City of Joy

23 Feb

Posted at 06:55h in City of Joy

Christine Schuler Deschryver’s TED Talk has just been released as is available for viewing. In the talk entitled "The 5 Tenets of Turning Pain into Power," Christine details how rape is often used as a weapon in the war over the Democratic Republic of Congo’s vast mineral resources, and how City of Joy helps survivors empower themselves, breaking the destructive cycle that sexual violence often has on individuals and communities. "The reason for this unrelenting violence is an ongoing proxy war for the country's vast mineral resources, which are essential to the production of your computers, phones, and electronics. In Congo, rape...

22 Dec

Posted at 12:16h in City of Joy, Newsletter, V-Day

WHEN THEY LEFT CITY OF JOY, EACH WOMAN LEFT WITH HER KEY, THE KEY TO HER LIFE: 2069 WOMEN HAVE GRADUATED FROM THE CITY OF JOY TO DATE Update from Christine Schuler Deschryver, Director of V-Day Congo and Co-Founder/Director of City of Joy Director: This week in Bukavu, 82 women graduated from the City of Joy. The six months of leadership training and healing from post-traumatic stress disorder served as a headlight that shone through the darkness created in each woman’s life. After her physical and mental destruction from an environment haunted by discrimination, subordination, patriarchy, religion, and culture, everything seemed hopeless. In our communities,...

03 Nov

Posted at 13:03h in City of Joy, V-Day

Conflict and escalating violence have displaced 6.9 million people in the Democratic Republic of Congo – a record high number that has impacted all 26 provinces of the country. According to the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration (IOM), 81% of internally displaced peoples live in Congo’s eastern region, which has been engulfed in a brutal proxy war for minerals for over 25 years. This displacement increases the prevalence of sexual violence, disease and hunger. Millions have died, and hundreds of thousands of women and girls have been raped and sexually tortured. These crimes are committed with near total impunity and, despite...

23 Oct

Posted at 18:46h in City of Joy, V-Day

With gratitude Atlanta! Our Sunday, October 8 V25 gathering - AN EVENING OF RECKONING & RISING at The Carter Center to celebrate V’s book and V-Day’s 25th anniversary was a stunning success and raised over $80k for the City of Joy. Our deepest thanks to V-Day board members Pat Mitchell, Jane Fonda, Rosario Dawson and Maya Penn for leading the host committee and whose performances captivated the audience. With gratitude for our host committee: V (formerly Eve Ensler), Paige Alexander, Angie Allen, Nikki Noto Benitez, Sara Blakely, Sarah Cipperly, Tena Clark, Enid Draluck, Staci Fox, Pat Mitchell, Laura Turner Seydel, and Susan...

21 Sep

Posted at 13:56h in City of Joy, Newsletter, V-Day

Selling fast! An Evening of Reckoning & Rising with V, Rosario Dawson, Jane Fonda, Pat Mitchell, Maya Penn, Christine Schuler Deschryver & More to Benefit the City of Joy Visit vday.org/atlantaV25 for ticket info and to purchase Tickets are $50*, $500 and $1000. *We have a special discount of 25% off $50 tickets by using promo code ACTIVIST Proceeds to benefit City of Joy, a revolutionary center for women survivors of gender based violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Note: The $500 and $1000 tickets include admission to a pre-cocktail reception from 5:00-6:00 pm to honor Christine and the work of City of Joy in...

15 Aug

Posted at 13:21h in City of Joy, Newsletter, V-Day

Join Us! On Sunday, 8 October, V-Day and The Carter Center will present An Evening of Reckoning and Rising featuring V (formerly Eve Ensler), V-Day Board Members Rosario Dawson, Jane Fonda, Maya Penn & Pat Mitchell; City of Joy co-Founder and Director of V-Day Congo Christine Schuler Deschryver; Joaquina Kalukango reading from Reckoning, the newest book from V, Tony Award-winning, bestselling author of The Vagina Monologues, as V-Day marks its 25th anniversary in 2023. Visit vday.org/atlantaV25 for information and tickets ($50, $500* and $1000*) Proceeds will benefit City of Joy, a transformative leadership center for women survivors of gender-based violence in the Democratic Republic of...

19 Jul

Posted at 13:29h in City of Joy, Newsletter, Uncategorized, V-Day

WE HAVE BECOME MAKERS OF CHANGE 23RD CLASS GRADUATES FROM THE CITY OF JOY On 23 June, City of Joy celebrated its 23rd graduation! 85 joyous women who have turned their pain to power. 1987 graduates to date. They are change makers returning to their villages, becoming businesswomen, teachers, journalists, non-profit leaders, artists, creators, following their dreams and vision. Congratulations to V-Day Congo Director and Co-founder/Director of City of Joy Christine Schuler Deschryver and the team at City of Joy and to all of the graduates! A REPORT ON THE GRADUATION: Since January, a group of 85 women survivors of sexual and gender-based...

17 Jul

Posted at 17:11h in City of Joy

Since January, a group of 85 women survivors of sexual and gender-based violence have been sheltered at the City of Joy, the revolutionary center in the Democratic Republic of Congo, for training in emotional healing and leadership skills development. The graduation marked a breaking turning point, where after six months of training and healing, laughing and smiling, dancing and dressing wounds, and embracing and counseling, we could place our hopes in 85 women who, as one of them said, are needed to make change happen in the DRC. The 23rd class transformed their pain into power, releasing their suffering and investing in...

25 May

Posted at 05:43h in City of Joy, Newsletter, One Billion Rising, V-Day, Voices

25 May is our visionary Founder V (formerly Eve Ensler)'s 70th birthday! To celebrate this milestone, and to commemorate 25 years of V-Day – the movement that she launched with her pathbreaking play The Vagina Monologues – we are raising funds for V-Day’s ongoing work across the world. It is nearly impossible to summarize the vast impact that V has had on this movement, the communities in which it lives and the culture at large. V has inspired countless individuals to become life-long activists working to end violence in all of its forms. She has helped grassroots leaders get the spotlight they...

14 Feb

Posted at 15:51h in City of Joy, Newsletter, One Billion Rising, V-Day, Voices

2023 marks 25 years of our global activist movement to end violence against women, gender expansive people, girls and the planet. YOUR work and voice have played a central role in the V-Day story and for that you have our gratitude, always. For 25 years, V-Day has unleashed vast grassroots, anti-violence work on college campuses and in communities – visionary work that has been survivor-led and focused, all the while revealing the power of art and activism to change culture and systems. "What happens when you start trusting women? We have the receipts" by V, Asali DeVan Ecclesiastes, Dana Aliya Levinson, Célia...