What We're About

You have the potential to be a leader. No matter what your life circumstances, no what matter your credentials. The only qualification to begin is “I care.”

We show up. A Thousand Sisters doesn’t wait for permission, endorsements, or someone else to say go. We show up because it matters. Sometimes we don’t know exactly what to say. Sometimes we’re nervous or we stumble through. That’s okay. We show up anyway because making a difference requires action. And we keep showing up. Twice a month, at minimum. Sometimes in pink pearls.

We take it personally. A Thousand Sisters rejects the “us” and “them” mentality underlying genocide and mass atrocity. Our Congolese sisters are our family. And if violence or injustice is happening to our family, it’s happening to us.

We change the cost benefit for perpetrators. Perpetrators have calculated the cost of violence (little to none in a country with impunity) vs the benefit (money, food, power), and have decided that atrocities pay. We’re out to help change that through compassion, action, and policy work.

We follow Generose’s lead and the lead of all of our Congolese sisters who have lived through mass atrocity, yet still carry themselves with grace, resilience and beauty. They teach us every day about the joy and power that comes through human connection.

No, we won’t shut up. Our Congolese sisters tell the truth, risking their own safety, hoping it will end the violence. Speaking out may be uncomfortable, it may be far beyond our comfort zone, but we speak out anyway, find courage in each other’s voices, in our Sisters’ lead.

We’re in it for the long haul. Family endures. We’ll be here until the atrocities end.

Some of us are guys. And we’re still sisters.