GBA News

Krista Detor's 6th Annual Holiday Show

Bloomington based singer-songwriter Krista Detor's 6th annual holiday variety show is a benefit for Giving Back to Africa. The show this year includes performances by Detor, April Eight of the Honeycombs and New York's Kenny White with stories by Gladys Devane and surprise guests.

Show date: December 15th, 2011 at the Bloomington Convention Center

Tickets on sale soon

Sponsored by Bloom Magazine and Bloomingfoods Market & Deli and Markey's Rental and Staging

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Past Events

Congo Symposium: Natural resource wars in D.R. Congo and their impact on women and children

Friday May 21 - Saturday May 22, 2010

Sheraton Hotel-Downtown, Indianapolis, IN

Featured Plenary speakers:

  • GEORGES NZONGOLA-NTALAJA

    • Professor of Political Sciences at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill

  • KEITH HARMON SNOW

    • A war correspondent, photographer and independent investigator based at the University of California Santa Barbara. He is known for his investigative work on war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity.

  • MUADI MUKENGE

    • Regional Director for Sub-Saharan Africa - Global Fund for Women. Ms. Mukenge's work is focused on issues related to women's health, sexual violence, human rights, conflict resolution, and foreign policy toward Africa.

Sponsored by Global Ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ and The Center for Research on the Congo(CEREC), Urbana-Champaign, IL

GBA Week at Indiana University

  • Monday, April 5th - GBA speakers visit IU classes to speak about GBA mission and the Congo.
  • Tuesday, April 6th - GBA speakers visit IU classes to speak about GBA mission and the Congo. Percentage nights at both Opie Taylors, all day, and Scotty's, 5:00 pm - close.
  • Wednesday, April 7th - Join us in welcoming Kambale Musavuli, Congolese activist. Kambale will speak about Congo in the Danielson Room of the Wilcox House, 1606 N. Fee Lane. Doors open at 6:00 pm. Come early for light refreshments and to see artwork from local Bloomington children and their peers in the Congo!
  • Thursday, April 8th - percentage night at Penn Station, 4:00 pm to close.
  • Saturday, April 10th - Come to Buffa Louie's at any time during the day for a percentage of your purchase to go to GBA. Then come back! From 6:00 to 8:00 pm GBA will be hosting a concert at Buffa Louie's including the local band, The Working Hour, and a variety of other musicians.

    October 20th, 2009: GBA Student Association showed the film Lumumba on the IU Bloomington campus.

    April 23, 2009: Congo Day at Rider University. This Congo awareness day was hosted by Rider University 2009 Master's degree candidate Arthur-Kalala Katalayi, and gave people the opportunity to learn more about the DRC and GBA's programs. To read more about this event click here.

    The Greatest Silence film showing

    April 1, 2009: The GBA Student Association showed the film The
    Greatest Silence: Rape in Congo    . Joseph Mbangu, the assistant producer of the film, joined us to speak about the film and the situation in eastern DRC.


    March March 25, 2009: The SPEA student organizations and the GBA Student Association organized a fundraiser for GBA at Mother Bear's Pizza in Bloomington, IN. The event was a great success. More than 100 people attended and Mother Bear's generously donated $2 for every pizza sold!

    December 2, 2008: GBA Student Association film screening and discussion about the current conflict in the DRC with Professor Osita Afoaku.This event was part of the first annual Africa Awareness week at Indiana University Bloomington, which was organized by IU student groups, including the GBA Student Association, that are working to raise awareness about issues in Africa on the IUB campus.

    September 29 - October 12, 2008: GBA Art Show at the Village Deli in Bloomington, IN. The art display consisted of drawings, photos, and writings by children from Kinshasa, DRC and from Bloomington's Binford Elementary school. The opening reception was organized with help from GBA's IU Student Association.

    PAID students' drawing

    In 2006, a fourth grader from Bloomington, Anna Wienberg, called Ann Marie Thomson, co-founder of Giving Back to Africa, to ask how she could make a positive contribution to young people in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This desire to learn more about children her age in a different culture, and to seek positive ways to connect with them is the essence of giving back. Her curiosity, imagination, vision, and desire to make a positive difference in the world in which she lives inspired the connection between GBA and Mrs. Cummings fourth grade class at Binford Elementary School in Bloomington, IN.

    Members of the GBA board visited Mrs. Cummings' class twice to speak about the DRC and to share stories about how children live and learn at PAID, an orphanage and school outside of Kinshasa with whom GBA partners. Twice, the Binford fourth graders collected educational materials and supplies that GBA board members took to the orphans during their visits to the DRC.

    PAID students' drawing

    The students at Binford and the students at the orphanage reached out to each other more collaboratively through art. By sharing pictures and personal thoughts with each other, it is remarkable to consider how fourth graders in Bloomington, IN and the Democratic Republic of Congo discovered that, though thousands of miles away, they are not so different after all. This art show was a testament to the fact that differences in culture and distance need not separate us from the human capacity to experience our common humanity and share what we have with others. The art show was originally displayed at Binford Elementary School during the Lotus Blossoms educational outreach event.

    Presentation at the International School in IndianapolisSeptember 21, 2008: GBA Congo Lunch Forum at the Unitarian Universalist Church. This event included a traditional Congolese meal, a film screening, and a presentation by GBA board members.

    February 9, 2008: International School forum on Congo in Indianapolis. Ann Marie Thomson, GBA co-founder, presented on GBA's work in the DRC.

    Past News Stories

    Kambale Musavuli speaks at Wilcox House on IU campus

    April 7, 2010

    Mr. Kambale Musavuli is a Congolese activist, student coordinator and spokesperson of Friends of the Congo. Pursuing his Civil engineering degree at North Carolina A&T State University, he produces weekly podcast on the situation in the Congo. He has written for the Washington Post, Pambazuka News and numerous other online publications. He has been interviewed on National Public Radio, Democracy Now, ABC, Aljazeera, Radio France International and myriad radio and television programs throughout the globe. He has toured the United States speaking to university students, religious groups, community organizers and many others in an effort to mobilize support for the people of the Congo. Mr. Kambale's ultimate aim is to mobilize the global community to help bring an end to the conflict in the Congo and provide support to the people of the Congo as they strive to control their enormous natural wealth and build lasting peace and stability in the heart of Africa.

    Mr. Kamblae Musavuli will talk to IU and Bloomington community members this Wednesday night, April 7 at 6 pm at the Wilcox House, 1606 N. Fee Lane. Come early for light refreshments and to see artwork from local Bloomington children and their peers in the Congo!

    GBA partners with IU Student Foundation to educate IU and Bloomington about Congo

    April 7, 2010

    Giving Back to Africa sponsors a week of events with the IU Student Foundation to raise awareness of Congo and funds for GBA's work there. The week of events includes classroom visits by local Africa scholars, fundraising percentage nights at local restaurants and a concert fundraiser. Kambale Musavuli, Congolese activist, student coordinator and spokesperson of Friends of the Congo, headlines the event Wednesday night.

    These events are part of Congo Week is a week-long event hosting by people around the world to raise global consciousness about the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. See Upcoming Events for details of each event during the week.

    GBA featured in the cover story of Bloom Magazine. The article, "From the Heart of Indiana to the Heart of Africa" discusses GBA's work in the DRC and our connection to Bloomington, IN.

    The Scholars, Dorothee, Ann Marie and MeghannJanuary 2009 Trip to Kinshasa

    In January GBA co-founder, Ann Marie Thomson, and executive director, Meghann Beer, traveled to Kinshasa, DRC. They visited the Protestant University in Congo to work with the GBA Scholars and the university administration on establishing the Scholars' Giving Back Projects; the key element of the GBA Scholars Program. They also visited GBA's partner organization, PAID, to continue to develop our collaboration. Visit our photo gallery to see pictures from the recent trip and click here to see a video of the GBA Scholars at PAID.