SAMANTHA POWER'S REMARKS AT SAVE THE CHILDREN ILLUMINATION GALA

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 
U.S. Mission to the United Nations: Remarks at the Save the Children Illumination Gala
Samantha Power
U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations 
New York, NY
November 20, 2014

AS DELIVERED

Thank you so much, Jennifer, and please know that the other 192 countries have nothing on my five-year old and my two-year old, [Laughter] for the record. And thank you Carolyn and everybody who has spoken up here. Thank you, especially—there’s a lot of fancy people here—but thank you especially, Lily—Lily! Let’s give it up for Lily! [Applause]

Before the year 2004 when the Red Sox—from Boston—[laughter] won the first of three World Series championships this decade [applause] it may have been tempting to believe that Ben Affleck cared about the underdog because of his own personal suffering. [Laughter] But now we know that there must be something else going on.

Back in February, Ben testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about the ongoing civil war and atrocities being carried out in Congo. At the outset, he told the Committee, “I am, to state the obvious, not a Congo expert. I am an American working to do my part for a country and a people I believe in and care deeply about.” But then Ben proceeded to lay out an in depth analysis of the evolving situation in a place he has traveled to 14 times in the last decade – touching on complex issues like the disarmament of rebel groups and the specifics around the renewal of the mandate for UN peacekeepers. He wrapped up with a set of extremely targeted policy recommendations and this was the furthest thing from amateur testimony.

For anyone who has ever talked to Ben about the Congo, you know that this is how he rolls. On the one hand, he is utterly humble and self-effacing about his role and his knowledge, on the other he is wholly dedicated to helping a region and a people who have suffered the most horrific violence imaginable.

The way Ben has learned – or as he would say, has “done his homework” on Congo – is by asking questions. Lots and lots of rigorous, drilling down, precise, never let go, never let up, always a follow up, questions. And that’s whether he’s talking to high-level policymakers or local human rights defenders, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, victims of atrocities, or perpetrators, Ben probes for answers. Why has the campaign to disarm that rebel group fallen short? How can we empower and protect girl victims of rape so that they are less afraid to report it. Questions aimed at understanding what is broken, and how to fix it. And Ben is a sponge; he soaks up all the facts and arguments and then turns them around for his advocacy and the service that his organization provides.

Ben has been asking these questions for nearly a decade about a place that far too few ask any questions about – a region where, in some parts, two out of three women and girls have been sexually assaulted; where nearly half of the people in the region know someone who has been a child soldier; in a country where nearly three million people have been internally displaced by violence.

Yet, where many people saw a region that would always be divided by war, just because it had been for so very long, Ben saw a reason for hope for the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo. His homework taught him that, empowered with the right tools, people in Congo can and are rebuilding their families and communities.

In a world where aid too often comes from the top down, and treats beneficiaries as passive victims who need outside saviors, the organization Ben founded does the opposite. The Eastern Congo Initiative finds partners in communities who can build change from the grassroots up, and gives them the tools that they need to do it. Women lawyers who bring the perpetrators of unspeakable sexual crimes to justice; educators who give former child soldiers an accelerated primary education so that they can catch up with their peers; birth attendants who can consult and can prevent maternal deaths. ECI recognizes that these local actors – teaming up with the actors – make the most effective change agents. And while they are willing to fight alone, they shouldn’t have to.

The impact of the support that ECI provides – and Ben’s effort to convince other governments and organizations to lend similar support – has been profound. It has given people who want to change their country, who want to be better for themselves, for their families, for their kids, the means to do it.

So, as much as Ben may say he’s not an expert, this much is certain: he is making an outsize impact in a region and for a people he believes in, and he is making other people believe, too.

For that reason, it is an honor to present Ben Affleck with the Save the Children’s Global Child Advocate Award. Congratulations, Ben.

SECRETARY KERRY'S REMARKS ON ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN KINSHASA, CONGO

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 

Remarks at Pharmacy Supported by Micro-Finance

Remarks

John Kerry

Secretary of State

SINOCO Medical Supply Store

Kinshasa, Congo (Kinshasa)

May 3, 2014

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SECRETARY KERRY: Patricia Nzolantima is a YALI graduate, this beautiful woman to my left here, which is the Young African Leaders Initiative that President Obama started. And she graduated from it in 2011?

MS. NZOLANTIMA: Yes. (Inaudible.)

SECRETARY KERRY: 2012.

MS. NZOLANTIMA: (Inaudible.)

SECRETARY KERRY: 2012, yeah. And Irene Mpoy is now in YALI, and she will be coming to Washington, right? No?

MS. MPOY: No.

SECRETARY KERRY: You’re not coming? Oh, I thought she was coming. (Inaudible.) There are 12 young leaders in the entire Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, who have been selected to take part in the Young African Leaders program. And they are an amazing group. When the Embassy here promoted the concept of the Young African Leaders program, there were a thousand applications very, very quickly to 12 positions. And these 12 leaders will be coming – a number of them be – they will be coming to Washington at the time of the African Leaders Summit, a two-day summit with President Obama. And I will be meeting, and other Administration people will be meeting with young African leaders in order to do as much as we can to promote this program, and mostly to promote entrepreneurship. I want to tell you about that.

Patricia, who is an entrepreneur – and you saw her magazine over here, which she publishes six times a year, once every two months, 10,000 issues. She does them free distribution, but the promotion – the 10,000 distribution guarantees the advertisement. And so she is a true entrepreneur. And she also provides to pharmacies, to a group of pharmacies – I think you have about 75, how many?

MS. NZOLANTIMA: Seventy-five.

SECRETARY KERRY: Seventy-five, yes. Seventy-five pharmacies. And what she does is buys her supplies, then she provides them to people like Irene. This is Irene’s store, her showroom. And here she sells both the major products that you see to clinics, hospitals, et cetera. But she also provides drugs, a pharmacy.

And you see a picture right here of one these pharmacy setups. It’s basically a sort of a predetermined concept where X number of drugs of different kinds that they know are going to be used are placed there. But what happens is Patricia is the one who provides the money to Irene to be able to pay for the drugs, and she buys them back from Patricia’s company at a discount. And her efforts are non-profit. She is trying to simply grow the ability of these women to be able to own their own pharmacy and own their own establishment. It’s a wonderful example of entrepreneurial activity. It’s the best of some independent initiative taking an enterprise and going out and making something happen.

We want this to happen all over the Democratic Republic of Congo, all over Africa. We want to grow the ability of young people, young people who are the future, to be able to create jobs, to have their own businesses, to have an idea and perhaps go out and fail, but at least be able to try and make a difference. That’s what makes entrepreneurial activity work for an entire country. And we’re going to try and support that.

So I’m very, very happy to be here and to celebrate this woman’s initiative and this woman’s willingness to take up her initiative and use her initiative to make it into something that serves the people. It’s a wonderful example of entrepreneurial activity.

We look forward to welcoming those who will come to Washington from the YALI program, and I know that President Obama is very excited about this initiative. I met with some YALI students this morning in Addis Ababa. They were all excited and ready to fire up and engage in their own entrepreneurial activity.

So I’m privileged to come here. I want to thank you. (In French.) And I’m really happy to be here, too. Thank you. Take care. Thank you all. (Applause.)