Team Congo PDX Cause + Event Rundown

On Saturday, November 16, 2013 Team Congo PDX participated in Cause + Event Portland, a local running/walking event which benefits the charity of the particpant's choice.  Team Congo PDX brought 47 team members to the event, and had participant's entered into both the 10K and 5K run, as well as the 5K walk and virtual walk/run.

Group photo!

$10 of each Team Congo PDX member's registration fee was a direct donation to Women for Women International's Congo program.  In total we raised$545, which is enough to sponsor one woman for one year, plus 40% toward a second one year sponsorship.  This amount represents each team member's registration fee and donations ($470 fees / $75 donations).  

Women for Women International's one year program in Congo provides women (mainly from the east) with job training skills, as well as trauma counseling as most women have been victims of sexual assault/violence, and upon graduation are given a micro loan in order to put their newly learned job skills to use.  (Team Fundraising Page).

It was truly a fun day, and the event was well planned. About 5 months prior to the event Team Congo PDX entered into a friendly side-challenge with Team Angel MS Warriors to see who could bring the largest team.

Team Angel MS Warrior Captain Charlie & Team Congo PDX Captain Amanda

The losing team was to complete an exercise of the winning team's choice. Although Team Congo PDX lost the challenge, The Angel's were great sports & did the 80 some-odd jumping jacks with us pre-race (a great way to get warmed up)!  Rumor has it the challenge is on again for next year (Save the date: 9.13.14 Cause + Event!)

The race course itself was brilliant in that it consisted of several out & backs and so you got to pass by & high five your fellow team mates as you passed by them.  A great way to recharge your running/walking spirit! 

The after-race celebration was also upbeat & much fun.

Team Congo PDX members warming by the heater pre-race

 I enjoyed being able to say hi and thank you to as many Team Congo PDX members as possible, and was inspired at the cross section of our team: co-workers, running friends, fellow activists, high school classmates...

A special thank you to the Never Again Coalition for helping to recruit Team Congo PDX members, and of course the the Cause + Event volunteer race committee, and in particular Race Director Amy Little.

If you'd like to support Team Congo PDX, you can join us for our annual charity group walk/run on International Women's Day (3.8.14): Click here to register.

One Million Bones Inspires Action; Awareness

This past Thursday (4.25), was the One Million Bones (OMB) installation at Portland State University (PSU).  The event was sponsored by Oregon Coalition for Humanity (OCH), Atma Foundation & Oregon Holocaust & Resource Center.

 

OMB is a national public arts project whose aim is to raise awareness of genocides and atrocities going on around the world, this very day in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, South Sudan, Burma and Somalia.  Our April 25th installation focused upon raising awareness about the ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo where nearly 6 million people have died over the past decade due to conflict over control of minerals which wind up in our electronic devices.

 

Bones installed at PSU on 4.25.13.
Photo taken by Denise Wetherell

 

Over the past 6 months students and concerned citizens in Oregon have been gathering to make bones in honor of those whose lives have been lost to these genocides.  These bones, totalling approximately 8,500, were installed on the PSU campus April 25th.  These same bones will also be installed in our National Mall as a part of the national installation this coming June, where an advocacy day is planned for June 10, 2013.

 



PSU students support CFCI!

The OMB installation was coupled with OCH's Conflict Free City Initiative, which is an initiative whose aim is to combine awareness and action as to where the minerals which go into our electronics come from, namely the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  OCH is working to present CFCI to both the cities of Portland and Beaverton. (Click here to learn how you can support CFCI.)

 

Ann Shannon talks to the brownie troop about OMB

April 25th was an inspiring day.  An estimated 500-600 people walked through our installation.  We all had many engaging conversations. Awareness was raised, and we were able to interact with people of all ages, including a Brownie troop who walked by & then came back to help make some more bones out of clay.



We made some good connections with folks in the community, and our panel discussion was informative, and stirred up some good discussion with regard to genocide & human mass atrocity, the policy response, and what we as concerned citizens can do.  In fact, OCH hopes to institute a series of "Activism 101" panel discussions.

 

Our Panel

Top Row (L-R): Amanda Ulrich (OCH, Run for Congo Women); Francesca (From Dungu Congo) & Alysha Atma (OCH, Atma Foundation).

Bottom Row (L-R): Retired Portland State University Professor Greg Goekjian; Anna Canning from Portland's Equal Exchange Co-Op; Professor Clint B.T. Baldwin of George Fox University & Brian Plinski of Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici's Office.

 

What resonated with me the most, however, was a conversation I had with a PSU student who is a veteran of our most recent war with Iraq who is taking his experiences in war to try & leave a positive impact upon the world.  Although it was difficult for him, he shared a very personal story of the first human mass grave he witnessed when initially deployed to Iraq.  Our installation triggered this memory for him, and although he could have simply walked through our installation, he instead decided not to engage, but to also share a very personal, and horrific, memory. It was a moment which hit a deep cord both within himself and me, and is one that will stay with me for quite some time. 

 

The main take away from the day was that remarkably the worst actions of humanity also shine a light on the best parts of humanity. There are always people working for the good of all, and that we must be careful not to succumb to a more cynical and jaded view of the world.   It’s a tough battle, but must be fought.

 

Source: http://www.onemillionbones.org/

Thank you to the Portland State University Alumni Association for covering our event and publishing an alumni profile.

 

Final Stats: Team Congo PDX's Group 10K & 5K Walk/Run - 3.9.13

The final stats are now in for my 2nd Annual Team Congo PDX's Group 10K/5K Walk Run, which was held on Saturday, March 9, 2013 to coincide with International Women's Day.


Participants running (sisters Ann & Carrie)
Photo taken by Alexa Brandt of Fatman Productions: http://fatmanproductions.com/

Participants: 148 (10K:66 / 5K:82)

5Kers starting their route
Photo taken by Alexa Brandt of Fatman Productions: http://fatmanproductions.com/

Funds Raised: $4,806

(Team Congo PDX Page, Rock Creek Multi-Cultural Center & Brenna Kutch)

100% of each participant's registration fee was a donation to Women for Women International's DR Congo program, and the amount above is comprised not only of the registration fees collected, but also of the funds collected the day of the event for the purchase of raffle tickets, as well as donations collected in the months and weeks leading up to the event.

The funds raised are enough sponsor 12 women for one year via Women for Women International's DR Congo Program.  These women will be enrolled in a year-long training program which will give them the skills needed to support themselves and their families.  They will also receive trauma counseling, and at the end of the program will be given a micro loan so that they can begin to support themselves using their newly learned skills.

Volunteer Hours: 

88.5 hours / 21 Volunteers

Volunteers Patrick & Scott check-in participants at Foot Traffic
Photo taken by Alexa Brandt of Fatman Productions: http://fatmanproductions.com/

Volunteer hours were donated in order to ensure that the event went as smoothly as possible, and for that I thank all volunteers!  Volunteers set-up the after-event reception areas, set-up the registration area, ran-registration, directed participants out on the route and helped to clean-up afterwards. 

A special thank you to Patrick Whalen, Starbucks Manager extraordinaire, who worked hard to recruit route volunteers via the Starbucks Community Service Site.

A local massage therapist from Raven Healing Therapies donated her services by offering a 15 minute massage for the participants free-of-charge.  Photographer Alexa Brandt of Fatman Productions donated her services by capturing the day in photos.  I thank them both for the generous donation of their talents.

I also thank the following volunteers: Kayla Smith (event co-coordinator), Kevin Putnam (sponsor), Craig Moore, Ann Shannon, Richa Sehgal, Alysha Atma, Allison (Foot Traffic), Dan, Anna & Hannah and Starbucks volunteers: Scott, Monica, Ramona, Susan, Anna, Sharon & Joseph.

SPONSORS: 5

($3,000 value)

I owe a BIG thank you to all of the event sponsors for without their support, my event would not have been the success it was: Swanson, Thomas, Coon & Newton, Foot Traffic, Diversitech, Starbucks & Great Harvest Bakery. 

My sponsors made it possible to advertise the event, print promotional materials, manage off-line registrations, provide the before and after event gathering spaces, and of course yummy treats to enjoy at the after-event reception. 

Most importantly, however, their sponsorship conveys their commitment to the cause, and for that I am grateful.  

RAFFLE PRIZES: 30+

($500 value)

Over 30 raffle prizes were donated to the event by the following supporters:

Thank you!

Community Support: 8 Groups

At the event were the following community groups: Oregon Coalition for Humanity, Portland's Equal Exchange Co-op, Never Again Coalition, Atma Foundation, Arise for Congo, The Embrace Necklace, & One Million Bones, all of whom sent representatives to table at the event in order to share with participants information about their work related to issues in DR Congo, and to provide information about other ways to become involved in the cause.

Also present in order to lend her support was Sarah Adkins from the Oregon Student Nurses' Association.



Participants making bones for One Million Bones
Photo taken by Alexa Brandt of Fatman Productions: http://fatmanproductions.com/

MORE THANK YOUS

Thank you to all of the participants who came out in support of Run for Congo Women. It was an amazing day, which would not have been possible without your support!  I hope to see you all next year (Save the date: 3.8.14).

I would also like to thank Bonnie Wilson from Run Oregon for taking time out of her busy schedule to participate in the event, and then write an event recap for the Run Oregon blog. Thank you Bonnie!

Bonnie Wilson finishing up the 10K
Photo taken by Alexa Brandt of Fatman Productions: http://fatmanproductions.com/

Thank you to Kayla Smith for helping me with the event--you are an amazing friend and co-event organizer!  Thank you to Kevin Putnam for running the show at the after-event reception, and for your continued support of Run for Congo Women.  Thank you also to Laura Thomas, Downtown manager of Foot Traffic, for your guidance and support. Thank you Jeanne Kraje for your support and reassurance.  And last, but far from least, thank you to my family and coworkers who patiently put up with my over-the-top stress level in the weeks and days leading up to the event.  I will not ever forget your reassuring words and support!

Happy 5K finisher
Photo taken by Alexa Brandt of Fatman Productions: http://fatmanproductions.com

Reasonably Unreasonable

                   As I sit at my computer listening to the Swing Kids soundtrack contemplating what Holocaust Remembrance day means to me, and why it is that I make a point to remember on this day each year, my mind flashes back to a quotation by George Bernard Shaw I came across recently while reading Half the Sky:

“Reasonable people adapt themselves to the world.  Unreasonable people attempt to adapt the world to themselves.  All progress, therefore, depends upon unreasonable people.”

                A powerful quotation packed full of turned-upside-down meaning. Perhaps a bit on the absolute side, but still the quotation has punch.   Who wants to be unreasonable?  Me, that’s who.

                Let’s take a moment to remember two extraordinarily unreasonable individuals:  Oskar Schindler and Paul Rusesabagina.  Oskar Schindler, an ethnic German Catholic and eventual member of the Nazi Party, saved the lives of over 1,000 of his Jewish contemporaries from the Holocaust by employing them in his various factories during the war.  Oskar Schnidler was viewed by many as an opportunist with extravagant tastes, and yet he created a “reasonable” facade which acted as a shield that saved lives.  Paul Rusesabagina, a Hutu and manager of a luxury hotel in Kigali, also saved more than 1,000 lives by bravely sheltering both Hutus and Tutsis alike during the 100 horrific days of the Rwandan Genocide that violently claimed the lives of more than 800,000.  Paul Rusesabagina used the walls of Hotel des Mille Collines as a literal, overt, and “unreasonable” shield to save lives.

                Oskar Schnidler pretended to adapt to the world around him, and therefore appeared “reasonable”, while Paul Rusesbagina refused to adapt to the violence of his fellow Hutus, and took an “unreasonable” stand which could have cost his life, but didn’t.   Despite the two different approaches, at some point both men refused to adapt to the world around them, and in their own heroic ways adapted the world to their view of how things ought to be.

                To me Holocaust Remembrance day is not only a day to remember the Holocaust, but also a day to remember all genocides, and to then identify current genocides (The Nubian Mountains in Sudan for example) and crimes against humanity about which I can speak up and do something.  Maybe this sounds like an unreasonable expectation of myself, and to some perhaps even trite and futile.  

                Acutely aware that some think my passion’s overwhelming and far too big for one person to take on, I will forge ahead with a reasonably unreasonable mindset.  Although my unreasonable outlook does not place my life in danger, it does risk eye rolls, private sighs of here-we-go-again and possibly annoyance.  Nevertheless, I will continue to advocate for the women, men and children of DR Congo who have suffered for far too long, and advocate for the SEC’s immediate release of strong 1502 regulations.  I will gladly fulfill my role as an Ambassador for Women for Women International**, and will also do what I can to support local causes which benefit and advocate for those in my immediate community who need it most.  All of this I unreasonably promise.

**WfWI “works with socially excluded women in eight countries where war and conflict have devastated lives and communities.”  http://www.womenforwomen.org/

Sources: http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005787 http://hrrfoundation.org/ http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5324187 http://www.ushmm.org/remembrance/dor/calendar/