The Pulitzer Center has just released "Congo's Children," a new e-book that my husband Jon and I co-authored, with design by Meghan Dhaliwal.
It is available on ITUNES (for iPads), AMAZON (for kindles), and CREATAVIST (for desktop and laptop computers). The e-book is free on ITUNES and Creatavist; the cost is $1.99 on Amazon. You can also download a PDF here: http://pulitzercenter.org/blog/africa-DRC-congo-children-ebook (Short videos and a slideshow cannot be viewed on the PDF.)
Jon and I traveled to Congo last fall to do the reporting that the book is based on. Many thanks to our daughter Ida, who works for Human Rights Watch in Kinshasa, for inspiring us us and introducing us to many of the people featured in "Congo's Children."
What we found throughout the Democratic Republic of Congo, in Kinshasa, in Goma, and along the Congo River, was that the children are the most vulnerable segment of society, but they are also models of persistence and bravery. Survivors of sexual violence struggle to finish school at the Don Bosco Ngangi center. Abandoned street children seek shelter in an ORPER facility. At StandProud physically disabled youth learn not only to play soccer but to make braces for polio survivors. Former child soldiers turn to sports and the arts to recover from trauma. Still others learn new skills—tailoring, cooking, woodworking,hairdressing—so they can make a living. Coaches at PJB Basketball, dancers at Busara, and doctors at HEAL Africa all play a part.
Several of the chapters are based on video and articles that appeared on PBS NewsHour and in The Washington Post, The Christian Science Monitor, Truth Atlas, and Dowser.
See the two projects below:
Congo's Children http://pulitzercenter.org/projects/africa-congo-children-DRC
Peacekeepers: The Congo Case http://pulitzercenter.org/projects/africa-democractic-republic-of-congo-...
We are grateful to Open Square Charitable Gift Fund for funding the project and to several Africa experts who commented on a preview copy of "Congo's Children":
“The stunning photographs and deeply moving text of this book offer a fine introduction to the suffering—and hopes—of people in a part of the world we know far too little about.”
—Adam Hochschild, author of King Leopold's Ghost
“Kem and Jon Sawyer’s poignant accounts of children coming of age during two decades of war and corruption jolt the reader with the realities of modern-day Congo. For anyone trying to make sense of this murky and forgotten conflict, 'Congo’s Children' is a must-read.”
—Photographer Larry C. Price
“Here's the Congo that doesn't make the news clips or TV screens. The everyday Congo, with people managing to organize, create art, and educate each other despite the odds. A touching paean to the country's resilience.”
—Jason Stearns, author of Dancing in the Glory of Monsters: The Collapse of the Congo and the Great War of Africa
"This book illustrates the truth of a refrain that one hears so often from Congolese people themselves: Congo's most precious natural resource is its children. Their beauty and strength shine through these photographs, offering a promise that the people of Congo can overcome the devastation their nation has suffered for well over a century."
—Karen Stauss, Director of Programs, Free the Slaves
"In "Congo’s Children" Kem and Jon Sawyer take the road less traveled, beyond DRC’s well documented challenges, and introduce the reader to the resilient and determined people of Congo as they face their daily lot with confidence and their future with hope."
—Mvemba Phezo Dizolele, Hoover Institution, Stanford University
