Author: Christian Mostosi

Suspending time.

Have you ever experienced it?

Popular opinion has it that classical music is an inaccessible, elitist, rigid and pretentious discipline.

During the concerts of August 6 and 13, organized by our association, Professor Silvio Legni showed us the opposite.

Not only by making himself personally accessible to all. But also by combining passion and poetry, precision and softness, beauty and harmony, discipline and flexibility.

He made us come out of this experience enriched with these qualities, which are appreciable by every human being.

Time was like suspended.

A necessary break in a society that wants to be faster, more profitable, more demanding and less human.

By offering you this time, we wanted to expose you to these human qualities essential not only to our personal well-being, but also to humanity.

If Cicero found a link between music and the heart, which is the conscience of a people, this time could make us aware of the misery to which a part of humanity is exposed.

This time was an invitation to share a little of that sweetness.

An ancient book declares that there is more joy in giving than in receiving, this association is an opportunity to experience its truth.

Our association is sponsored by Dr. Denis Mukwege, Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2018.

His work is a demonstration of the human values that inspire us and are dear to us.

The medical dispensary that will soon be built in Kalehe, not far from Bukavu, is but an extension of the work he has already accomplished.

Like the growth of a tree, we can allow it to branch out and continue this work.

Since music has an influence on history, join us in rewriting the history of a woman, the history of a village, your history.

Do you dare to take up the challenge with us?

To help us, go to donation.

And to become a member, please contact us !

See you soon,

The team ICI

(Text written by Nina Magline Mukwege and Christian Mostosi)

You know that we are doing everything possible to help women victims of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

We are continuing the work of Dr. Denis Mukwege and the construction of the “One Stop Centers”. These structures provide holistic care for victims.

Our One Stop Center will be built in Kalehe, a village in the east of the DRC and 60 km from Bukavu, on land that our association has purchased.

At the end of June, a planimetric and altimetric survey was carried out by a local surveyor.

We now have all the exact coordinates and precise information so that our architect can finalize the plans for the dispensary.

The next step will be a visit on site with him.

And finally, we will be able to consider laying the foundation stone of our dispensary.

But that’s not all…

Why a medical dispensary in Kalehe when the hospital in Panzi is 60 km away?

Because the state of the roads and the means of transportation are not like in Europe.

If a woman is about to give birth on one of the islands of Lake Kivu, she will have to cross the lake in a dugout canoe, find a vehicle in good condition and take the roads to Bukavu.

Many of them die before reaching Bukavu (the interview with Dr. Denis Mukwege explaining this).

This is why our medical dispensary will help reduce mother-infant mortality and improve access to quality care for the local population.

We want to do our part, in our own small way, to make this world a better place.

✊🏻 We believe in it.

And we need more enthusiastic volunteers like us.

👉🏻 You!

🤝🏼 So join us in this adventure:

✅️ Become a member of our association, officially sponsored by Dr Denis Mukwege. The annual fee is set at only 1 €. Free to you then to offer more.

🎁 Offer us a “like”, a share or a comment of support.

🗣 Talk about it around you.

✒️ Sign up for our newsletter by private message.

📸 Come to our events listed on our webpage.

📽 Watch the videos on our YouTube channel and discover poignant testimonials.

See you soon,

The team ICI ❤

Sexual criminal law reform approved in Belgium!

On 17 March 2022, the Chamber of Deputies approved in plenary session the reform of sexual criminal law, which should enter into force on 1 June.

It was about time.

Since the current Code dates from 1867.

The reform is multi-layered.

It is not just a question of violence.

Until now, an assault was only considered sexual assault if there was coercion or violence.
However, this does not take into account the state of shock that the victim may be in, nor does it take into account the state of unconsciousness (coma, influence of drugs, medication or alcohol). This will now be considered.
Free and informed consent becomes the cornerstone for establishing assault.
Sexual majority remains at 16 years, but the reform does not recognise consent under 14 years.

Harsher penalties.

While rape is still punishable by 5 to 10 years in prison, this will be increased to 15 to 20 years.
Other types of sentences will be added to the judges’ options: electronic bracelet, community service, therapeutic follow-up, etc.
Aggravating circumstances will be able to increase these sentences: incest, discriminatory motives, aggression committed by a person in a position of authority or a partner, the assistance or presence of several individuals.

Other provisions, not discussed here, are also included.

We welcome this reform and hope that every effort will be made to implement it.
Indeed, less than one in ten rape complaints results in a conviction…

Other countries should follow this example.

The reality is very different outside Belgium.

While this reform is good news for Belgian victims, it is far from being the case in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
There, women victims of violence are left to fend for themselves.

Our association aims to help these women victims of sexual violence in the DRC.
It is an extension of the work of Dr Denis Mukwege.

How does our association act?

By getting them out of their situation of exclusion, by giving them the means to start a professional activity by means of a microcredit, training and personalised follow-up.

A first experience has enabled 90% of the women supported to get out of precariousness.
Would you like to join us in helping women victims of sexual violence?

Follow us on social networks (Linkedin, Facebook, YouTube) and give your support in a concrete way by making a donation.

Go to this page to support us: https://interface-compassion-internationale.org/index.php/donations-en/

Did you know that there are laws for waging war?

Of course, you don’t do it any old way!

One branch of international law brings together the rules that belligerents must observe in the conduct of hostilities.

This is the law of war.

Numerous laws were adopted during the Hague Peace Conferences of 1899 and 1907 and during the Geneva Conventions of 1949.

They help to set limits to the barbarity of war.

The laws of war prohibit wilful killing, rape and other sexual violence, torture and inhumane treatment of captured combatants and civilians in detention, looting and pillaging.
These treaties also protect persons who are not or are no longer participating in hostilities, such as the wounded and sick.

Anyone who deliberately orders or commits such acts, or aids and abets them, is responsible for war crimes.

We are (re)discovering these acts with the current war in Ukraine.

Yet such monstrous acts are common elsewhere.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, these atrocities have unfortunately been commonplace for over 25 years.

Interface Compassion Internationale has a twofold objective in helping women victims of sexual violence in the DRC.

Firstly, we want them to be able to receive a microcredit and training or personalised support. This will enable them to escape their misery with a concrete professional objective.

Secondly, to enable them to have access to medical care through our project to build a medical dispensary in Kalehe (60 km from Bukavu).

The income generated by the professional activities of these women will allow them to partially cover the operating costs of the medical centre thanks to their membership of a solidarity mutual.

Are you curious to know more about our projects?
Then visit our website.

Would you like to be part of the adventure with us?
Become a member and support us!

We need every little donation (it happens here).

Did you know about these crimes?
Are you ready to support us?

See you soon.

The team ICI ❤

Our association was the subject, in march 2022, of a TV report on the Belgian regional channel Notélé.

Click here to watch the TV report (in french).

This was an opportunity for Emmanuel Mukwege and Christian Mostosi to explain our two objectives: granting microcredits to women victims of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the construction of a medical dispensary in Kalehe.

But also to present our “bookmark” action, launched in March 2022, of which you can find all the details by clicking here.

We are looking forward to seeing you become involved in our humanitarian association.
For only 1 euro, you can become a member of our association.

By sharing this information, adding a like and a comment on our social networks, you contribute to our visibility.

If you want to help women victims of sexual violence in a more concrete way and allow them access to the medical care they need, you can make a donation.

We are waiting for you!

See you soon.

The team ICI.

Our association has been in existence for just over 6 months.
And already we can be proud of the work we have done so far.

While we are working on the construction of our medical dispensary in Kalehe, we have recruited a doctor to run it.
He is Dr Aristote Ntazongwa Mushagalusa.

But before that, he benefits from a monthly grant for twelve months, offered by our association, so that he can improve his skills and become autonomous.
In February 2022, he started his internship at the Bulenga Hospital.

Here are some extracts from his report after his first month of training.

“Here I am at the end of the first month of my training course at the Centre Hospitalier de Bulenga.
We have four departments: internal medicine, paediatrics, surgery and gynaecology.
We take care of all the patients we receive in each department. I can make a diagnosis, interpret the laboratory result and initiate treatment.
In surgery, I have been able to assist in several operations, including many caesarean sections, and I have already conducted five deliveries. I have started learning ultrasound as of this week.”

As a reminder, our future dispensary will allow us to welcome and help women victims of sexual violence but also to open access to healthcare to the local population in need. Our association is an extension of the work of Dr. Denis Mukwege.

The actions of our association are concrete.
We are moving forward effectively but we need you to support us.
Any donation is welcome to pursue our objectives.

For this, please visit our donations page.

It’s up to you!

The ICI team

Every year in the DRC, women are raped.

Every year, sexual crimes are committed.

Every year we face our own challenges and difficulties.

Some events are sudden, unpredictable and others can be planned.

Rape, fighting, suffering, anxiety.

At some point we all have to face them.

But there is a force within us that fuels hope.

In the face of these situations, let us not lose it to despair.

Our vision is this building project.

A medical dispensary, to offer access to care.

To those who need it most.

Together we can make it happen.

Together we can help put the worst behind us.

Together our enthusiasm can only grow.

Communication, association, are values we want to believe in.

You too can be part of it.

We can help these women to rebuild their lives.

To find an identity, an education and to be able to learn.

A slow process of repair and healing.

Thanks to your hearts touched by this action, we can continue to collect many donations.

May each of us participate at our own level.

May we all be a little stream.

May we be able to alleviate all these scourges.

We are HERE and we have chosen to help women who have been abused in the DRC.

(text written by Laetitia Louchart and Christian Mostosi)

Our Non-profit Organisation, Interface Compassion Internationale (ICI), has been officially recognized since September 24, 2021.

Please, visit our website: https://interface-compassion-internationale.org and view the testimonials already available on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzwbTCEmlfz9OXYK6XoHQew

Sign up, subscribe and find out the best that humans can do!

You also can contribute personally and concretely to this humanitarian and social project, even with a small donation. Compensation is planned!

Join us in this adventure.

See you soon !

ICI

You are visiting this one.

All very new and fresh, a few youthful issues still do not spoil our hope and energy to build a dispensary on the property recently acquired by our NPO.

The enthusiasm of this “birth” is palpable and motivating. As much as the enthusiasm of our first contributors and of all those who participate in one way or another to ensure that we can, all together, reach our objectives.

Thanks to our first official sponsor, Picobel’eau, for its generous participation.

Thank you to all those who have already committed themselves, whatever the amount, to the success of our common project.

On this site, you will find our articles, some internal links, videos and photos but also all the general information.

Want to know more? Don’t hesitate any longer!

Discover the project, make a donation or contact us.