About 100 people gathered Saturday in Grand Rapids to participate in a rally and march in support of women and girls in the Congo. A "Walk Against Violence for Women & Children" was organized by the African Center of West Michigan. Organizers said that they hope to raise awareness about the brutality that women and girls are suffering in the Congo and to raise money to support projects to help heal those who have been raped.

Systemic rape of women in the Congo has been well documented in recent years and has been carried out by both the government military forces and armed militias. There has been an organized campaign to stop the rape of Congelese women and girls for several years, campaigns like the one organized by the international group V-Day. The march in Grand Rapids was a local action that is part of this larger international effort.

A few opening remarks were made by one of the organizers, a refugee from the Congo, Mr. Yaka Kamungi. He spoke in English and Swahili, his native language, especially since half the crowd were refugees from the Congo, Kenya, Somalia, and Burundi. After the opening comments the crowd marched towards downtown on Wealthy Street and made a loop back on Cherry. Those driving by in cars, sitting on porches, and walking by showed tremendous support for the marches who carried signs that had statements like "End rape in the Congo."

The marches gathered back at the rally site to hear comments from a local African minister, a representative of the YWCA, and Jeannette Kabanda, a Congelese woman who has been part of several human rights trips to her home country. Jeannette said that what Congelese women have suffered begins for many of them when they are girls. Sometimes the soldiers for mothers to have sex with their sons, only to beat and murder the entire family afterwards. The speaker also stated that if women resist being raped they will be mutilated. Jeannette said that the US needs to pressure the government of the Congo to investigate these crimes and to bring the perpetrators to justice.

The funds that were raised at the rally will be used for programs that will provide "basic needs, trauma counseling, job training and health education to the women who have been victimized." Several of the speakers mentioned that one of the many consequences of rape in the Congo is that a large number of women have become infected with HIV/AIDS, which further isolates these women from their communities.

If anyone is interested in supporting the work of the African Community Center to raise funds for the women of the Congo, they are welcomed to stop by their office at 1019 Wealthy SE, in Grand Rapids.