A child at St. Kizito’s Children Center - Photo by Jiro Ose
Rev. Bryan Mealer in conversation with Dr. Dana Witmer
In this installation of our Congo Talks series, Rev. Bryan Mealer speaks with Dr. Dana Witmer, a pediatrician who's spent decades working in Congo, about the effects of trauma on children and the physical, emotional, and spiritual challenges facing caregivers. The conversation will focus on children who've been exposed to extreme violence and war-induced poverty and raised in the sprawling displaced camps throughout the region, in addition to kids currently living in the St. Kizito orphanage who have lost parents and family in the fighting. As Dr. Witmer testifies, moral injury is "oceanic" among medical care staff, but she's also borne witness to the astounding faith and resilience of the Congolese people that defies the death and despair around them. Please join us.
FREE
Saturday, September 20
(Please note: this is an updated time)
6:00 PM Central European Time
(Please confirm your time zone with the Zoom invitation when it arrives and email us with any questions: congokidsinitiative@gmail.com.)
Visit our YouTube Channel for previous events!
Dr. Dana Witmer
Dr. Dana Witmer is a medical doctor specializing in pediatrics and tropical medicine and serves at Rwankole Hospital, a major referral hospital in Bunia. She also mentors radio outreach and church-based support groups as ways to disciple believers and build the Church.
Bryan Mealer
Rev. Bryan Mealer is a mental health chaplain, journalist, and author. An ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA), he currently serves as Director of Social and Spiritual Support at Broadway Community in New York City, helping people experiencing chronic homelessness and poor mental health stabilize and find housing. Prior to entering ministry, Bryan worked as a reporter for the Associated Press, Harper's, and the Guardian, among other publications. He's the author of four books, including All Things Must Fight to Live, which chronicled his years covering the war in D.R. Congo, and The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (written with William Kamkwamba) which became a New York Times bestseller and Netflix film. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and children.