Last night, I saw one of the most devastating and uplifting films of my life: City Of Joy, a place that is helping women thrive after the worst realities imaginable in Congo.

The Democratic Republic of Congo is the global epicenter of rape as a weapon of war. Multi-national companies from around the world fund militia groups to aid in their illegal exploitation of mines in Congo to get tungsten and other conflict minerals for cell phones (probably like the one I use) and in doing so, these companies are directly funding the shattering of women’s lives.

If he and Christine are asked if they face the danger, they say it is relative: Every moment they live in danger of their lives being taken for the work they do at the City Of Joy. But clearly, it is their calling. And when you see the joy on the women’s faces, hear their laughter, and watch them dance the dances of their villages, even after everything they have survived, we are reminded of the resiliency of the human spirit.

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