By Victor Amisi, Executive Director, Vision GRAM-International
Sometimes the greatest changes begin with a simple conversation. For thousands of women living in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a meeting between two people with shared vision became the starting point of a partnership built on hope, dignity, and transformation.
I have devoted my life to protecting people affected by armed conflict in the DRC. As a human rights defender and specialist in child protection and peacebuilding, I founded and now serve as Executive Director of Vision GRAM-International,
an organization with consultative status at the United Nations Economic and Social Council. My work has taken me from grassroots initiatives in Central Africa to international forums, including UN conferences on disarmament, nuclear weapons, and international justice. My conviction is simple: lasting peace is impossible without strong, empowered women who are fully engaged in rebuilding their communities. That vision connects precisely with the mission and work of SowHope.
Our partnership began with a conversation between friends. I shared about women in eastern DRC—survivors of war, forced displacement, and poverty—who fight every day for their families and communities. My friend saw a strong convergence between
this approach and SowHope’s mission and encouraged me to reach out to Mary Dailey Brown, founder of SowHope.
Wishing to better understand the realities faced by these women, a SowHope delegation visited the DRC. Behind the women’s smiles were stories marked by war, sexual violence, loss of loved ones, and the destruction of their livelihoods. But they were also resilient, not simply asking for help, but for opportunities to rebuild their lives.
Following that visit, SowHope invited me to submit proposals aimed at strengthening women’s self-reliance. These initiatives
developed income-generating activities, savings and lending systems, and training programs that fostered local leadership among women. Our programs created spaces for women to rebuild their confidence, share their experiences, and reclaim their place as active members of their communities.
In March 2019, I invited Mary to attend the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in New York, where we met in person for the first time. That meeting represented far more than a professional moment. It symbolized the meeting of two life paths and one shared conviction: women must not be seen as victims, but as leaders capable of rebuilding peace.
Today, the story of Vision GRAM-International and SowHope continues to be written by the women of the DRC, who, despite
the wounds of the past, are building, day by day, a future grounded in hope, resilience, and self-reliance.
Nelly (Victor’s Wife), Mary, Victor at the UN.