#stigma

Neelley Hicks

Jul 2, 2021
5 min

Breaking The Silence

Written by Harper Hill Global Correspondent Daniel Garba, Northern Nigeria Women Arise Nigeria is an organization under Harper Hill Global, which greatly contributes to building the community’s awareness and sensitization of women’s rights within education, marriage, stigmatization, rape, and other related violence. Amplify their voices by giving today. Women Arise Nigeria is under the leadership of Doris J. Adamu and is assisted by Rev. Dr. Rhoda Manzo, who plays an importan

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Neelley Hicks

Aug 3, 2020
3 min

Food for the Body, Mind & Spirit

By Neelley Hicks August 3, 2020 / Nashville, TN USA She put stones and water in the pot, telling her children that dinner must continue to cook and how good it would taste – all the while hoping they would fall asleep for the night, not knowing there was nothing to eat. – Women Arise Collective report from Kenya This is only one of the stories of marginalized women in Africa suffering some of the hardest effects of COVID-19, where mandatory quarantines have made life unbearab

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Answering the Call for Gender Equality, Justice, and Health at Mount Kilimanjaro

Neelley Hicks

Sep 23, 2019
2 min

Answering the Call for Gender Equality, Justice, and Health at Mount Kilimanjaro

By Ronny Ssemujju I was very fortunate, actually blessed, to attend Harper Hill Global’s Women Arise Conference in Arusha, Tanzania. Did you know that BCC stands for Behaviour Change Communication and TIC is shortened for Trauma Informed Care? Our lives are a communicating service, but the big question is, what are we communicating on a daily basis? Are we preventing grief from turning into self-guilt, or are we providing the coal that’s aiding the fire of shame and pain wi

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Women in Leadership Spotlight: Betty Kazadi Musau, Communication for the Good of One Another

Neelley Hicks

Apr 19, 2019
4 min

Women in Leadership Spotlight: Betty Kazadi Musau, Communication for the Good of One Another

It can be hard to imagine an environment where information is not easily accessible by the entire population. In some places, individuals do not have easy access to life-saving information. It’s equally difficult to think about living in an environment where women have to teach other women that their voices matter – that they do not have to remain silent about the stigma placed against them. The heartbreaking reality is that women in many countries all over the world, includi

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Neelley Hicks

Dec 31, 2018
2 min

2018 At a Glance

The voices of women proclaiming their value were amplified throughout a country and the world. Communicating for Equality Neelley and Bibiche Justice means more than prosecution of those who commit sexual violence. It means healing and restored dignity among survivors. In 2018, the “Women Arise” communications campaign in East Congo reached over 750,000 people with these goals in mind. “A Plea to My Father“ tells a story that echoes Bibiche‘s experience. Recently, she said, “

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Neelley Hicks

Oct 3, 2018
3 min

Bibiche’s Story

Bibiche and I met about a year ago, during the “Women Arise from Stigma” workshop at the United Methodist Episcopal offices in Kindu, Democratic Republic of the Congo. She was one of three women who shared their story about being sexually assaulted and then rejected by her family. She was raped at 14 years of age when she left home to get food for the family. Four men abducted her and took her to the forest where they raped her until they heard others coming near. Left alone,

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Neelley Hicks

Oct 3, 2018
2 min

A Future of Hope

Machozi (meaning “tears”) came to the Mama Lynn Center at only 14 years old – an orphan and one of the youngest victims to show up at the Center. The Women Arise from Stigma workshop had just finished when I walked outside and met her. Now part of the second official class at the Center, Machozi sits tentatively by another 14-year old whose wounds are so pronounced, she has only been able to walk again recently. Here, they both will learn that they are “God’s beloved. Nothing

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Neelley Hicks

Aug 20, 2018
1 min

Join Us On The Journey!

Harper Hill Global Executive Director Neelley Hicks will join women across faith, tribal, and geographic lines for September “Women Arise from Stigma” workshops in Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, focusing communications and technology that spreads the message: You are God’s beloved. Nothing and no one can take that from you. This unprecedented work emanates from The United Methodist Church in eastern DR Congo taking a stand against traditions that shun women who’

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“Giving Hope to the Hopeless”: The Mama Lynn Center for Congolese Women

Neelley Hicks

Aug 6, 2018
2 min

“Giving Hope to the Hopeless”: The Mama Lynn Center for Congolese Women

Written by Quinn Needham, Neelley Hicks, ed. Special thanks to Lynn McAlilly, Bishop Gabriel Yemba and Judith Osongo. Turning a Dream into a Reality In June of 2016, the East Congo Episcopal Area officially teamed up with the Tennessee, Memphis, and California Pacific Annual Conferences and began developing the Mama Lynn Center for Congolese Women. Now, just two years later, the three annual conferences have raised enough money to surpass the center’s initial fundraising goal

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Northern Nigeria: Rape, Stigma, and the Unfolding Story

Neelley Hicks

Aug 6, 2018
3 min

Northern Nigeria: Rape, Stigma, and the Unfolding Story

Written by Irmiya Jenis Manni and Victor Babbage; edited by Quinn Needham. A Call to Action IN NORTHERN NIGERIA, the scars from the Boko Haram abductions and the #bringbackourgirls are barely healed while other deep-set scars go barely noticed. These scars come from the senseless sexual violence against the defenseless girl-child, young women, their mothers, and the severe rape induced trauma the rape victims survive afterwards. This is a call for other stakeholders to help v

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Neelley Hicks

May 15, 2018
3 min

Overcoming A Societal Cancer

Correspondent Irmiya Jenis Manni reports on the United Methodist Women of Northern Nigeria’s Women Arise campaign. Societal Rejection Stigmatization is a cancer that has been spreading within society throughout the world. It is a degrading attitude that discredits a person or group because of illness, deformity, color, tribe, nationality, religion, etc. It is said to be as old as man since it was present in early days when health issues like leprosy resulted in exile. HIV and

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Neelley Hicks

Apr 30, 2018
2 min

Beni Women Arise & Call for Peace

A day does not pass in East Congo without a woman being raped. A Call for Justice On April 27, 2018, thousands of women marched in Beni, East Congo, calling for an end to insecurity and massacres of civilians, while new cases of rape were reported by witnesses on the spot. The most recent case is that of April 20, 2018, in which four women were kidnapped and raped by Rebels ADF. Among the victims were two United Methodist women, according to Mother Justine Kavira, the presid

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Neelley Hicks

Apr 10, 2018
2 min

Arise: A Message for All

New Hope During these past few weeks, it seems like everything in Nashville is just beginning to bloom. White blossoms adorn the Bradford pears, the grass is green and lush, and a cluster of yellow daffodils have emerged in front of my mailbox. The sunshine provides a stark contrast to the cold, gray winter behind us. With Easter season still on the mind, I reflect on the symbolism that these signs of spring offer for new life and for hope—themes that also run deeply in the w

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A Display of Hope for East Congo Survivors of Sexual Violence

Neelley Hicks

Jan 3, 2018
3 min

A Display of Hope for East Congo Survivors of Sexual Violence

By Judith Osongo Yanga: Director of Communication, East Congo United Methodist Church The Problem of Rape and Stigma The eastern area of the Democratic Republic of the Congo where one finds our Episcopal region is well-known for numerous troubles from militants or rebels, who often rape women and children. Being innocent and vulnerable these victims are abandoned by their own family, in particular by their husbands. There are many reasons for this, and all of them contribute

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Neelley Hicks

Aug 29, 2017
2 min

Truths and Fallacies

Several friends contacted me yesterday to share NPR’s story, “Attempts To Address Rape In Congo Produced Unintended Consequences.” I’ve worked for the last several years with The United Methodist Church throughout the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and wanted to share my thoughts. A Bigger Problem It’s never a good idea Chameleons are often made in dire situations…people become who you want them to be, when they are living in chronic hopelessness. This is the human conditi

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Join Me in Changing the World through Communications

Neelley Hicks

Aug 24, 2017
2 min

Join Me in Changing the World through Communications

The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet. – Frederick Buechner Over the past two decades, I’ve become a believer in using communications and technology to improve lives and reduce human suffering. I’ve also come to a deep understanding of the influencing role that religious groups play – particularly in parts of the world where new communication technologies are emerging. My calling in life is to address societal issues

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Neelley Hicks

Aug 14, 2017
2 min

Sticks and stones can break…

Stigmatization of rape victims happens the world over. Survivors face harmful words of those who want to lay blame at their feet. But in East Congo, women who suffered at the hands of rebels and soldiers were thrown out of their homes and, as Germain Mupasa said, “treated worse than dogs.” A new communications campaign that reframes “victims” as “survivors” is beginning to take shape – aimed at giving women renewed access to society that has previously shunned them. Working w

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Neelley Hicks

Aug 8, 2017
1 min

“This is our story.” – Georgette

Each story was unique, yet similar, in the horrors shared and the heartbreak that followed. Georgette still doesn’t know if her then-15- Judith Yanga, Director of Communications, East Congo Episcopal Area Although I only met Georgette last week, it was this kind of story that motivated the creation of “A Plea to My Father.” Last November, I talked with Judith Yanga who is the director of communications for the East Congo Episcopal Area about communication resources that could

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