May 24–30, 2015 · South Kivu, Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo
Run Across Congo
The first ultra-marathon ever held in the Democratic Republic of Congo: seven marathons in seven days along the shores of Lake Kivu, partnering with female coffee farmers for gender equality in eastern DRC.
- In seven days, May 24–30, 2015
- 7 marathons
- Ultra-marathon held in the DRC
- First ever
- Running team, with Twin and On the Ground
- All-women
- Annual DRC gender equity programming it seeded
- Since 2015
Run Across Congo carried the tagline "Run. Empower. Transform." It was built for a specific argument: the women who do most of the labor on Congolese coffee farms should hold equal power over the income and the decisions that come from it. On the Ground organized the run with the UK fair trade organization Twin, and an all-women running team took on the high-altitude, mountainous route between May 24 and 30, 2015.
The route ran north from Baraka to the hospital community of Lemera, where in the previous year alone more than 670 survivors of sexual assault had received medical treatment, then out from Lemera — at that time home to more than 200 survivors and their children — with members of the surrounding communities joining for miles at a time. From there the team continued along the lake through Bukavu toward Katana, near Kahuzi-Biega National Park.
As in Ethiopia, music travelled with the run. In Lemera the team met a young band, Enjoy Music Band, whose biggest obstacle was simply getting recorded; in five hours, the team recorded two of their songs.
The run doubled as a celebration of a coffee sector re-emerging after two decades of war. It was followed by a tour of local cooperatives and the first Saveur du Kivu cupping competition in Bukavu, which brought international roasters and importers together with Congolese cooperatives and exporters - an event that has continued ever since, with some years in the U.S. due to increasing violence in the region.
Funds raised went to work immediately and are still working. The run provided seed funding for On the Ground's DRC Gender Equity Program, emergency supplies for 93 survivors of sexual assault, and support for the widows of rangers killed in the line of duty. Gender equity programming has run every year since, delivered with the Muungano Cooperative, and Herman Chirihambal Lwango, who helped make the run a reality, and has managed On the Ground's DRC programs ever since.
Our runners ran from Baraka to the hospital community of Lemera, where in the last year alone, more than 670 survivors of sexual assault received medical treatment.
On the route
What the program funded
Twin's gender justice model, adapted with Congolese trainers, shaped the programming the run paid for: participatory workshops where women and men map how decisions, labor, and income are shared in the household; credit and savings groups that give farmers a route to capital no local bank offers them; and leadership training so women can represent themselves on community and cooperative committees.
A campaign in three languages
Run Across Congo was published in English, French, and Kiswahili, with daily dispatches from the route, farmer interviews from across South Kivu, and a sponsorship network of roasters, importers, and cafés across North America and Europe.
Results
What the run built
- Seed funding for the DRC Gender Equity Program, now in its tenth year
- Emergency supplies for 93 survivors of sexual assault
- Support for the widows of rangers killed in the line of duty
- Launch of the Saveur du Kivu coffee quality competition in Bukavu
Keep the work going
The runs are part of our history. Donations today fund our active programs: DRC Gender Equity, DRC Back to School, and Cooperative Lending.