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Who we are
The name Yetu means “Ours” in Swahili. Congo Yetu Initiative “CYI” is a grassroots; non-profit organization of passionate, dynamic, and energetic volunteers working to provide support to women and children in the DRC, our main focus is job creation and economic simulation. CYI provide sustainable development programs and project need to sustain its own. Our volunteers come from many professional and personal backgrounds, from many ages, and from across Canada and the United States as well as from many of the Southern Countries in which we work.
CYI members believe in sharing knowledge and creating opportunities for women and children who are victims of war in the DRC, regardless of religion or ethnicity
The Congo Yetu Initiative
ACT AND INSPIRATE
The Congo Yetu Initiative (CYI) is an intellectually conscious and an independent organization working to promote peace, democracy, human rights, gender equity, women and children rights, and sustainable development.
Since 1990, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) entered a cycle of armed conflicts and violence, which strongly shook the Government in power, its institutions; destroyed its capacity to produce and tore its social fabric. The aggravation of the internal and regional situation of the Congolese conflict in the nineties generated a process, which contributed to: violence against women, being generally victims of rape, sexual violence, forced prostitution, transmission of HIV/AIDS; the creation of militia and an increase in the illicit trafficking of light weapons and a proliferation of the antipersonnel mines.
Since September 1996, the DRC experienced two successive wars that involved enormous losses in human lives and massive violations of the Human rights. The post-conflict indicators show the extent of the crisis:
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More than 6 millions death of people due to war, violence, torture and abuse,
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More than 3 million people displaced and 400,000 more refugees outside the country,
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Political insatiability and loss of democracy,
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An increase in mass violations of human rights, corruption, immorality,
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The deterioration of the quality of life of Congolese,
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A decreased per-capita income, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and increased rate of inflation,
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A stagnant economic development and increased rate of poverty,
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An increased school drop-out and no primary education,
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Poor health conditions and a decrease in access to the health care, which led to an increase in malnutrition, death of children under the age of 5, and pregnant women,
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An Increase in the rate of HIV/AIDS new infections and death in the conflict zones.
Our Story
Our Mandate
The legal mandate of Congo Yetu Initiative (CYI) is to carry reform and coordinate policy with respect to the status of women and administer related programs.
CYI is a nonprofit organization that promotes equality for women and their full participation in the economic, social and democratic life in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
CYI works to advance equality for women and children by focusing its efforts in priority areas:
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Increasing women's economic security and prosperity;
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Raise awareness and disseminate information on the Convention by providing training to all those involved in government policy-making and working with or for children.
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Involve civil society including children themselves in the process of implementing and raising awareness of child rights
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Make children visible in policy development processes throughout government by introducing child impact assessments.
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Encouraging women's leadership and democratic participation; and
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Ending violence against women
According to our mandate the ending violence against women and children CYI is requested to:
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Seek and receive information on violence against women and children in the DRC, its causes and consequences from Governments, treaty bodies, specialized agencies,… for various human rights questions and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, including women's organizations/ children organizations, and to respond effectively to such information;
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Recommend measures, ways and means, at the national, regional and international levels, to eliminate violence against women/ children and its causes, and to remedy its consequences;
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Work closely with other partner organizations, special representatives, working groups and independent experts of the Commission on Human Rights,and with the treaty bodies, taking into account the Commission's request that they all regularly and systematically include in their reports available information on human rights violations affecting women and children; and cooperate closely with the Commission on the Status of Women in the discharge of its functions.