Portland Woman Takes Her Congo Campaign to State Department Steps

Lisa Shannon is taking her campaign for Congo to the streets of Washington, DC this week.

Founder of the grassroots nonprofit Run for Congo Women and author of A Thousand Sisters, Shannon is continuing her advocacy for the Republic of Congo, its women and children with her new campaign Outcry for Congo.

This morning, Shannon started her five-day demonstration outside the State Department in her battle to raise public support and effect policy change. She is calling on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to take the lead in developing a comprehensive “Congo Plan Now” that would include appointing a special envoy to the Great Lakes region of central Africa.

Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Sam Brownback (R-Kan) campaigned with Shannon last May on a Capitol Hill panel for Congressional staffers, and Shannon appeared on Oprah along with Nicholas Kristof, Ben Affleck and Secretary Clinton.

As of 2008, Congolese citizens faced a 50 percent chance of being enslaved or threatened with death by an armed group, one-in-three odds of being tortured or wounded and a 12 percent chance of being sexually assaulted multiple times" according to The Associated Press.

You can read more about the Outcry for Congo campaign here.

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