Change the Equation for Congo
Dear Friend,
During the last several months we've asked for your help to create real change on the issue of Congo's conflict minerals. Never before has our request been more urgent than now. Critical language requiring conflict minerals accountability is part of the financial reform legislation currently being finalized by Congress. The fate of this conflict minerals language will likely be decided over the next 48 hours.
Despite tech industry support and strong bi-partisan support of the language and the legislation it's derived from, manufacturing and retail industry groups are lobbying hard to have it removed. Now is the time for you and the grassroots movement to stand up against corporate lobbyists. Even though tech companies have admitted it would cost one penny per product to ensure a conflict-free supply chain, lobbyists for manufacturing companies continue to argue that even this penny is too expensive.
Today we're urgently asking you to spend a few minutes to get key members of the Congressional conference committee to support the language (this is the group responsible for deciding the final fate of the legislation.) Each of the members below is of high strategic value to ensuring the conflict minerals language stays in the legislation.
TAKE ACTION TODAY ON FACEBOOK
We need to ensure that the following members use their influence to keep the conflict minerals language in the legislation:
Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)
Senator Bob Corker (R-TN)
Please click on the links above to visit their Facebook pages. Click the "Like" button at the top, and then post a message asking for their support of the legislation. On Senator Lincoln's page, you will need to place your comment on her most recent post, because she doesn't allow feedback otherwise. We've drafted a sample for you to work from, but please feel free to customize your own if you would like:
"Senator {Insert Name}, please join a bi-partisan group of Senators in fighting to keep the Congo conflict minerals language in the financial reform bill. The tech industry estimates it would cost less than a penny per product to guarantee that their products are free of conflict minerals."
Without strong grassroots support, industry groups might succeed in undoing the progress you've made to end the trade in conflict minerals and bring peace to the people of Congo. Join us today and thank you for your urgent support at this critical time.
Sincerely,
Jenny Russell
Advocacy Director
Enough Project
P.S. If you do not use Facebook, or want to take further action, please contact the Senators' offices directly:
Senator Lincoln - Contact Elizabeth Burks - 202.224.4843
Senator Corker - Contact Courtney Geduldig - 202.224.3344
Monday, June 21, 2010
Friday, June 11, 2010
Thursday, June 10, 2010
June 12th Benefit for Ntaboba's New Leg!
Ntaboba is a little boy whose leg was blown up by a hand grenade explosion when he was 3 years old. He is 8-years old now and uses a metal rod as a crutch to walk to school each day. He is a an excellent student, and he never misses a day of school.
When Margaret saw Ntaboba, her heart broke. Watching him walk, she realized that his spine was becoming deformed by his dependence on the rod; his little body twisted unnaturally with each small step as he struggled to keep his balance. But without the rod, he could not get to school . . . and not attending school was never an option for this bright child.
Margaret and Betty decided to help Ntaboba. Back home in Rhode Island, they contacted doctors who volunteered to do the surgery and donate his hospital stay and prosthesis. But the procedure will take up to two months, so he must stay in the US while recovering from the first surgery before receiving his new leg. Arrangements have been made for a family friend to accompany him, as his mother cannot leave her other children that long.
The Benefit Yard Sale is being held this Saturday, June 12th, in Kingston Rhode Island by Julia Riordan Scherer. An artist of some renown, she will donate the proceeds to transportation costs for Ntaboba and his traveling companion.
The Benefit address: 1577 South Road Kingston, Rhode Island 02881 9am - 4pm
Or you can send a check to: ECW PO Box 60940, Santa Barbara CA, 93111. Please write "Ntaboba" on check.
With love and gratitude,
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Margaret and Betty arrive in Bukavu
Two friends of mine from Rhode Island traveled to Bukavu in mid-April and stayed for 2 weeks. Their purpose in coming was to benefit Ushindi Center by making 100 dolls for sale at Waldorf schools in the US. . . and to see the gorillas in Kahuzi-Biega Park, both big goals which they accomplished with aplomb!
The ladies hit the ground running on Monday after their arrival.
While Betty greeted the Ushindi women, Margaret lent a hand fixing the soap cutting table.
The women, both Congolese and American, took time that day to get to know each other.
Margaret learned she couldn't lift with two hands the pan of avocados and bananas that Juliene carries on her head every day to market,
but she found consolation holding baby Victoria.
Then they got to work explaining the project to the Ushindi women. The intention was to cut, sew and assemble 100 dolls in the two weeks the Americans would be in Bukavu. Then we would pack the dolls back with us to sell at Waldorf schools in Rhode Island, where Betty and Margaret are both involved with Waldorf schools.
Here Betty explains the project while Bonaventura Muzigiri translates English into the local language, Mashi. Bony became indispensible to the project, not only intrepreting but cutting fabric, holding baby Victoria, and writing in beautiful calligraphic script each woman's name on the doll's tags.
Betty, Margaret and I had all brought huge suitcases crammed with materials to make the dolls-- 8 colors of flannel, thread, needles, pins, material for the heads, and bundles of stuffing. It was an ambitious project, but the Ushindi women had been honing their sewing skills making practice dolls. None of us were sure we could do it, but we were all willing to give it a try!
PS Margaret was finally able to lift the bananas on top of her head, but there was no way she could balance them!
With love and gratitude,
Saboni Ushindi
Chantal and I in the soap making room
Saboni means "soap" in Swahili. In March, I enlisted Chantal, who is a chemistry teacher and a very smart lady, to teach the women at Ushindi Center how to make soap. They had asked to learn the craft, because they can sell bars of soap in their neighborhoods for a profit.
Although there are only 4 ingredients used in soap making, it isn't all that simple a process.
To begin with, the palm oil, which is the basis of soap, must be boiled several times and stirred in the correct direction for the soap to have the desired consistency. The charcoal stove is wobbly, the pot of oil is heavy and difficult to move, and the fumes are debilitating (they irritate your lungs big time, so the women are instructed to wear masks-- Chantal was modeling here for me).
Chantal steadies the boiling oil, then later takes it off the heat
After the palm oil and caustic (for cleaning) are properly cooked, color and scent additives are stirred in, and the mixture is poured into a mold to cool. When it is firm, the block is put on the cutting table and sliced into bars, not an easy job.
We later discovered that the cutting table had not been constructed properly-- the edge boards were not square, and the cutting wire was too loose-- with the end result being irregularly shaped bars of soap.
Nonetheless, the Ushindi women sold all the bars quickly for a small profit, but we are still working to make the soap a better product. New molds have been built and the table made more servicable. Chantal added a secret ingredient which makes the soap clean and rinse more effectively. . . and we are having a stamp made that brands each bar with the name USHINDI so we stand out in the market. Soap anyone?
With love and gratitude,
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