Sisters Solidarity Gatherings – Msgs of Support & Report Outs Here!
With Sisters Solidarity Gatherings happening all around the US and the world over the next two weeks, they need a place to post their messages of love and support to the women who will be running in our inaugural Run for Congo Women-Congo.
So post your Gathering messages here as a comment! Post a short statement before Feb. 25th to be translated and shared before the Bukavu run start. Let our sisters know you are with them at every step of their courageous journey as they rebuild their lives! Then also share about your gathering after you have it, including the date, place, how many women, men & children attended, any donation total for your group, where you walked or ran. Help us to see and feel like we were there with you!
And thank you for being a part of this!
For anyone still wanting to join us in making this immediate and joyful difference in our world, just email email hidden; JavaScript is required. You will receive all the materials and support you need to have a great gathering!
My partner Michelle and I will be running a marathon in Tampa, FL on the 28th! We have run two 200-miles relay races for Congo Women and are planning another this fall. We will have RFCW info on our shirts on the 28th and hope people notice! Very happy to happen to be running solidarity on this special day, Em&M
My family and I (six, almost seven of us!) walked yesterday in honor of your upcoming run! We have had the chance to talk to many of our friends, and they have all been inspired by you and by your faith, hope, and love.
We love you, and we dearly want you to know that! You are in our prayers every day. We love you! Our hearts will be with you while you run.
(pictures from our walk: http://littlewomenandamom.blogspot.com/2010/02/nakupenda.html)
for some reason that link didn’t work…here it is again!
http://littlewomenandamom.blogspot.com/2010/02/nakupenda.html
Family members and I and maybe even some of my students will be at Laurelhurst Park in Portland, OR running and cheering you all on! We think of you daily and are with you in spirit.
Amitiés,
Marsi
LOVE your photos, Ann. Thank you for sharing them. They made my heart sing. With more families like yours all around the world joining in our efforts, love will surely triumph!
To all you wonderful women. We are running for you on Feb 28th in Brooklyn NY. We will send you a video of our gathering. We want you to know that we think about you everyday and your strength inspires us so much. We are sending you our love and power. Have a wonderful run! We can’t wait to hear about it and see pictures!! Love, Martha and friends.
Six of us gathered together on February 18th to honor and support all you beautiful Congolese women – and you, too, beautiful Lisa! There was much discussion about how we can continue to spread the word and support you. Ideas were set in motion. Several women signed up as sponsors on the spot. We want you to know how deeply we care about your struggle. We love and embrace you as our sisters. We send a thousand good wishes for your run. Love, Cathrine, Joyce, Jan, Eleanor, Pash and Carol.
“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”
Helen Keller
With deep love and support we will be gathering in Chicago at midnight on Saturday, Feb. 27th to stand together with you. Though distance separates us…each step we take will be in unison…echoing across the miles.
20 women, men and children will be meeting at my house and walking with others from Portland on the 27th.
We feel honored to walk with you and learn about your unstoppable strength to face your future with hope. You give us courage. Thank you!
Good luck to all of you in your journeys, whether four miles or much, much longer. I hope that all the steps taken will make the path much easier to follow.
Lexington, SC. ~$200 so far. We are gathering to support you on Feb. 26. Your strength and courage have moved us deeply. I hope you are as proud of yourselves as we are of you.
I will be running the Cowtown Marathon in Fort Worth, TX on the 27th. I am delighted to share I have pledges of $786 to benefit these courageous women. God bless!
“The Unitarian Universalist Church of Vancouver applauds the strength of Congolese women in helping each other recover from violence, and holds you prayerfully in our hearts this morning.”
We will be including the Congo women in our Loving Kindness meditation on Sunday, Feb. 28. The words will go something like this:
Now let us spread loving-kindness more broadly.
“May all the people in this congregation, and in the surrounding area, be well, happy, and peaceful.”
Picture an energy-field of loving-kindness spreading out across the land; and people of all kinds experiencing inner peace, and quiet joyfulness. Touching one another with acts of kindness.
“May all the people of this nation and in the world
be well, happy, and peaceful.”
Picture this loving-kindness extending to all people – across the Americas, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, north, central, and south Asia, Australia and all the islands of the world and upon the seas. This morning we especially extend a loving-kindness energy field to our sisters in the Congo who struggle daily for survival of themselves and their families.
May all people, without exception, be free of suffering, have a glad and grateful heart, and meet their companions with gentle kindness.
Rev. Mark Gallagher
To our Dear Congolese sisters:
Your stories have forever touched and changed our lives. On Saturday, 2 men and 5 women will gather in Hickory, NC, to honor your strength and courage. We will never stop caring.
Message from Jade in Japan, from my blog:
“The strength and courage of the Congo women are inspiring and humbling. They truly define resilience and beauty. I will run in Okinawa, Japan on Feb. 27 to honor their journey. Please tell these amazing women thank you for sharing their story with others and that we LOVE and support them.”
yay! :)
I have been truly inspired by the Women of the Congo. I am amazed at how strong and brave you all are. Although I will be in Oakland, CA, I will be thinking of you during your run.
Thank you, JADE!!! We are literally circling the world with love and encouragement for Congo and Congolese women! Would you like us to send you a Run for Congo Women tag to print out and wear (we can’t get a t-shirt to you that fast!)
To our Sisters in the Congo:
We want you to know that you are not alone in your struggle. We are so proud of you all, for your courage, strength, and perseverance. Seeing how you continue to rise above it all is a daily inspiration to us, and we will be cheering for you at your race to for the women of Congo! . Like a phoenix, rise above from the ashes and take flight. Celebrate yourselves, as we will be celebrating you!
Eileen sends her love to Sifa M’Bagula if she is participating.
Denise, Hayden (5), and Eileen
Arizona, USA
From Anchorage, Alaska, 4 women share in your hope for a better future, applaud all the accomplishments you have made so far, and are cheering you on!
You are AMAZING. Your strength and courage is an inspiration to all women.
May you be blessed with good health and good conditions for your run.
Peace, Love and LIGHT. <3
Laurie Malenfant, Vermont, USA
In Denmark, 10-20 men and women will be gathering for solidarity. We hope to raise awareness about what is taking place in the DRC and show our sympathy and support for these remarkable, tenacious women.
A dear friend of mine in Pennsylvania ran for you a few days ago.
You are so very loved!
From the dearest, small families and their dogs, to large and small gatherings of friends, to Sunday School classes of 125, to churches and an Indian temple praying for Congo, to marathoners in Dallas, Tampa and Japan, to fundraising NY powerhouse Wonder Women, we are blazing a new trail. We are literally ringing the world with awareness and love for Congo. In Chicago, they’ll run at midnight to be in real time with Bukavu. In NY and in Brooklyn they’ll run in a foot of snow. Hosts so inspired they are having or already planning their next event. This is love both heroic and intimate. So much love! Congratulations to you all! THANK YOU for the power of the love you’ve set in motion in our world!
Dear Sisters: I am inspired and proud that you, the strong congolese women are rising above this struggle – I send my love and my prayers and hope that through strength and determination, change will empower more women. Thank you.
Dear lovely & brave ladies of DRC,
At least 15 women (several of them Congolese survivors of the Gatumba Massacre)who are now living in Boise, will be walking & praying for your safety and successful future tomorrow. God be with you always. We will keep you in our prayers.
We will be thinking of you during your run, and wearing your bib when we do our run on Sunday. We are all cheering for you!