Whilst many people, colleagues and family alike recognize the situation in Congo as perhaps one of the most dire humanitarian crises of our time, it really doesn’t get a lot of exposure.

When I signed up for the Brighton Marathon last year, really it was on a whim and I had no intention of doing something fruitful or genuinely worthwhile with my place as it pertained to fundraising (seeing as I had not qualified for a Charity Place). In recent weeks, I have also been somewhat worried that I might not be able to fulfill the marathon, so I delayed making a fundraising page for as long as I could.

The situation in the DRC is the result of hyper inflated global demand and local suffering. Vast reserves of cobalt, coltan, and other minerals essential for the lithium batteries used in our smartphones and renewable technologies have fueled extractive industries often marked by exploitation and weak regulation. In mining regions, armed groups and corrupt networks profit from these resources, while local populations endure dangerous working conditions and child labor. At the same time, eastern Congo has been plagued by decades of conflict in which mass sexual violence is systematically used as a weapon of war, devastating communities and entrenching cycles of trauma and poverty.

The result is a deeply unequal system where global technological advancement is, in part, underpinned by ongoing human rights abuses on the ground. Revive Congo priorities education and structural development for the younger Congolese generation in the hopes that they should overcome their circumstances.

I hope to bring more awareness with my fundraiser and make up for my own silence/lack of awareness as it pertains to the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo.