Grieving Home
During the height of COVID-19, I sought to see how I could use my grief to propel me towards good. My search for inspiration and interest led me to learn about Rebuild Women’s Hope (RWH)–a cooperative of women coffee farmers on the island of Idjwi in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The coffee that is easily accessed in the local stores and cafés of a U.S. city, oftentimes comes at the cost of tiring labor of people of color across the globe who rarely make the profit they deserve (meanwhile, the big corporations make money off of their hard work).
In the lush landscape of a small island, women plant, nurture, harvest, and process fruity and acidic black gold. For women in Idjwi, learning the process of growing and producing high-quality coffee has created access to income and new opportunities for their families. There are more than 5,000 women who benefit from RWH’s coffee farming and social enterprises. Through empowering women, RWH empowers families, communities, and the region for generations to come.
As the Founder and Executive Director of RWH, Marcelline Budza, dreams of expanding the work that the cooperative began while giving more attention to the efforts that will improve healthcare, gender equality, and human rights for millions of people in the Congo. In 2022, I was invited to join a small cadre from across three continents committed to supporting RWH and enlivening Marcelline’s vision. We have created the Rebuild Women’s Hope Foundation.
Being a part of RWHF has allowed me to learn about a range of issues that has grounded me in goodness and grief.
The social enterprises of RWH include women learning entrepreneurial skills, and income-generating activities such as hairstyling, sewing, weaving, and soap-making. The opening of a clinic in 2020 made it possible for people to receive healthcare without extensive travel, and it has reduced the birth and maternal mortality rates in that area.
Lamentably, in February 2025, the clash of militant groups within Congo and rebels from outside led to the escalation of circumstances that resulted in the M23 rebels taking over parts of eastern Congo–including the areas where RWH is based. The increase in horrific violence and sexual assaults has been devastating. Due to Marceline’s commitment to advocate for human rights and speak out against atrocities, soldiers sought her out, causing her family to go into hiding. Those who are there report that it is worse than we are being told about through the news media. There are so many who are suffering under the complex realities. Living amid warring factions is not new to Marcelline–she’s spent much of her life building dreams in the midst of broken realities.
In April, Marcelline went to Washington, D.C. to testify before Congress about the conditions in the eastern Congo and ask for them to intervene to stop the horror. While in DC, Marcelline and I met for the first time beyond our regular Zoom room meeting space. We talked about heartbreak, horror, and hope. In a world that seems full of these, I am trying to stir more of the latter while tending to the former.
Recently, Marceline and I spent an evening talking about RWHF and the work that is critical and urgent. She had just returned home after concluding a speaking tour and meeting with donors in Krakow, Geneva, Paris, and Amsterdam. Marcelline’s resilience is admirable and teaches me much about what it means to push forward to fight to improve the well-being and quality of life for others. She has faced many challenges–from death threats and displacement–yet she pursues her work with zeal. She calculates risk and trusts God to give her courage and provision to do the work that is needed.
She’s had the opportunity to live in other parts of the world [where many would consider as having better living conditions with more safety], but she retorts, “I want to live in Congo. It is beautiful and amazing! I love my home.” I grieve a home that was stolen from my people—a place that I have learned to love through Marcelline and Rebuild Women’s Hope.
Although I feel so far from Congo, I also feel a deep connection that runs through my blood. A large percentage of my ancestry comes from the Congo region. My work with the RWHF is fidelity to my lineage–ancestors whose names and journeys I may never know. Sometimes, the ways we tend to grief is to nurture bonds and to do our part to create the kind of world we desire our descendants will live in.
May joy and hope be your companions when goodness and grief follow you for many days of your life.
What commitments are you making that remind you to hold onto goodness amid grief?
Who is teaching you about imparting hope in a world of despair?
What ways are you sowing seeds towards a better world for your family, community, and those you may never meet?
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