EMBASSY NEWS
Women's Day at Villa Washington
The spirit of women is alive and well in Congo-Brazzaville. The Embassy invited 80 Congolese girls aged 15-18 from Brazzaville high schools to a two-day seminar at Villa Washington to discuss a variety of issues and make important contacts that may prove beneficial to them.
The seminar was opened by Ambassador Alan Eastham who welcomed the crowd and then introduced the Congolese Minister of Education Rosalie Kama Niamayoua. Madame Kama impressed upon the young girls the need for a good education. Joycelyn Milandou, a Congolese lawyer and judge, and head of Les Femme Juristes, an active women’s law group, spoke to the young women about their rights. Julie Bodin, director of an non-governmental organization (NGO) that helps young girls forced to live on the streets, spoke about the help that exists for young women who may find themselves stranded, and Gaspard Ngama and Raissa Damba of the National Council for the Fight Against SIDA gave the bare facts about HIV and AIDs prevention.
The second day of the seminar was a little more challenging for the participants – there was too much to do and too little time to do it. Seven tables were set up throughout the site and each table hosted a government, medical or NGO leader who, instead of presenting a lecture, answered questions. Tables included topics on nutrition, violence, SIDA, resources in the community for assistance, and rights. The local telephone company, MTN, set up a Yello Line booth that allowed the young women to telephone their questions into the SIDA hotline. Six female gendarmes ‘wo’manned a table taking questions about community and legal resources available to young women who need legal or social assistance while a colonel from the police department used scenarios to help the participants understand how to avoid being victims of violence. The participants moved from table-to-table throughout the day and many remarked that this set-up was especially beneficial as it allowed them to meet and talk with experts on their individual interests.
This is the second year that Embassy Brazzaville has featured this two-day workshop for high-school girls. Each year the Embassy has reached out to different area high schools. Teachers who accompanied the young women to the program confirmed the need for these types of workshops directed at this specific target audience as young women do not have programs targeted specifically at their needs.