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ECI News

ECI News April 1, 2016

An Education to Empower Women in eastern Congo

Eastern Congo Initiative 

When Christian Bilingual University of Congo alumni Francine Nabintu grew up in eastern Congo, she never thought she would one day be selected for the McCain Institute’s prestigious fellowship program “Next Generation Leaders” that would offer her the career she had always dreamt of.

Raptors’ Biyombo Hopes Boards Help Build in Congo

Chris O’Leary | Toronto Star

Almost two weeks after setting a franchise-record with 25 rebounds in a game, Biyombo will use Wednesday’s date with the Atlanta Hawks to donate $1,000 for every rebound he gets. He’s encouraging fans to give online while he plays (https://pledgeit.org/bismack ), with funds being donated to actor Ben Affleck’s Eastern Congo Initiative, which helps children in his home country by having new schools built.

Congo’s Ruling Coalition Wins Landslide in Vote for Governors

Tom Wilson | Bloomberg News

Candidates from the ruling party in the Democratic Republic of Congo were elected on Saturday as governors and deputy governors in 14 of the nation’s 21 newly drawn provinces. The ruling coalition, known as the Presidential Majority, won in all but five of the new provinces, said the Independent National Electoral Commission, or CENI, in a statement e-mailed from the capital, Kinshasa.

Another Year of MONUSCO Operations Approved

DefenseWeb

The United Nations’ largest peacekeeping mission – MONUSCO in the Democratic Republic of Congo  – has had its mandate extended for another year by the Security Council. In its statement announcing the extension of MONUSCO, the Security Council warned the humanitarian situation in the massive Central African country remained a great concern along with delays in preparation for planned presidential elections in November.

Congo’s Soccer Players Get Cars. Its Rape Victims Get Nothing

Lauren Wolfe | Foreign Policy

Cases of rape in North and South Kivu, both in eastern Congo, also resulted in court-ordered payments of reparations to victims in 2012, according to Julienne Lusenge, head of Female Solidarity for Integrated Peace and Development (SOFEPADI), a coalition of Congolese women’s rights groups. But the ministries of budget, finance, and justice — all of which must sign off on reparations to rape victims — have dragged their feet on the payouts, alternately requesting additional copies of court orders and disputing their veracity, Lusenge said.