Before retiring my Courage Ablaze Collection—a collection of twenty-five paintings highlighting the Democratic Republic of Congo’s genocide and massive-scale rape—I would like to introduce you to a dear Congolese friend whom I’ll call Jetta. Jetta and her children fled into Uganda as gunfire broke out near their home. Trying to save the lives of her children, she was separated from her husband for the three years—not knowing if he had survived or died.
But while fleeing, Jetta encountered soldiers raping women. So Jetta took a detour. She put aside her own safety long enough to march into a commander’s office to deliver this message: “Tell your soldiers to stop raping the women.”
Jetta’s story is an amazing story of courage. In the middle of war and chaos, she risked her life and her children’s safety—because she cared about innocent women and children.
After colliding with Jetta, I asked myself, “What would you do, Pamela? Would you care enough to risk your own safety to help others in need?”
