LUMO

The D.R. of Congo is one of the most resource-rich countries in the world, resulting in foreign involvement dating back to Belgian colonization. The agonies of this war-torn region of Africa are etched deeply in the bodies of women. In eastern Congo, vying militias, armies and bandits use rape to break down traditional community structures. Recently engaged to a young man from her village, 20-year-old Lumo Sinai was eager to have children and start a family. But when she crossed paths with marauding soldiers who brutally kidnapped and gang-raped her, she was left with a fistula – a chronic condition that rendered her incontinent and threatened her ability to give birth. Rejected by her fiancé and cast aside by her family, Lumo found her way to the one place that may save her: a hospital for rape survivors. LUMO is an intimate look into a young woman’s tragedy and healing process, and, by extension, into the scourge of rape that marks the war-torn politics of central Africa. LUMO also is the story of HEAL Africa, a remarkable hospital in Goma, D.R. Congo, that works tirelessly to restore the physical and mental health of women suffering in an epidemic of fistula caused by rape. HEAL Africa also works for peace and development through its education, micro-finance, and reconciliation initiatives. Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times has highly recommended LUMO and deemed the Congolese-led organization HEAL Africa “truly heroic.”