Nearly 800 people attended the Gala to celebrate our awardees and honor the resilience of the women in our program.

Over 250 women in the field will now become participants in the program due to the overwhelming support of attendees who signed up to sponsor a woman survivor of war.

Award Recipients:
 
Acceptance of the Active Citizen Award - Lloyd Blankfein, CEO and Chairman, Goldman, Sachs & Co. In recognition of 10,000 Women, the firm’s initiative to provide a generation of women in underserved areas around the world with a business and management education.

Award Recipient of The Woman of the World Award - Honorata Kizende, Democratic Republic of the Congo. In recognition of her courage to speak out on behalf of those who have been silenced by the violence and chaos of war.
Highlights of the Evening:
Master of Ceremonies, Anderson Cooper of CNN

Presentation of the Woman of the World Award by Her Excellency Dr. Faida Mitifu, Democratic Republic of the Congo Ambassador to USA

Honorata Kizende’s Story: Speaking Out Against the Epidemic of Rape in Congo

Presentation of a 10,000 Women scholarship to Honorata Kizende

Congo Panel, Women for Women International Oct 2008
Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo are calling for assistance and strong international leadership to prevent further deterioration of the devastating humanitarian situation in the country''s eastern provinces. Panel discussion hosted by Women for Women International in New York Thursday.

Tony Gambino, an expert on development issues in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, said in New York at a panel discussion hosted by Women for Women International that the five permanent members of the UN Security Council need to take a ''No More Victims'' approach towards the humanitarian crisis in Congo. "Because it is clear that the Congolese authorities are incapable of protecting the population, we need to get engaged. The universally accepted principle of ''the responsibility to protect'' applies to Congo and we must follow through on it," Gambino said.

Gambino is the author of ''Congo: Securing Peace, Sustaining Progress'', a special report published this week by the Council on Foreign Relations in which he argues that the U.S. should focus on ending rampant violence and insecurity in eastern Congo and promoting broad-based environmentally sound sustainable development. "The current UN mission in eastern Congo needs the necessary personnel and mandate to fulfill its central role in stopping rampant violence and helping to build capable security forces," Gambino said on Thursday. "Without this civilians won''t find protection and peace."

 Content Advisory: content is difficult and adult in nature.

At Women for Women International panel discussion about the epidemic of rape in eastern Congo, Honorata Kizende speaks out about her experience, survival and getting more women and men to speak out about the war against women in order to eradicate rape in Congo.

Honorata Kizende has endured sexual slavery for over a year. She was repeatedly gang-raped and tortured in public. She escaped her captors only to be rejected by her family and community. Honorata, who once was a respected teacher and headmistress at a girl’s school in eastern Congo, started carrying loads to feed herself.

In 2004 - desperate, homeless, and traumatized - she joined Women for Women International, where she found emotional and financial support as well as livelihood and skills training. Today she runs a business and teaches women, who, like her, have gone through horrific rapes, in rights awareness.

The worst fighting is occurring close to the provincial capital city of Goma, where Women for Women is training and assisting almost 1,000 women. The UN is reporting that retreating fighters have gone on a rape and looting rampage just 60 miles north of Goma. In another incident on Tuesday night 75,000 people fled their homes following a gun battle in Kibati, just six miles from the city. The displaced are leaving behind most of their belongings and are staying in makeshift camps without access to water, food, and basic health care.

Also addressing the panel, Women for Women International Country Director Christine Karumba said that fear among women in eastern Congo is rising. Many have endured and witnessed gross sexual violence and are afraid that mass rape will further increase if the country returns to war. "The women we are working with don''t want to lose what they have achieved," Karumba said. "It is very precious to them." She warned that the area would be hit by a serious food shortage if people are unable to harvest their crops due to displacement. Any loss of income would worsen the situation of the desperately poor civilian population in the eastern part of the country, Karumba added.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo rape has been used by almost all parties of the conflict as a weapon of choice and observers have found that it is now also spreading among civilians as a means of intimidation, torture, and exercising power. The lack of protection through local law enforcement and security authorities is increasing fears of sexual violence escalating. The effects of brutal attacks on women are long-lasting and frequently leave them with severe physical and psychological problems that often remain untreated. The stigma of rape makes many survivors and their children destitute after they are rejected by their families and communities.

"The climate of impunity is problematic and an obstacle to a stable peace in eastern Congo. Although the challenges of reforming and building a functioning law enforcement and justice system are huge, it will be the key of stopping violent attacks - including sexual violence - on civilians"Mike VanRooyen, Co-Director of the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative (HHI)--which is conducting both clinical work for rape victims and research in eastern Congo--said during the panel discussion that focus group discussion with survivors have shown the need for economic support to women who are trying to rebuild their lives. The HHI research has also found that although men do not often speak out against the rape epidemic, they are deeply affected by the fact that they are unable to protect women and girls from the attacks.

Panelists agreed that perpetrators need to be brought to justice. "The climate of impunity is problematic and an obstacle to a stable peace in eastern Congo. Although the challenges of reforming and building a functioning law enforcement and justice system are huge, it will be the key of stopping violent attacks - including sexual violence - on civilians," VanRooyen added.

Since 2003, Women for Women International has served more than 18,991 Congolese women and another 102,551 family and community members in this region. Through a holistic program that includes rights awareness and life skills training, income generation assistance, and vocational and skills development, women are able to create stability and self-sufficiency amidst an otherwise chaotic and volatile environment. In 2007 alone, the program reached 9,489 women in the communities of Bukavu, Goma, Fizi and Baraka in the Kivu provinces of eastern Congo. Women for Women International also conducts Men''s Leadership Training programs that aim at educating religious, traditional, and civic leaders about the consequences of sexual violence on women and whole communities, with the aim of turning men into advocates of women''s rights.

Women for Women International, a nonprofit 501 (c) (3) organization, provides women survivors of war, civil strife and other conflicts with the tools and resources to move from crisis and poverty to stability and self-sufficiency, thereby promoting viable civil societies. Women for Women International is a Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize award winner.