Q. How does coming from the Democratic Republic of Congo shape your view on the world? That is, do your experiences, memories, and culture of the Congo affect the way you look at other countries?
A. I love my country with an intense, passionate love. When I am fighting for Congolese women, I am fighting for Congo. I believe that in order for Congo to get right, things will have to be made right for its women because in its women is everything that Congo’s missing in its off-kilter orbit. Congo is in the basement of every development index on the planet, yet I believe that putting things right here will create a model for getting it right around the world. The reason the Maman Shujaa have gotten some international recognition is because our message is universal. We see ourselves as part of a global sisterhood; part of a whole; and integral part of a whole. That is a mind that is catching because it is right; it is true. We draw on the love, strength, resolve, and universal expectation of our sisters around the world, and they draw the same from us.
Q. We're inspired by your advocacy on behalf of people with disabilities. How has your disability affected your life? Your culture?
A. I have often wondered why I was one who got a disability. It is the cause of a daily physical struggle to do “normal” things. And yet, it hasn’t disabled me. I may be labeled, but on the other hand, I’m unforgettable. My disability distinguishes me, sets me apart. Thanks to my mom, I never thought of myself as less or useless. I’ve always felt Purpose at work in me, guiding me. And yet purpose has both an envisioned end in mind, and a specific path one must follow to reach that end. And that path is full of challenges. At the Women in the World Summit last night I was asked by NBC’s Alex Witt: “What has made you strong?” My answer was “Many challenges.” We all have our challenges. I don’t say mine are more or less than anyone else’s. What I know is that all of us who are driven by purpose face the greatest challenges. Why? Because we’re going somewhere, somewhere special, somewhere enviable. And I believe that anyone going anywhere enviable has in mind that they are beating a path for others, and can’t be satisfied by just arriving, but will only be satisfied when everyone else who wants to come through is through as well.