A HERO

Maman M. is one of the most inspiring people I have ever met. She is an example of determination and an activist to the heart. She compensates what little financial means she has with an incredible amount of energy towards advocating women's right in the DRC. Maman M. has dedicated all her life to young girls and women of Kinshasa and has made a lot of sacrifice to the benefit of what she truly believes in.

I first met her when I arrived in Kinshasa. She is the director of a local NGO with which we are working in partnership. The vision of CADE, the local NGO, is to become a reference for all matters related to the empowerment of women in the district where they are located. Maman M. has never been to university, she has no higher education degree but she is a reference in terms of women's rights. After years of activism, she has acquired skills such as counseling for women victims of violence, awareness raising, public speaking and rights advocacy. She has built a large network of resource people all around Kinshasa.

She has dedicated most of her time to a technical training center where young girls and young women of the area are trained in dressmaking or hairdressing. In addition to these skills, they also receive basic literacy classes. Initially she had no space to use as a training center so she went to see the local authorities and battled her way through the bureaucracy and convinced them to give her a small plot of land where she built a two rooms building. One room is used as an office and the other one if used as a classroom. It is small and tight and when it gets really hot here and it is packed with learners, the heat can get unbearable. Nevertheless, young girls keep coming to register and are eager to learn a much valued skills in Kinshasa.

The other project that she is working on is focused on raising women's awareness on the importance of actively participating in the management and the political life of their district. She dreams of an open forum where women could gather and discuss various issues related to their rights and duties as citizens of the D.R Congo. Another issue which she advocates is women's access to land. She is working with a group of women who do not own any land. To survive, they have to cultivate land that belongs to other people. They can then keep some of the crops. Unfortunately to give access to that land, the owners , all men, demand that the women become their sexual partners.

As a development agent working for an international NGO, I am guaranteed decent living conditions and a decent salary. I dream of changing the world. My work is made easier because I have access to a car, a computer, the Internet. I go on holiday once a year and I have health insurance. Maman M. has none of that but with just her energy and determination she does so much more and brings change to the world step by step. Every day, I am humbled and inspired by her. She is a hero.