UF's Model United Nations and Human.I.T.Y. hosted a simulation of the United Nations Human Rights Council on Monday night to brainstorm solutions to the war in the Congo.
The event was held as part of Breaking the Silence: Congo Week, which is held Oct. 16 to 22.
Human.I.T.Y. president Roberta Roberts, 21, a public relations senior, spoke about corruption in Congo, one of the poorest countries in the world. She also spoke about the recent deployment of special U.S. troops to Africa in search of Joseph Kony, leader of the Lord's Resistance Army.
"This is going on right now as we speak; this is why we as a body must act now," Roberts said.
UF's Model United Nations Vice President Samantha White, a 20-year-old criminology and political science junior, and Model U.N. director of external affairs Rachel De Leon, a 20-year-old materials science and engineering junior, had everyone sit in a horseshoe as Human Rights Council members to come up with possible solutions.
Last year, first-year sustainable development practice graduate student Tshitshi Kalala, 37, relocated to the United States from Bukavu, Congo, to continue his education. He said he lost loved ones to the war in Congo and started working with universal organizations to help HIV patients and internally displaced people.
"It is time to bring awareness to the war in Congo," Kalala said.
Tshitshi Kalala, a 37-year-old Congo native and sustainable development practice graduate student, speaks to about 15 students at Operation Congo STOP!: An Interactive Awareness Forum.
