Rose Mapendo
| Rose Mapendo | |
|---|---|
| Born |
1963 Mulenge, Democratic Republic of Congo |
| Nationality | Congolese |
| Occupation | Activist |
Rose Mapendo (born 1963) is a Congolese human rights activist. She founded the Mapendo New Horizons Foundation to help vulnerable survivors of physical, psychological, and social trauma caused by decades of extreme violence. The Foundation helps to not only give them easy access to health care, but to give them hope as well. In addition, the Mapendo International organization (now RefugePoint) was named in her honor. Its objective is, among others, to assist Congolese people in emigrating to the United States, so that they can escape the war in their countries of origin.
Biography
Early life
Rose Mapendo was born in Mulenge, Democratic Republic of Congo, in 1963.[1] She grew up in a humble[2] Tutsi family,[1] who professed the Christian religion.[3] She belongs to the Banyamulenge Tutsi tribe.[4] Raised for marriage and motherhood according to her family's culture,[1] Mapendo never went to school.[1][5] She married when she was 16, as is common among women of the tribe. Later, in 1994, she moved to the city of Mbuji-Mayi so that her children could go to school and her husband began his career as a butcher.[1]
Genocide in the Democratic Republic of Congo
In 1994, there was an outbreak of genocide. On August 2, 1998, the government sent a police officer to her house to find her husband. She lied, saying that her husband was not home,[1][6] but was taken to the police office with her son. Ten months went by and the police kept asking where he was and where his money was. She told them he was buying more cows to trade, but in reality he was at home. Mapendo and her son were able to temporarily leave the police office after she offered him money to protect her family, and he promised that he would reflect on it.[1] However, she fled with her husband and their seven children to safety. Later, they heard on televised news that the president was willing to kill all Tutsis and keep their belongings and money, so her family had to avoid being found by the government. She begged money from friends and neighbors to make any purchases that she needed. Eventually, however, her family was found.[1][6] They were carried in a truck[6] to a prison camp on the night of September 23, 1998, along with four other Tutsi families.[1]
Experiences in the camp
They were in the camp for sixteen months.[6] Under the surveillance of guards, the government ordered the murder of all the men there, including Mapendo's husband.[1][2][6] Women and children were starved, and two women and two children in her camp were murdered by the government. In the camp they had no food or health system, and everyone had lice. Children had to defecate in the cell because there was no sanitation.[1][6] To save to her son from being killed by a soldier, she had to give a soldier her 17-year old daughter, Amy, as a sex partner.[2][3] The soldiers also destroyed her home and beat her. At this time, she was pregnant and sick. She raised her ten children alone, and gave birth to twins at the camp.[1][2] Later, when the order came to kill all the people from the camp, the commander had Mapendo and her family transferred to another prison situated in Kinshasa (capital of the DRC). Two weeks later, she was sent to a Red Cross-run protection centre in Cameroon by the US government's emergency programme to resettle Tutsi refugees from the Congo.[6]
Meanwhile, Nangabire, her 12-year old daughter, was with Mapendo's father-in-law. The troops attacked their residence and took them as prisoners. They had been separated for 6 years when Mapendo found her in a refugee camp with her grandmother.[5]
In July 2000,[6] Mapendo and her children were rescued and established in the United States.[5][6] However, Nangabire had to continue living in the prison camp for 6 more years. During that time, Mapendo sent money for Nangabire to go to school, but the people there stole it, and she was forced to clean a house instead. Eventually, Nangabire was able to migrate to the United States.[5]
Life in the United states
While in the United States, Mapendo saved money to send to the widows of refugees.[1] She also organized a number of demonstrations to raise public awareness about the problems faced by refugees,[6] and to raise money for those who lived in refugee camps or who were otherwise displaced.[1]
With her brother, Dr. Kigabo Mapendo, she founded New Horizons, a non-profit organization that she still directs with her brother. The mission of Mapendo New Horizons is to help vulnerable survivors of physical, psychological, and social trauma caused by decades of extreme violence to have easy access to health care and to give them hope.[1][7] She was the winner of the United Nations' 2009 Humanitarian of the Year award.[2]
Mapendo starred in the documentary Pushing the Elephant, which tells the story of the separation between her and Nangabire during the Congolese genocide and their reunion in Arizona. The film tries to convey to people the importance of the fight against violence and for human rights.[5] She has also influenced others to follow suit.[2][3]
Personal life
Mapendo currently lives in Phoenix, Arizona, and has ten children.[6] Her children study at the local schools, worship at the local church and work at local businesses.[4] Her daughter is studying to be a nurse.[6]
Legacy
Sasha Chanoff, founder of Mapendo International – which assists victims of war and violence, who have been ignored by humanitarian assistance,[6] to emigrate to the United States, focused on victims in Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi.[5] – named the organization in Rose Mapendo's honour.[6] On June 29, 2011, Mapendo International changed its name to RefugePoint, with expanded scope to many other African nations.
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Mapendo MNH Horizons. Retrieved in January 14, 2011, to 0: 50 pm.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 The Daily Northwestern. Posted by Michele Corriston. Retrieved in January 13, 2011, to 23:55 pm.
- 1 2 3 War Survivor Shares Remarkable Story Of Forgiveness. Retrieved January 17, 2012, to 22:15 pm.
- 1 2 ROSE MAPENDO arrives to MIAMI. posted in April 1, 2011 By Adriana Ramos. Retrieved in January 23, 2012, to 23:45 pm.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Five Questions for Rose Mapendo. Retrieved in January 14, 2011, to 0:31 pm
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Q&A: Rose Mapendo draws on her traumatic life to help others. Posted in UNHCR: The UN Refugee Agency. 23 January 2009. Retrieved January 14, 2012, to 0:40 pm.
- ↑ Organization Mapendo Horizons