Project Goma
2018 Project GomaGoma is the capital city of North Kivu province in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is located on the northern shore of Lake Kivu, next to the Rwandan city of Gisenyi.
The lake and the two cities are in the Albertine Rift, the western branch of the East African Rift system. Goma lies only 13 to 18 km due south of the crater of the active Nyiragongo Volcano. The recent history of Goma has been dominated by the volcano and the Rwandan Genocide of 1994, which in turn fuelled the First and Second Congo Wars.
The aftermath of these events was still having effects on the city and its surroundings in 2010. The city was captured by rebels during the M23 rebellion in late 2012, but has since been retaken by government forces.
GOMART is an artistic center in Goma that we intend to help with access to electricity and internet.
Only 32% of sub-Saharan Africans have access to electricity, and 79% still rely on traditional use of biomass for cooking, establishing it as the most power-impoverished region in the world.
Project Goma
2018 Project GomaGoma is the capital city of North Kivu province in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is located on the northern shore of Lake Kivu, next to the Rwandan city of Gisenyi.
The lake and the two cities are in the Albertine Rift, the western branch of the East African Rift system. Goma lies only 13 to 18 km due south of the crater of the active Nyiragongo Volcano. The recent history of Goma has been dominated by the volcano and the Rwandan Genocide of 1994, which in turn fuelled the First and Second Congo Wars.
The aftermath of these events was still having effects on the city and its surroundings in 2010. The city was captured by rebels during the M23 rebellion in late 2012, but has since been retaken by government forces.
GOMART is an artistic center in Goma that we intend to help with access to electricity and internet.
Only 32% of sub-Saharan Africans have access to electricity, and 79% still rely on traditional use of biomass for cooking, establishing it as the most power-impoverished region in the world.
Brian (Me!)
I have a long standing and meaningful connection with community service and am a founder of an NGO in Dallas, Texas, USA and support several NGOs in Central and Southeast Africa.
Locally I am a founding Board member of Project Elf Dallas where we work with homeless families as they move out of shelters and in to their first home after homelessness by furnishing their house and helping the family with all the necessities they will need. We do this at Christmas each year and include a great tree, presents and the spirit of giving.
Something with a broader reach that I work on is with Africa and based NGOs. I have been doing this for 7 years and I am working towards trying to help start a new NGO in the DRC that fosters community, innovation and the entrepreneur spirit.
All of the pictures here I took and are from my 4 trips to Africa for volunteer work - enjoy. Life is a gift, living is a choice. Help me make a difference!
Brian (Me!)
I have a long standing and meaningful connection with community service and am a founder of an NGO in Dallas, Texas, USA and support several NGOs in Central and Southeast Africa.
Locally I am a founding Board member of Project Elf Dallas where we work with homeless families as they move out of shelters and in to their first home after homelessness by furnishing their house and helping the family with all the necessities they will need. We do this at Christmas each year and include a great tree, presents and the spirit of giving.
Something with a broader reach that I work on is with Africa and based NGOs. I have been doing this for 7 years and I am working towards trying to help start a new NGO in the DRC that fosters community, innovation and the entrepreneur spirit.
All of the pictures here I took and are from my 4 trips to Africa for volunteer work - enjoy. Life is a gift, living is a choice. Help me make a difference!
The Gallery
The Gallery is a space for exhibitions and installations of contemporary art created mainly by people from Goma, but also brings together other Congolese and international artists too.
All from different backgrounds now working together, local founders Benoir, Deo, Christian and Victor were united by their passion to inspire artists of Goma to express their ideas, develop their professions, and to be proud of that. The Gallery was opened in 2016 with the goal of promoting Congolese culture.
“Our vision is to educate artists to feel responsible for themselves and their community, and to create opportunities for people to earn living through art”.
Goma is a city which has suffered from war and violence for many years, and its people have endured tough experiences that can be expressed through art if given a chance and some guidance.
The 100 m2 space includes an open atelier for local and international artists. It encourages the promotion of local art and a bridge to the international artistic scene.
The Gallery especially enables the youth of Goma to engage in artistic activities, giving them fresh possibilities of being responsible, to create something for themselves, and for society. It is also an education hub.
Simultaneously this rising generation are taught to look after their environment by collecting plastic and other city rubbish to recycle into artistic projects. There is also an ongoing project to train the children and youth to use cameras to tell their stories through photography.
Diverse forms of art are embraced. There have been various expositions of art in venue so far displaying paintings, sculptures and photography from different artists.
Short documentary films have been created by the artists of The Gallery, focusing on everyday life in Goma. Many events have been organized to attract a local and international crowd.
There are also exciting plans to facilitate productions with musicians and dancers in the future too.
The Gallery
The Gallery is a space for exhibitions and installations of contemporary art created mainly by people from Goma, but also brings together other Congolese and international artists too.
All from different backgrounds now working together, local founders Benoir, Deo, Christian and Victor were united by their passion to inspire artists of Goma to express their ideas, develop their professions, and to be proud of that. The Gallery was opened in 2016 with the goal of promoting Congolese culture.
“Our vision is to educate artists to feel responsible for themselves and their community, and to create opportunities for people to earn living through art”.
Goma is a city which has suffered from war and violence for many years, and its people have endured tough experiences that can be expressed through art if given a chance and some guidance.
The 100 m2 space includes an open atelier for local and international artists. It encourages the promotion of local art and a bridge to the international artistic scene.
The Gallery especially enables the youth of Goma to engage in artistic activities, giving them fresh possibilities of being responsible, to create something for themselves, and for society. It is also an education hub.
Simultaneously this rising generation are taught to look after their environment by collecting plastic and other city rubbish to recycle into artistic projects. There is also an ongoing project to train the children and youth to use cameras to tell their stories through photography.
Diverse forms of art are embraced. There have been various expositions of art in venue so far displaying paintings, sculptures and photography from different artists.
Short documentary films have been created by the artists of The Gallery, focusing on everyday life in Goma. Many events have been organized to attract a local and international crowd.
There are also exciting plans to facilitate productions with musicians and dancers in the future too.
Amy Scarth & Hidden Worlds
Amy is a Tourism and Development specialist who has a big passion for Africa, travel and sustainable development. I met her 2 years ago when she ran a social-enterprise in Uganda called Big Beyond.
She has more recently returned from exploring off-grid Congo and while in a PhD program will launch Hidden Worlds, a travel company that will hand-craft inspiring and impactful travel experiences in Uganda, DRC and Rwanda.
In the future this experience will be realized through a Non Governmental Organization to defend and promote opportunities for local residents who do not have a voice. Hidden Worlds pledge to take you to insanely beautiful places and guarantee immersion in the every day life of the people and nature in different worlds.
At the heart of Hidden Worlds is the genuine involvement of local people met along the way to ensure they get the chance to share, celebrate and be proud of their life, heritage and knowledge.
And, their guests are equally enriched. In DRC I’ll be helping the team uncover local stories relating to Nyiragongo Volcano and find out how the local community would like to be involved in and benefit from tourism.
Amy Scarth & Hidden Worlds
Amy is a Tourism and Development specialist who has a big passion for Africa, travel and sustainable development. I met her 2 years ago when she ran a social-enterprise in Uganda called Big Beyond.
She has more recently returned from exploring off-grid Congo and while in a PhD program will launch Hidden Worlds, a travel company that will hand-craft inspiring and impactful travel experiences in Uganda, DRC and Rwanda.
In the future this experience will be realized through a Non Governmental Organization to defend and promote opportunities for local residents who do not have a voice. Hidden Worlds pledge to take you to insanely beautiful places and guarantee immersion in the every day life of the people and nature in different worlds.
At the heart of Hidden Worlds is the genuine involvement of local people met along the way to ensure they get the chance to share, celebrate and be proud of their life, heritage and knowledge.
And, their guests are equally enriched. In DRC I’ll be helping the team uncover local stories relating to Nyiragongo Volcano and find out how the local community would like to be involved in and benefit from tourism.