby, a ski school director.
He now works as the director of skier services at Keystone, and Murphy is a stay-at-home mom, helping raise their 7- and 3-year-olds. She always has been involved in the community, be it through the school system or volunteering for Meals on Wheels.
But, last year, after reading “Half the Sky” by Nicholas Kristof, a book about how women are marginalized and abused through forced prostitution, mass rape and maternal mortality, Murphy felt compelled to do something.
“In the United States, we are so lucky to live here, and it's kind of part of our responsibility to reach out around the world,” she said. “…If all of these women who are beaten down can (pick themselves up through grassroots organizations), I can at least do something. I can't just whip out my checkbook (and give a huge sum), but I can raise awareness and help be a voice.”
The thing is, she just wasn't sure exactly where to start. But she recalled an Oprah interview with Lisa Shannon, author of “A Thousand Sisters” and founder of Run for Congo Women, which raises money for Congo women internationally. Shannon talked about how, after the Rwandan genocide, perpetrators escaped to neighboring Congo, where minerals, particularly those essential to technologies such as cell phones and other electronics, lie in abundance. The Rwandan rebels produce huge sums of money illegally mining minerals, especially tin and coltan, which ends up in beer cans and cell phones. The rebels control natives by terrorizing them, mostly through rape and murder.
“(The war) seems to be especially harsh on women,” Murphy said.
Just last week, Rwandan rebels raped at least 179 women in Congo. The graphic details, reported in The New York Times, are absolutely atrocious.
Murphy began sponsoring a woman in Congo, but she wanted to do more. She began researching the war and met a man, through Facebook, who lived in Eastern Congo. She's the first to admit how naïve, and perhaps even dangerous befriending someone you don't know through the Internet can be, and as she tells the story, she stresses how cautious she was. But the more she looked into his causes and claims, the more convinced she became.
As it turns out, she “stumbled across” Dominique Bikaba, the director of the Pole Pole Foundation, based in the Kahuzi-Biega National Park. He strives to build schools, pay teachers, reintegrate displaced indigenous families, protect endangered species (most notably the Eastern Lowland gorilla) and support reforestation efforts.
As they conversed through Facebook, she found out he was coming to Washington, D.C., to speak to Congress in early May. Murphy e-mailed Shannon to tell her, but Shannon already knew the man and had planned to meet him in D.C. Murphy couldn't imagine how she'd make the trip, but she finally booked a red-eye flight to spend 36 hours in the nation's Capitol, attending a Congressional hearing, meeting with part of the Congregational Delegation and discussing the war with Sen. Udall, then taking a red-eye train ride to New York City to talk to Bikaba.
After he explained how his organization worked, she asked him what he specifically needed, and “he was just amazed that people cared,” she said.
Pole Pole runs two elementary schools and one secondary school and conducts outreach programs to 21 other schools. Its most pressing need is money to pay teachers' salaries and build six classrooms. For salaries, he needs $6,500, and when Murphy heard that, she knew she could raise the money. To do so, she's raising awareness and starting a “personal fundraiser” by sending out donation requests of $25 to $50 with her Christmas cards this year. She also held a dinner with good friends of hers in Telluride. So far, she's collected $3,200.
“The teachers are just amazed that people care. They can't believe that one person is doing this — even though a lot of people are doing this, because they're giving their money,” she said. “I think education is the root of everything good. You can't start to solve problems unless you can educate everybody — adults and children.
She's also searching for grants and reaching out to organizations, such as Global Giving and Vitamin Angels to support Pole Pole.
As she tells people about Pole Pole's cause, her face lights up and her entire body surges with energy. But beneath that is a heavy sadness and deep desire to create positive change.
“(What resonates) are the horrible atrocities focused on women and kids,” she said. “They're hunted down, and women and kids are especially vulnerable. I keep putting myself in that position with my children … I can't imagine going to bed at night not knowing if my children and I would be safe through the night. You have to throw someone like this a lifeline.”
Approximately 1,400 people in Democratic Republic of Congo have died every single day for the last 14 years (and counting) in what Oprah and others call “the largest war that no one has heard of.” For Breckenridge resident Jenny Murphy, the murders — 1,400 of which happened today — are just too devastating to ignore.
From the list of ski towns Murphy has lived in for the last couple of decades — Aspen, Telluride, Crested Butte, and now, Breckenridge — you might think her priority is skiing. And it is, to a point. She moved to Aspen for seven years, right out of college, worked as a restaurant manager and concierge, then headed to Telluride to work for the mountain's ski and snowboard club for seven years, where she met her husband, Bobby, a ski school director.
He now works as the director of skier services at Keystone, and Murphy is a stay-at-home mom, helping raise their 7- and 3-year-olds. She always has been involved in the community, be it through the school system or volunteering for Meals on Wheels.
But, last year, after reading “Half the Sky” by Nicholas Kristof, a book about how women are marginalized and abused through forced prostitution, mass rape and maternal mortality, Murphy felt compelled to do something.
“In the United States, we are so lucky to live here, and it's kind of part of our responsibility to reach out around the world,” she said. “…If all of these women who are beaten down can (pick themselves up through grassroots organizations), I can at least do something. I can't just whip out my checkbook (and give a huge sum), but I can raise awareness and help be a voice.”
The thing is, she just wasn't sure exactly where to start. But she recalled an Oprah interview with Lisa Shannon, author of “A Thousand Sisters” and founder of Run for Congo Women, which raises money for Congo women internationally. Shannon talked about how, after the Rwandan genocide, perpetrators escaped to neighboring Congo, where minerals, particularly those essential to technologies such as cell phones and other electronics, lie in abundance. The Rwandan rebels produce huge sums of money illegally mining minerals, especially tin and coltan, which ends up in beer cans and cell phones. The rebels control natives by terrorizing them, mostly through rape and murder.
“(The war) seems to be especially harsh on women,” Murphy said.
Just last week, Rwandan rebels raped at least 179 women in Congo. The graphic details, reported in The New York Times, are absolutely atrocious.
Murphy began sponsoring a woman in Congo, but she wanted to do more. She began researching the war and met a man, through Facebook, who lived in Eastern Congo. She's the first to admit how naïve, and perhaps even dangerous befriending someone you don't know through the Internet can be, and as she tells the story, she stresses how cautious she was. But the more she looked into his causes and claims, the more convinced she became.
As it turns out, she “stumbled across” Dominique Bikaba, the director of the Pole Pole Foundation, based in the Kahuzi-Biega National Park. He strives to build schools, pay teachers, reintegrate displaced indigenous families, protect endangered species (most notably the Eastern Lowland gorilla) and support reforestation efforts.
As they conversed through Facebook, she found out he was coming to Washington, D.C., to speak to Congress in early May. Murphy e-mailed Shannon to tell her, but Shannon already knew the man and had planned to meet him in D.C. Murphy couldn't imagine how she'd make the trip, but she finally booked a red-eye flight to spend 36 hours in the nation's Capitol, attending a Congressional hearing, meeting with part of the Congregational Delegation and discussing the war with Sen. Udall, then taking a red-eye train ride to New York City to talk to Bikaba.
After he explained how his organization worked, she asked him what he specifically needed, and “he was just amazed that people cared,” she said.
Pole Pole runs two elementary schools and one secondary school and conducts outreach programs to 21 other schools. Its most pressing need is money to pay teachers' salaries and build six classrooms. For salaries, he needs $6,500, and when Murphy heard that, she knew she could raise the money. To do so, she's raising awareness and starting a “personal fundraiser” by sending out donation requests of $25 to $50 with her Christmas cards this year. She also held a dinner with good friends of hers in Telluride. So far, she's collected $3,200.
“The teachers are just amazed that people care. They can't believe that one person is doing this — even though a lot of people are doing this, because they're giving their money,” she said. “I think education is the root of everything good. You can't start to solve problems unless you can educate everybody — adults and children.
She's also searching for grants and reaching out to organizations, such as Global Giving and Vitamin Angels to support Pole Pole.
As she tells people about Pole Pole's cause, her face lights up and her entire body surges with energy. But beneath that is a heavy sadness and deep desire to create positive change.
“(What resonates) are the horrible atrocities focused on women and kids,” she said. “They're hunted down, and women and kids are especially vulnerable. I keep putting myself in that position with my children … I can't imagine going to bed at night not knowing if my children and I would be safe through the night. You have to throw someone like this a lifeline.”
