DRC - IRC Call to Action Speech Outline

Adam Behnke

General Purpose: To actuate Specic Purpose: To actuate the audience to donate to the International Rescue Committee because of the positive impact they are having on the Democratic Republic of Congo right now. Thesis: The International Rescue Committee is giving needed support to the Democratic Republic of Congo. Introduction I. In the heart of Africa, over 5.4 million people have died in the last ten years in one country as a result of violence and conict. A.All this has happened and is still happening in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the mysterious country most popularly highlighted in Joseph Conrads classic novel, Heart of Darkness. B.This large number makes it the bloodiest and worst humanitarian crisis since the holocaust of WWII. C.What can be done, and what needs to be done? TRANSITION: Will you choose to hear? Will you choose to help? Will you choose justice? Body I. The people of the Democratic Republic of Congo need help. A. There homeland was the site for a seven-year civil war that ended in 2004 and involved upwards of ten African countries 1. A peace was nally brokered, but the chaos of the civil war open the doors for the emergence of many rebel militias who sought to control part of the Congos vast mineral wealth. 2. The ethnic rivalry that fueled the Rwanda genocide spilled over into the DRC, adding another dimension to the current conicts between rebels and government troops. B.According to a United Nations news agency, 100,000 Congolese have been forced from their homes in the last month (IRIN). 1.1.2 million people are still displaced or rebuilding their lives after the conict between rebel and government troops last fall (Congo Advocacy Coalition). 2. Camps made up of displaced persons are unstable and dangerous. C. In the last few years, the DRC has gained the name rape capital of the world (Kristoff). 1.Less than a year ago, the United Nations stated there were over 2,000 rape cases reported in ONE month in ONE province alone. a)On top of this number, many (if not most) women and children do not report rape to authorities. b)There is not an ofcial statistic on how many rapes were reported nationwide, but the number could be well over 30,000 rapes/year (Over 2,000).

DRC - IRC Call to Action Speech Outline

Adam Behnke

2.Listen to what The Christian Science Monitor says about rape: Sexual violence haunts its victims long after the initial attack. Each act of rape humiliates its victims; emasculates men who are unable to protect them; and traumatizes victims, their families, and, in times of war, entire communities. The chronic physical conditions that rape can cause may be considered family humiliations and result in the banishment of victims from their own homes (Sommers and Birch). D. The Center for American Progress reports that 45,000 people die each month from the effects of the conict (Conict Areas). 1. Children make up half of those who are dying. 2. Most of the deaths are from preventable illnesses, such as diarrhea, malaria, and pneumonia, malnutrition (theirc.org). TRANSITION: So much, so much.... A place with humans just like you and me, but with lives that are completely different. Something needs to be done, but a few of us here could not possibly bring peace and security to all the Congolese people. II. There are large-scale aid efforts happening right now. A. As of November 2008, USAID (our governments major foreign aid institution) has given upwards of $175 million in the form of humanitarian assistance, food supplies, and refugee programs to the DRC (USAID). B. In addition, the largest UN military force --20,000 uniformed personnel, and budget --$1.2 billion, ever is focused in the DRC (MONUC). TRANSITION: This organizations are helping to shape the government, stop the violence, and work on xing the economic structure of the country. They are working on the big stuff. However, we too can change and save lives in the DRC through the IRC, the International Rescue Committee. III. The International Rescue Committee is giving needed support to the Democratic Republic of Congo. A. With over 400 staff members in the DRC right now, the IRC has various programs tailored specically to the needs there. 1. In the conict zones in Eastern Congo, they are providing, among other essentials, nutritional supplements, blankets, and clean water to thousands of refugees. 2.They are providing health care to 3.6 million in conjunction with the Ministry of Health. a)There work includes building/rebuilding health centers, training health care workers on all levels, providing health supplies, and strengthening the health network of the country as a whole. b)They conducted 4 major health/mortality surveys on the country from 2004-2008, the rst of their kind, which have shed light on the depth of

DRC - IRC Call to Action Speech Outline

Adam Behnke

depravity in the country so that they and others effectively give lifesaving aid. 3. They have helped over 40,000 rape victims and their families through free medical services, individual and family counseling, and legal assistance. 4. They are constantly working with almost 2 million Congolese people to learn in order to better provide. a)They interact daily with the people, those in even the humblest positions. b)This enables them to provide more education through funding and qualityimprovement in the schools, including teacher-training, funds, and administrative skill. B. The IRC has the credibility and integrity to help in as tough a situation as the DRC. 1.They received a perfect score from the major charity watch-dog organizations. 2.90% of their funds are spent on programs and services (www.theirc.org). 3.The crisis in the Congo requires an organization of this caliber. C. Men, remember when you used to play outside with your friends when you were younger? 1. The boys in the DRC are just as fun-loving as we were when we were younger. a) They make forts, kick around any kind of ball they can nd, and I bet think girls have cooties. b) However, the shoot-em-up game of cowboys and indians commonly played by boys here in America is somewhat of a reality in the DRC. 2. Often, when these boys are playing together, men approach with guns and recruit the boys who cannot run away fast enough. 3. Rebel militias brainwash these recruits(boys), turning them into irrational and unpredictable soldiers that are coerced to pillage, rape, and kill. 4. *****Right now, the IRC is working to rescue these boys and return them to their families. 5. *****So far, 1300 families have been reunited with their boys and beneted from the IRCs follow-up services, which includes education and job-training awareness for the future. D. Women, could you imagine facing the risk of being raped while performing your daily activities of providing for you family? 1. Gathering rewood is essential in order to make food and provide heat in the poor and needy camps. 2. The forests surrounding these camps are a prime place for men to rape helpless and unprotected women. 3. There are countless stories of women being raped by four, ten, --sometimes more, men while they are going on these rewood journeys. 4. *****Thanks to the IRC, tens of thousands of these women are receiving rewood and fuel-efcient stoves so they do not have to risk being raped on these rewood journeys. TRANSITION: The Lord is passionate about helping the poor. God commands us in Isaiah 1:17 to Learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the

DRC - IRC Call to Action Speech Outline

Adam Behnke

cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow. Even further, Proverbs 29:7 points out that the righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern. Conclusion (heres what I want you to do, outline exactly what I want them to do) I. My heart hurts for the those in the DRC. A. But the hurting of my heart does not equal the grief, lack of hope, the pain, and the dying of the Congolese people. B. I have index cards for all of you with the many easy ways to donate to the International Rescue Committee. C. Truly hearing about the Congo crisis will demonstrate itself in action. 1. As we are in college, we do not have extra money. 2. However, think about how much the Congolese people are living on and how much we are living on. 3. With this perspective, can you sacrice in order to save the lives of the destitute in the DRC? ENDING: Will you choose to hear? Will you choose to help? Will you choose justice?

DRC - IRC Call to Action Speech Outline

Adam Behnke

Works Cited: "Conict Areas: Eastern Congo." Enough. Center for American Progress. 18 Feb. 2009 <http://www.enoughproject.org/conict_areas/eastern_congo>. Congo Advocacy Coalition. "Congo Advocacy Coalition letter to United Nations: Civilian Protection Now |." Enough. 6 Feb. 2009. Center for American Progress. 18 Feb. 2009 <http://www.enoughproject.org/publications/congo-advocacy-coalitionletter-united-nations-civilian-protection-now>. "DRC: Civilians suffer as Uganda takes on LRA." IRIN humanitarian news and analysis. 18 Feb. 2009. UN Ofce for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. 17 Feb. 2009 <http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=82475>. Kristoff, Nicholas. "The Weapon of Rape." New York Times 15 June 2008, Opinion sec. New York Times. 15 June 2008. The New York Times Company. 21 Mar. 2009 <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/15/opinion/15kristof.html?_r=1&ref=opinion>. "MONUC: United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo - Facts and Figures." MONUC. 2009. United Nations. 7 Apr. 2009 <http:// www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/monuc/facts.html>. "Over 2,000 raped last month in Congo's east - report." Monuc.org. 29 July 2008. United Nations - MONUC. 21 Mar. 2009 <http://www.monuc.org/news.aspx? newsID=17829>. Sommers, Marc, and Kathryn Birch. "Combat the terror of rape in Congo." CSMonitor.com. 27 Jan. 2009. The Christian Science Monitor. 18 Feb. 2009 <http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0127/p09s02-coop.html>. USAID. "First U.S. Flight with Humanitarian Goods Arrives in Democratic Republic of Congo." Press release. USAID From the American People. 13 Nov. 2008. USAID. 7 Apr. 2009 <http://www.usaid.gov/press/releases/2008/pr081113.html>.