Brief overview of Republic of congo
Official Name: Republic of Congo
Capital : Brazzaville Geography
Area: 342,000 sq. km (132,000 sq. mi.); slightly larger than New Mexico.
Cities: Capital--Brazzaville (pop. 800,000). Other cities--Pointe-Noire (450,000), Dolisie (150,000).
Climate: Tropical. Tropical jungle in the North (country seasonally split--half lies above the Equator; half below the Equator).
Terrain: Coastal plains, fertile valleys, central plateau, forested flood plains. Republic of Congo share boaders with Democratic Replublic of Congo,Angola,Cental Africa Republic, Gabon and Cameroun. People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Congolese (sing. and pl.).
Population (July 2007 est.): 3,800,610.
Annual growth rate (2007 est.): 2.639%.
Ethnic groups: 15 principal Bantu groups; more than 70 subgroups. Largest groups are Bacongo, Vili, Bateke, M'Bochi, and Sangha. Also present is a small population (less than 100,000) of Pygmies, ethnically unrelated to the Bantu majority.
Religions: Traditional beliefs 50%, Roman Catholic 35%, other Christian 15%, Muslim 2%.
Languages: French (official), Lingala and Munukutuba (national).
Health: Infant mortality rate (2007 est.)--83.26 deaths/1,000 live births. Life expectancy (2007 est.)--53.29 yrs.
Work force: About 40% of population, two-thirds of whom work in agriculture. Government
Type: Republic.
Independence: August 15, 1960.
Constitution: New constitution adopted in nationwide referendum on January 20, 2002.
Branches: Executive--president (chief of state), Council of Ministers (cabinet). Legislative--bicameral legislature made up of a Senate and a National Assembly. Judicial--Supreme Court, Court of Accounts and Budgetary Discipline, Courts of Appeal (Title VIII of the 2002 constitution), and the Constitutional Court(Title IX of the 2002 constitution). Other--Economic Council and Human Rights Commission.
Administrative subdivisions: 10 departments, divided into districts, plus the capital district.
Political parties: More than 100 new parties formed (but not all function) since multi-party democracy was introduced in 1990. The largest are the Pan-African Union for Social Democracy (UPADS), Congolese Labor Party (PCT), Congolese Movement for Democracy and Integral Development (MCDDI), Coalition for Democracy and Social Progress (RDPS), Coalition for Democracy and Development (RDD), Union of Democratic Forces (UFD), Union of Democratic Renewal (URD), Union for Development and Social Progress (UDPS). Following the June-October 1997 war and the 1998-99 civil conflict, many parties, including UPADS and MCDDI, were left in disarray as their leadership fled the country. By 2002, many of the leaders had returned, with several notable exceptions--including former Presidents Pascal Lissouba and Joachim Yhomby-Opango.
Suffrage: Universal adult. Economy
GDP (2006 est.): $5.093 billion.
Real GDP growth rate (2006 est.): 6%.
Per capita income (2003): $700.
Natural resources: Petroleum, wood, potash, lead, zinc, uranium, phosphates, natural gas, hydropower.
Structure of production (2001): Government and services--40.3%; petroleum sector--38.9%; agriculture and forestry--10.5%; utilities and industry--6.0%; other--4.3%.
Agriculture: Products--manioc, sugar, rice, corn, peanuts, vegetables, coffee, cocoa, forest products. Land--less than 2% cultivated.
Trade (2006 est.): Exports--$5.996 billion (f.o.b.): petroleum (89% of export earnings), lumber, plywood, sugar, cocoa, coffee, diamonds. Imports--$1.964 billion (f.o.b.): capital equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs. PEOPLE
Congo's sparse population is concentrated in the southwestern portion of the country, leaving the vast areas of tropical jungle in the north virtually uninhabited. Thus, Congo is one of the most urbanized countries in Africa, with 70% of its total population living in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, or along the 332-mile railway that connects them. In southern rural areas, industrial and commercial activity suffered as a consequence of the civil wars in the late 1990s. Except in Kouilou province and Pointe Noire, commercial activity other than subsistence activity came nearly to a halt. A slow recovery began in 2000.
However, Congo's democratic progress was derailed in 1997. As presidential elections scheduled for July 1997 approached, tensions between the Lissouba and Sassou-Nguesso camps mounted. When President Lissouba's government forces surrounded Sassou-Nguesso's compound in Brazzaville with armored vehicles on June 5, Sassou-Nguesso ordered his militia to resist. Thus began a 4-month conflict that destroyed or damaged much of Brazzaville. In early October, Angolan troops invaded Congo on the side of Sassou-Nguesso and, in mid-October, the Lissouba government fell. Soon thereafter, Sassou-Nguesso declared himself President and named a 33-member government.
In January 1998, the Sassou-Nguesso regime held a
National Forum for Reconciliation to determine the nature and duration of the transition period. The forum, tightly controlled by the government, decided elections should be held in about 3 years, elected a transition advisory legislature, and announced that a constitutional convention would finalize a draft constitution. However, the eruption in late 1998 of fighting between Sassou-Nguesso's government forces and a pro-Lissouba and pro-Kolelas armed opposition disrupted the transition to democracy. This new violence also closed the economically vital Brazzaville-Pointe Noire railroad, caused great destruction and loss of life in southern Brazzaville and in the Pool, Bouenza, and Niari regions, and displaced hundreds of thousands of persons. In November and December 1999, the government signed agreements with representatives of many, though not all, of the rebel groups. History :
There is a myth in the Africans culture “do not tell in order not to shame the family (community)" Violence is hidden because pride. It is even worse in such that when it happened where there is no resources to seek help.
Violence by definition:" intense physical force that causes or is intended to cause injury or destruction" I like the part of “destruction" the focus here is not just physical. There is”destruction" emotionally, mentally and spiritually.
What causes Violence’s?
There are many causes to name few:
Lack of education, unstable family systems, frequent civil wars, unstable gorvernance,
Poverty, economy, unemployment, conflict, homelessness
Why are these children on the street?
Cruelty& Abuse, Neglect, Divorce, Economy, Peer influence, Loss,Accused of witch craft and other situations.
Congolese has been experiencing many set back in every areas; economic, education, family stability system and more. The Republic of Congo ( Brazzaville) had numerous civil wars and changes in the leadership addition to economic, health, environment, family system, social, and poverty.
Due to the above situations, it is imperative that this program function at full capacity at the large affected community of Pointe-Noire ( Congo). This community was chosen for the reason that the area is the center with great concentration of Orphans Street Children and Adolescents who are trying to survive by highly visible prostitution, stealing, child labor which in the end causing violence, HIV/AIDS as resulted to greatly affect this population in this community. Lack of resources has greatly re-victimize children left behind after war.
Kalunga program was created in 2008 by Anne-marie Wamba with the help of others non- profit organizations in USA,Brazil and Congo. This program is primarily set up to serve people of Congo. The focus is for Street Children and Adolescents Orphans affected by war conflict in the Republic of Congo/ Brazzaville who are also at high risk for HIV/AIDS. Kalunga is set up to provide Street Children/Orphans meet basic needs as they are trying to heal the wounds in every sense of the way. The basic needs; such as food, shelter, clothing etc. Addition to these very basic needs, the program will also provide education, vocational training to youth, advocacy, conflict resolution skills, psycho-social skills, counseling as well as referral services to other resources in the respective community.
Kalunga Program will primarily have an impact toward Congolese community at large.
1. For Congolese Children and Adolescents, the program is a place where someone who is cultural sensitive, caring to respond to their basic needs and to direct them to explore other ways of dealing with problems and situations.
2. For the Congolese community, the program is an opportunity to work together to become equipped with skills that will help them deal with those children. And work to empowered Orphans Street Children and Adolescents through education and awareness against violent behavior as well as other complex issues they might encounter in the lives. The program will help facilitate the integration into families, the work force and community
MISSION:
Our mission is to provide Street /Orphans children and adolescents a Place to Heal.
VISION:
The children who walk through our doors at the Kalunga are often stressed beyond their years, having lived through and seen what no one, regardless of age, should have to. To them, childhood consisted of living to survive rather than living to laugh, learn, wiggle, and dance. They were often forced to prostitution in order to survive daily. These children come as exhausted, battered little souls who need a safe place to grief, heal and be loved.
The Kalunga becomes home for these children. Staff/volunteers and other children become their family. The Kalunga Program is a place for children and adolescents age 6 to 16 years old to heal physically and emotionally until safe haven or other permanent care can be secured. The children may remain at the Kalunga for a few weeks or possibly even a year. Every child receives medical, eye, and dental exams to determine his/her medical care needs in coordination with hospitals and clinics in the area.
The children's emotional healing begins through crisis intervention the moment they enter the program. The use of Art therapy,is one of the form of therapy for children younger than 10, proven to be a big help for the children who are suffering with post- trauma. The children love doing art projects; to the children, they are just coloring and creating, but the art work they create is a critical piece of information that reflects a child's thoughts and emotional problems.
We at The Kalunga Program believe that education can be a strong salve for healing, giving the children the tools and confidence while they move on their own. Kalunga program also provide support in overcoming barriers to succeed and to cope with difficult realities of daily life.
National Forum for Reconciliation to determine |
