Run for Congo Women UK

Race report: Run for Congo Women - Adidas Women's 5k Challenge 2011

First ever 5k to celebrate the first anniversary of Run for Congo Women UK with founder Lisa Shannon!

A bright Sunday morning on 11th September, our American founder of Run for Congo Women, Lisa Shannon joined the UK supporters and runners for Run for Congo Women - Adidas Women's 5k Challenge 2011.

Women for Women International UK’s first ever 5k event in Hyde Park was the first anniversary of Run for Congo Women in the UK, with our special guest Lisa Shannon who took part in the run.
Lisa commented,

Photo © Fergus Burnett – fergusburnett.com

‘It was wonderful to be part of the Run for Congo Women UK and see that even with two runners or 40 runners, how you can make a difference for the women in the Congo, helping to tell their story giving them hope and support’.

Lisa Shannon, signed copies of her book, A Thousand Sisters, which tells the story of Lisa’s own journey to helping women from Congo, giving our runners the motivation to keep on running and building the Run for Congo Women movement.

So far our amazing supporters, including the Strictly Come Dancing celebrity Pamela Stephenson-Connolly, and Chris Jackson who ran the most dangerous marathon in the world, have raised over £85,000! 100% of the funds go directly to Women for Women International’s programmes in the Democratic Republic of Congo, enabling women affected by the conflict to rebuild their lives.

In our final run of the year, over 30 runners took part with one of our supporters doing her first ever 5k run and another supporter gave her a top 30 place out of 9,000 runners! All the women who ran today, were winners and all deserve a special thanks, because with their support and dedication, more women in Congo can begin to rebuild their lives.

For more on Women for Women International's programmes around the world, visit www.womenforwomen.org

Photos © Fergus Burnett – fergusburnett.com

Women for Women International invests in women survivors of war, working to change the world, one woman at a time - Because stronger women build stronger nations

Women for Women International works with socially excluded women in conflict and post conflict countries, providing women with the resources and tools they need to become active citizens. More than 40,000 women are currently enrolled in our year-long core program in eight countries: Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Iraq, Kosovo, Nigeria, Rwanda, and South Sudan. Since the founding of Women for Women in 1993, we have served more than 316,000 women and impacted a community of more than 1.7 million.

Conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo

The Democratic Republic of Congo presents one of the world's deadliest emergencies to date.

This conflict has particularly affected women and girls as they are systematically raped as a weapon of war to terrorise and humiliate. Tens-of-thousands of women and girls have experienced sexual violence - some raped whilst on the way to school, others while fetching water, and many are kept as sex slaves for soldiers. A recent study concluded that 400,000 females aged 15-49 were raped over a 12-month period in 2006 and 2007, or 48 attacks every hour. The situation is so extreme that Margot Wallström, the UN’s special representative on sexual violence in conflict, has recently called DR Congo the "rape capital of the world."

For further information about Women for Women International UK please visit www.womenforwomen.org.uk

Run for Congo Women’s movie