1
00:00:05,200 --> 00:00:07,440
Speaker 1: Hey, this is Annie and Samantha and welcome to Stephan

2
00:00:07,440 --> 00:00:09,120
Speaker 1: I never told you direction by her radio.

3
00:00:18,760 --> 00:00:22,239
Speaker 2: And happy December everybody. We are in the middle of it,

4
00:00:22,320 --> 00:00:26,239
Speaker 2: I know. And today we are featuring an activist and

5
00:00:26,320 --> 00:00:31,680
Speaker 2: human rights advocate, Christine Schuler Describer for our activists around

6
00:00:31,680 --> 00:00:33,839
Speaker 2: the world or feminist around the world. You know how

7
00:00:33,880 --> 00:00:38,240
Speaker 2: we love to switch up the names or I do. Yes, yeah,

8
00:00:38,360 --> 00:00:41,080
Speaker 2: we're gonna play put that on me. But yeah, so

9
00:00:41,400 --> 00:00:45,000
Speaker 2: a Describer has been an activist for decades fighting for

10
00:00:45,040 --> 00:00:48,120
Speaker 2: the rights and protection of women in her country. She

11
00:00:48,240 --> 00:00:50,879
Speaker 2: talks openly of her love and desire to better the

12
00:00:50,920 --> 00:00:53,600
Speaker 2: lives of those from her home in the Democratic Republic

13
00:00:53,640 --> 00:00:57,240
Speaker 2: of Congo, calling Kavu her home. She has worked hard

14
00:00:57,280 --> 00:01:00,880
Speaker 2: in establishing the City of Joy, a nonproper that seeks

15
00:01:00,880 --> 00:01:04,240
Speaker 2: to quote provide women with the opportunity to heal and

16
00:01:04,280 --> 00:01:08,040
Speaker 2: redirect themselves in a community on their own terms. And

17
00:01:08,120 --> 00:01:11,959
Speaker 2: this is according to their website Cityofjoycongo dot org and

18
00:01:12,160 --> 00:01:15,600
Speaker 2: Describer and the organization have been doing just that. Here's

19
00:01:15,600 --> 00:01:18,800
Speaker 2: some more information about the City of Joy. The City

20
00:01:18,840 --> 00:01:23,080
Speaker 2: of Joy is a transformational leadership community for women survivors

21
00:01:23,080 --> 00:01:27,679
Speaker 2: of violence located in Bukavu, Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

22
00:01:27,920 --> 00:01:31,920
Speaker 2: or the DRC. Conceived, owned and run by the local Congolese,

23
00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:34,520
Speaker 2: The City of Joy has flourished since it first opened

24
00:01:34,560 --> 00:01:37,920
Speaker 2: its doors in June twenty eleven, healing women from their

25
00:01:37,920 --> 00:01:41,120
Speaker 2: past trauma through therapy and life skills programming while providing

26
00:01:41,120 --> 00:01:44,160
Speaker 2: them with the essential ingredients needed to move forward in life,

27
00:01:44,280 --> 00:01:46,880
Speaker 2: love and community. And they have worked to help the

28
00:01:46,880 --> 00:01:51,400
Speaker 2: women thrive in their community. The site continues, saying since

29
00:01:51,480 --> 00:01:55,040
Speaker 2: opening its stores in twenty eleven, one and fifty eight

30
00:01:55,080 --> 00:01:58,240
Speaker 2: women have graduated from the City of Joy, held themselves,

31
00:01:58,560 --> 00:02:02,720
Speaker 2: been nurtured, learned new skills, empowered themselves and joined into

32
00:02:02,760 --> 00:02:05,920
Speaker 2: a network of love and revolution. These women have released

33
00:02:06,040 --> 00:02:10,040
Speaker 2: massive trauma and horrific memories. They have danced, sung, learned

34
00:02:10,040 --> 00:02:14,080
Speaker 2: their rights, perform plays, developed agricultural skills, and come to

35
00:02:14,120 --> 00:02:17,640
Speaker 2: love their bodies. They've become leaders in their communities. They're

36
00:02:17,639 --> 00:02:21,320
Speaker 2: no longer stigmatized for being raped. These women are forces

37
00:02:21,360 --> 00:02:26,480
Speaker 2: of energy and determination, entrepreneurs of small businesses, initiators of collectives,

38
00:02:26,520 --> 00:02:30,680
Speaker 2: restaurant owners, farmers with new land, educators and advocates on

39
00:02:30,720 --> 00:02:34,799
Speaker 2: sexual violence, volunteers and self created recruiting networks for new

40
00:02:34,840 --> 00:02:39,680
Speaker 2: women at the center, journalists, immigration workers, tailors, students, herbalists,

41
00:02:39,720 --> 00:02:43,239
Speaker 2: and the list goes on. So Describer has been leading

42
00:02:43,280 --> 00:02:46,799
Speaker 2: this group to teach women to become survivors and advocate

43
00:02:46,840 --> 00:02:49,880
Speaker 2: for themselves as well as others. And she's dedicated her

44
00:02:49,919 --> 00:02:52,360
Speaker 2: life to this mission. After the rape and death of

45
00:02:52,360 --> 00:02:54,800
Speaker 2: her best friend in nineteen ninety eight, she became a

46
00:02:54,840 --> 00:02:58,840
Speaker 2: fierce voice in protecting women and children against such horrendous violence.

47
00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:00,560
Speaker 2: And this is all over the world world, not just

48
00:03:00,720 --> 00:03:03,920
Speaker 2: in the DRC. In a twenty twenty three TED talk,

49
00:03:04,080 --> 00:03:06,280
Speaker 2: Describer talks about her work and how the City of

50
00:03:06,360 --> 00:03:10,040
Speaker 2: Joy has pushed to bring safety to her community. Here's

51
00:03:10,080 --> 00:03:12,320
Speaker 2: what she had to say about the organization in this

52
00:03:12,440 --> 00:03:15,840
Speaker 2: TED talk. City of Joy is a physical place, but

53
00:03:15,960 --> 00:03:19,040
Speaker 2: is also a desire, a vision, a metaphor for turning

54
00:03:19,080 --> 00:03:23,200
Speaker 2: pain into power. And by power we mean care, compassion, community.

55
00:03:24,200 --> 00:03:26,600
Speaker 2: And yeah, she continued in that Tech talk about the

56
00:03:26,639 --> 00:03:29,800
Speaker 2: hard work and guiding principles they used to make the

57
00:03:29,840 --> 00:03:32,040
Speaker 2: City of Joy successful. And we want to give a

58
00:03:32,040 --> 00:03:36,680
Speaker 2: shout out to Goodgodgod dot Co, who gave us a

59
00:03:36,720 --> 00:03:39,160
Speaker 2: summary of the TED talk as well as played the

60
00:03:39,160 --> 00:03:41,360
Speaker 2: TED talk for us and kind of give you more

61
00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:43,760
Speaker 2: in depth information. And this is where we got some

62
00:03:43,840 --> 00:03:46,840
Speaker 2: of this guidelines from. Where the guiding principles from. So

63
00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:50,280
Speaker 2: one they say is rebirth. A Descriver says that the

64
00:03:50,320 --> 00:03:52,960
Speaker 2: living principle of City of Joy is a belief that

65
00:03:52,960 --> 00:03:55,600
Speaker 2: there is no woman, no matter how hard or validated,

66
00:03:55,720 --> 00:03:59,920
Speaker 2: broken or loss, who cannot be restored. The second principle

67
00:04:00,280 --> 00:04:03,960
Speaker 2: the women, and they quote Describer emphasize that the City

68
00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:06,800
Speaker 2: of Joy succeeds because the women who run it actually

69
00:04:06,840 --> 00:04:10,040
Speaker 2: live and work in the community they serve. She says,

70
00:04:10,160 --> 00:04:12,520
Speaker 2: the women of Congo envision the City of Joy, and

71
00:04:12,560 --> 00:04:14,880
Speaker 2: they're the ones who run it. Our sisters in the

72
00:04:14,880 --> 00:04:18,040
Speaker 2: West help by providing resources and sharing our story by

73
00:04:18,160 --> 00:04:22,360
Speaker 2: being wings at our back. The third is the community,

74
00:04:22,760 --> 00:04:25,640
Speaker 2: and she says at City of Joy, women come to

75
00:04:25,760 --> 00:04:29,080
Speaker 2: understand that their healing is intertwined with their sister's healing.

76
00:04:29,520 --> 00:04:33,040
Speaker 2: The collective healing of women leads to radical political awakening.

77
00:04:33,440 --> 00:04:36,200
Speaker 2: It teaches women how to lead by investing in the

78
00:04:36,279 --> 00:04:40,800
Speaker 2: whole community. The fourth is the earth. She says, I

79
00:04:40,839 --> 00:04:42,760
Speaker 2: grew up with a deep love and respect for the

80
00:04:42,800 --> 00:04:45,440
Speaker 2: earth and a vision for connecting the healing of women

81
00:04:45,520 --> 00:04:47,680
Speaker 2: with the healing of the earth. The farm is a

82
00:04:47,680 --> 00:04:51,480
Speaker 2: living classroom and we witness the profound healing of survivors

83
00:04:51,520 --> 00:04:54,479
Speaker 2: as they connect with and cherish the earth. And the

84
00:04:54,520 --> 00:04:58,719
Speaker 2: fifth is the arts. At the City of Joy, song, art, dance,

85
00:04:58,839 --> 00:05:02,160
Speaker 2: creativity are vital to the survivor's recovery and further build

86
00:05:02,160 --> 00:05:05,479
Speaker 2: a sense of community. Describer says dance is central to

87
00:05:05,520 --> 00:05:07,960
Speaker 2: healing as it allows women to feel the expanse of

88
00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:11,040
Speaker 2: their power and energy, to begin to love their bodies,

89
00:05:11,320 --> 00:05:15,559
Speaker 2: to move in community, to express their creativity, to share

90
00:05:15,640 --> 00:05:20,040
Speaker 2: community tribal dances, and remove cultural barriers. So yeah, these

91
00:05:20,080 --> 00:05:25,320
Speaker 2: guidelines and principles have made this program invaluable in the community.

92
00:05:25,520 --> 00:05:28,080
Speaker 2: Going back to their website, they state that their program

93
00:05:28,160 --> 00:05:32,360
Speaker 2: philosophy as this quote, the City of Joy is different

94
00:05:32,400 --> 00:05:36,480
Speaker 2: than other traditional ngeodirect service programs. It does not use

95
00:05:36,520 --> 00:05:39,400
Speaker 2: a sponsorship model, and it does not view the women

96
00:05:39,480 --> 00:05:42,600
Speaker 2: it serves as individuals that need to be saved. Rather,

97
00:05:43,000 --> 00:05:45,400
Speaker 2: the City of Joy aims to provide women with the

98
00:05:45,440 --> 00:05:49,120
Speaker 2: opportunity to heal and redirect themselves in a community on

99
00:05:49,200 --> 00:05:52,760
Speaker 2: their own terms. Our philosophy is grounded in the beliefs

100
00:05:52,839 --> 00:05:56,440
Speaker 2: that each woman is unique, valuable to her society, and

101
00:05:56,480 --> 00:05:59,440
Speaker 2: has a right to be treated with dignity, respect, love,

102
00:05:59,480 --> 00:06:03,440
Speaker 2: and compassion. Women are not broken victims. Rather, they are

103
00:06:03,560 --> 00:06:08,000
Speaker 2: survivors who've been through unjust gender traumas. Each woman is

104
00:06:08,120 --> 00:06:12,120
Speaker 2: capable of activating her own ability to recover, heal, and

105
00:06:12,160 --> 00:06:17,559
Speaker 2: be an empowered and transformational leader. Rebirth is possible. Yeah,

106
00:06:17,600 --> 00:06:22,600
Speaker 2: all of these amazing guidelines and principles really are something

107
00:06:22,720 --> 00:06:26,880
Speaker 2: that Describeder talks and emphasizes when she talks on interviews

108
00:06:27,040 --> 00:06:29,600
Speaker 2: or when she is just having or when she's doing

109
00:06:29,640 --> 00:06:33,600
Speaker 2: ted talks or other panels, because she really believes that

110
00:06:33,920 --> 00:06:37,320
Speaker 2: true healing has to be obviously through the women themselves,

111
00:06:37,800 --> 00:06:41,400
Speaker 2: as well as understanding that even though with all the

112
00:06:41,400 --> 00:06:43,280
Speaker 2: things that the DRC has gone through, and we've talked

113
00:06:43,320 --> 00:06:46,400
Speaker 2: about this repeatedly, about the different crisis that are going

114
00:06:46,440 --> 00:06:50,400
Speaker 2: through and the fact that there are conflicts within that community,

115
00:06:50,880 --> 00:06:54,360
Speaker 2: that's not their only feature, that that's not who they

116
00:06:54,400 --> 00:06:56,799
Speaker 2: are as a whole, but that they are a powerful,

117
00:06:56,880 --> 00:07:00,680
Speaker 2: loving community and that yes they have trauma, but more

118
00:07:00,760 --> 00:07:02,840
Speaker 2: so that they are able to work through that trauma

119
00:07:03,080 --> 00:07:07,880
Speaker 2: and become a survivors and become advocates for themselves and

120
00:07:07,920 --> 00:07:11,160
Speaker 2: their community. So she is really powerful when she talks

121
00:07:11,200 --> 00:07:14,720
Speaker 2: about how much she loves her country and what she's

122
00:07:14,760 --> 00:07:18,120
Speaker 2: trying to do to preserve who they are, truly who

123
00:07:18,120 --> 00:07:20,640
Speaker 2: they are. So if you have time, you should definitely

124
00:07:20,640 --> 00:07:23,040
Speaker 2: go check out her ted talk. Go look up their site,

125
00:07:23,160 --> 00:07:27,160
Speaker 2: the Cityofjoy dot org. They've got some amazing information and

126
00:07:27,280 --> 00:07:29,160
Speaker 2: ways to help as well.

127
00:07:29,400 --> 00:07:34,240
Speaker 1: Yes, definitely go do that. Listeners h and another one

128
00:07:34,240 --> 00:07:36,200
Speaker 1: that I'm sure we'll check back in in the future

129
00:07:36,560 --> 00:07:39,800
Speaker 1: and feel cheese up too. Yes. In the meantime, if

130
00:07:39,840 --> 00:07:42,200
Speaker 1: you would like to contact us, you can get emails

131
00:07:42,200 --> 00:07:45,040
Speaker 1: at Stuffie momsteph atiheartmedia dot com. You can find us

132
00:07:45,080 --> 00:07:48,000
Speaker 1: on Twitter and blue sky at Mom stuff Podcast, and

133
00:07:48,080 --> 00:07:50,320
Speaker 1: on Instagram and TikTok at stuff When I Ever Told You.

134
00:07:50,360 --> 00:07:52,400
Speaker 1: We are on YouTube, we have a tea public store,

135
00:07:52,440 --> 00:07:53,760
Speaker 1: and we have a book you can get wherever you

136
00:07:53,800 --> 00:07:56,160
Speaker 1: get your books. Thanks, it's always to a super producer, Christen,

137
00:07:56,240 --> 00:07:59,560
Speaker 1: your sexy producer my and urktributor Joey, Thank you and

138
00:07:59,600 --> 00:08:02,000
Speaker 1: thanks for listening. Stefan Never Told You is production by

139
00:08:02,040 --> 00:08:03,680
Speaker 1: Heart Radio forre podcast from my heart Radia. You can

140
00:08:03,760 --> 00:08:05,360
Speaker 1: check out the heart Radio app Apple podcast or if

141
00:08:05,400 --> 00:08:06,760
Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows