Want inspiration? Meet Marlène Ekinda and the DRC’s SELF (soutenir l’éducation légale pour les filles)

Kinshasa 4

Please meet Marlène Ekinda who is going to prove that CLEW does travel. She is setting up SELF (Support Legal Education for Women) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, one of the poorest countries in the world. It is also probably one of the most dangerous, given the war in the east.

Marlene

Marlène Ekinda

So, how can she possibly do this? She will need our help in raising funds. Once SELF is established as a charity in France, I will be donating to SELF and I will ask all of my friends in France to donate and help change the lives of young women in a war zone who desperately need a future.

Marlène obtained her law degree at Magistère, Droit des Affaires Fiscalité et Comptabilité, Université D’Aix Marseille III, in Aix-en-provence, France. She came to Canada as an intern at Bennett Gastle in late 2014 specifically because of CLEW.   She wanted to know the lessons that we have learned as a result of operating CLEW and how it could be applied to the DRC.

I was skeptical that the unique conditions that permitted CLEW to thrive in Cambodia could exist in countries like the DRC. We peppered Marlène with questions related to the conditions in the DRC and expressed our disbelief that CLEW could be set up there. Our concerns included:

(a).      Is there a university in the Congo that could take the students?

(b).      how are you going to select the students?

(c).      Is it safe for the students to live in the capital city and attend university?

(d).      How are you going to manage a dorm with a low overhead?

(e).      will there be a job for the students once they graduate?

(f).       how are you going to raise funds?

Marlène told me that there are two Congos: the larger Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire, formerly Belgian Congo), and the smaller Republic of Congo (formerly French Middle Congo). She wants to set up a French micro-charity in the capital city of the DRC, Kinshasa, and wrote to me that:

“The DRC is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world. With a population of over 75 million, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the most populous officially Francophone country, the fourth most populous nation in Africa and the nineteenth most populous country in the world.”

She stated that the Democratic Republic of Congo has vast wealth in natural resources, estimated to be worth more than $24 trillion US. However, its economy has declined dramatically since the mid-1980s as a result of political instability, a lack of infrastructure and a culture of corruption. This has resulted in one of the lowest GDP per capita figure with its citizens among the poorest people on earth.
Side Effects Just discount priced viagra like most male enhancement pills, Vigrx Oil also has reported some negative results to some people. When my sons were little, they thought the ads were cipla cialis canada messages from God. Synchronizing EEG and video recordings helps spehttp://djpaulkom.tv/crakd-air-force-girl-gets-tasered-and-grabs-on-for-her-life/ price cialists decipher a patient’s symptoms, outward presentation, and EEG changes over a period of time. The blending of the ingredients is processed cheap viagra 25mg in the brew of Musli Sya, Semal Musli, and Gokhru.
Kinshasa 2

Marlène wants to help girls in KIVU, one of the DRC provinces but also the center of the war there. She says that this province is marked by conflict minerals, recruitment of child soldiers and sexual violence against women. Rural women and girls do not have regular access to health and maternal care. Customary laws are discriminatory against women and education is mostly limited to men and boys. The literacy rate in 2001 was roughly 67%, with 81% of males and 54% of females. She commented that rural women in Congo are generally involved in agricultural work, firewood gathering, water hauling, and child care activities. The economic position of women has been eroded by plantations owed by new commercial elites which have expanded onto communal land.

With respect to Congo-LEW, Marlène wants to establish the program in Kinshasa. It is the most important consumer centre and the core of its industrial and commercial activity. It has the headquarters of major foreign and domestic public corporations, along with the head offices of the principal banks. She points out that Kinshasa is home to several universities among other educational institutions. She wants the students to attend the Université Catholique du Congo or the Congo Protestant University, both of which are private universities in which professors are paid regularly and are the best in the country.

Kinshasa 1

In an earlier post (Lesson #3), I explained that safety was of primary importance. Marlène stated that except for the war zone in KIVU, Congo is quite safe, especially for the Congolese people. A number of human rights associations are based in Kinshasa and, if necessary, an application could be made for special protection from the local government. The universities the girls would attend are located in the richest areas of Kinshasa where there is a high level of security. They would live in these areas as well. Marlène made a much more important point when commenting on the safety issue:

“Wherever the girls will be, the real lack of safety is to leave them in KIVU with no education and without any possibility of changing their own lives, their family’s lives and their country. Without an education, they will live in a war zone among armed groups which attack local communities, loot, rape and kidnap women and children who are made to work as sexual slaves.”

It’s hard to argue with that.

Turning to logistics, her mother has retired and moved back to Kinshasa and would manage the program and the dorm. Her mother will also be involved in the selection of students using criteria involving academic performance, geographical origin (rural girls), socio-economic conditions (the poor) and those who have achieved their high school diploma. It will be a challenge to find qualified students when the program is initially established. The idea would be to contact high schools based in the rural areas and ask them to identify candidates who meet the criteria. We have suggested that she should consider contacting the major NGOs that work in the provinces that may be able to identify qualified students.

There remains the issue whether graduates will be able to find jobs once they have completed their studies. Marlène stated that:

“The Unified Business Laws for Africa (OHADA1 treaty which was adopted by now 17 West and Central African nations in order to increase their attractiveness to foreign investors and business partners) also needs new jurists in order to advice local and international companies. Generally, Africa, including DRC, has become of growing interest the international business and investor community. In 2013, DRC growth was of 8.1% and should continue in 2014, driven by investment in the mining sector, improved agricultural productivity and infrastructure reconstruction. All that attract bank and insurance companies, but also international law firms where the girls could find work and internship opportunities.”

As it was in Cambodia, the ability of the students to find jobs will remain an issue until such time as students have graduated have tested the job market.

Marlène has a solid plan to establish SELF. As with all things, it remains to be seen whether it can be a success. However, we believe that she has a good chance to help students in KIVU and the need for such a program is clear. Marlène has our full support and we will be making a donation to her once she registers SELF in France with charitable status.

Marlène is one of those people who will help change an area of the world that badly needs it. I will be happy to introduce you to Marlène if you would like to help her.

Bonne chance, Marlène!

Chuck G.

Contact CLEW with any feedback or comments!