Louise Bashige (left) of IMA World Health and Salma Elkadi Abugideiri from the Peaceful Families Project, pictured at the #FaithvsSGBV panel at the UN Commission on the Status of Women, 12 March 2014.
By Cassie Clemmer, WeWillSpeakOut.US Intern
IMA World Health’s sexual and gender based violence (SGBV) technical advisor for DR Congo, Louise Bashige, made her first visit to the United States earlier this month with a less-than-warm welcome from the DC weather! But regardless of the unseasonal snow, it was an absolute honor to be able to spend time with this wonderfully passionate and strong Congolese sister.
For those of you who are not aware of Louise’s work, she is an incredible woman who heads up IMA World Health’s USHINDI project in Eastern Congo. The project works with a holistic approach (medical, psychosocial, legal, socio economical reinsertion and community mobilization) to tackle sexual and gender based violence. Ms. Bashige is in charge of the project quality, designing strategies and capacity building and has 30 years of experience working in communities, especially capacity building in areas of gender and justice, security, protection and women’s empowerment. Ms. Bashige has a UD in Public Health and Health Promotion from the School of Public Health of Nancy in France and a degree in financial and administrative studies in DRC.
She came to the United States to shed light on the atrocities of SGBV in Eastern Congo as well as to provide hope for the positive direction we’re headed towards supporting national, community, and individual healing. Beyond the impressive details of her work, Louise also came to remind us that sexual and gender based violence is not simply a “developing world” issue, but rather reaches its mangled grasp into every population, society, and culture across the globe. As Emily Esworthy commented at the recent Ecumenical Advocacy Days panel, “sexual and gender based violence is an equal opportunity evil.” In this way, Louise’s presence and powerful testimony serve to encourage us at the WeWillSpeakOut.US coalition to reach beyond our current understandings, and continue to push others to recognize the prominence of SGBV in our own communities.
She used her experiences, both personal and professional, to touch audiences at our recent #FaithvsSGBV panel at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, a parallel event on how faith communities are combating sexual and gender based violence that attracted more people than the room could hold. Upon our return from New York, the events kept on rolling, with a community event in Baltimore where she shared stories of success from the USHINDI project and City of Joy as the keynote speaker, followed by a switch in gears for a visit to Capitol Hill. Louise Bashige, Leila Nimatallah, and I met with two Congressional offices: Representative Marino (R-PA) and Representative Weber (R-TX) to introduced IMA and the USHINDI project as well as thank them for their continued and future support of SGBV intervention and response programs.
That weekend, Louise was a featured guest at an event called, “A Taste of Africa” in Frederick, MD. There were about 100 people there, many of whom were former Peace Corps volunteers from all over the DC metro area who knew a lot about Africa and global health, and will serve as great contacts in our future work with IMA, USHINDI and WeWillSpeakOut.US.
Finally, after a well-deserved break with her family in Virginia, she rounded out her trip and continued on to Congo; back to weather that is surely warmer than our own right now. In the whirlwind tour of but a few weeks, Louise brought her incredible charisma, expertise, and experiences to open our eyes to not only what’s happening in Eastern DRCongo, but in our own homes and cities as well. Merci Louise, for your service and knowledge… et à bientôt (until next time).