ISSN 1710-6931 December 9, 2005 Issue 62
FEATURE ARTICLES

A Painful Experience

by Souraya Ahamada

Dieudonné
Dieudonné Amisi Mutambala

Recently, Dieudonné Amisi Mutambala had to deal with the disappearance of his wife, Faida, and their three children (they are 4 ½ years old, 2 years 4 months, and 7 months). Dieudonné RESPECT's coordinator in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and in Burundi, and ArtHum's founder (Artiste pour l'Humanité). He tells about his story during an interview with RESPECT.

Faida and the children had left their home in Uvira, South Kivu, DRC, to travel to Lilongwe, Malawi where her father currently lives, and has lived as a refugee since 1996. He had been warned by his friends in Uvira about the danger the family was facing. Painful

Picking up the Pieces

by Emily Moreton

"I remember my first impression of N'zerekore. Driving into the parking lot I looked into the eyes of two men hanging out there and I got shivers down me’." -- Sarah Elliot

Sarah Elliot, a Canadian student at l'Université de Dakar, wanted to use her summer vacation to discover more of West Africa whilst also getting involved in something that could help people in need. Through RESPECT, she and a friend from home ended up teaching creative writing classes at a high school for Liberian refugees in N'zerekore, Guinea.

She also got what can only be described as a completely life-changing experience, one that she is still working her way through. Pieces

ANNOUNCEMENTS

RESPECT Volunteers Safe

RESPECT volunteers Dieudonné Amisi Mutambala in Burundi and DRC; and Bilombele Asukulu, and Atuu Waonaje in the Tanganiyca region in Tanzania, report everyone in their areas are safe after the earthquake that hit East Africa on December 5. They felt earth movement, but no one was hurt nor affected by the disaster.


AFFILIATES

Bweyale Primary

by Lizzie Nyeko

Bweyale Village, Masindi district, Northern Uganda, grapples with the problem of internally displaced children who have fled insurgency in Northern Uganda and gained access to primary schools in the district. Francis Kyomuhendo, the acting District Education officer, says of the estimated 100,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) living in Masindi, 35,000 are children of school going age. About 20,000 of these attend different government aided primary schools while 15,000 are out of school.

Kibanda County is most affected with nearly all 70 primary schools there having IDP children. Enrolment in most of the schools has more than tripled from 300 to 1000 pupils today as a result of IDPs. Apart from a few buildings constructed under Government's school facilities grant, no significant structures have been put in place to cater for the increasing pupil enrolment. Bweyale


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