By Ravonna Martin | Founder & Director
Letter from the Founder, as published in our 2024 ILP Annual Report:
Dear Friends,
As I reflect on the incredible work we’ve accomplished over the past year, I am filled with gratitude for each of you who has supported The Ida Lee Project (ILP) in our mission to improve the health, dignity, and futures of women and girls in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Your belief in our work has made a profound difference, and together, we have touched the lives of thousands of women and girls facing some of the most unimaginable challenges.
2024 marked a pivotal year for us. We received our first grant funding through the US Embassy in Kinshasa and, beyond our ongoing healthcare programming in Kisangani, we successfully completed an ambitious health campaign in the internally displaced persons (IDP) camps near Goma. During this campaign, we provided vital health screenings, cancer detection, trauma care, and psychological support to over 500 women, many of whom had endured unimaginable suffering from sexual violence and forced displacement.
We helped hundreds of women undergo life-saving cancer screenings, identified and treated urgent health issues, and performed critical surgeries, including mastectomies for women living with advanced breast cancer. Over 50% of those we served were survivors of sexual violence, and through our collaboration with World Hope Givers, we were able to provide necessary psychological care as well. This work is not just about healthcare—it is about restoring dignity, supporting the healing of visible and unseen traumas, and offering hope where it is so desperately needed.
One of the most moving aspects of this campaign was the launch of our “Soap and a Spritz” initiative. (A special thanks to all those local donors who brought boxes on boxes of soap bars and perfumes!) What began as a simple idea to give women a moment of self-care amidst the chaos turned into something much deeper: a moment of connection, joy, and empowerment. Through this small act of choosing soaps and perfumes, women who have faced so much pain and loss were able to experience a tangible form of loving solidarity, reminding them that they are worthy of dignity and care.
The challenges we faced in 2024 were not without serious obstacles. From the escalating violence in eastern Congo to the logistical hurdles of setting up mobile clinics in remote camps, our team has showed resilience, determination, and compassion every step of the way. We could not have done this without our local partners who worked alongside us to ensure that women received the care they needed.
Looking forward to 2025, our work is far from over. In fact, we are determined to expand our efforts in a way that will touch even more lives. Our goal is ambitious but achievable: we will continue to increase access to reproductive health screenings, treatments, and education for women and girls in both the IDP camps and the communities we serve in Kisangani.
Additionally, we are laying the groundwork for our new Ida Lee House—a dedicated space in Kisangani for women to receive specialized care, education, and support. This facility will be the heart of our mission, a place where women and girls can find safety, healing, and the tools they need to thrive. It will also serve as a hub for training local healthcare professionals to ensure sustainable, community-led solutions.
None of this would be possible without you, beloved supporters. Whether you have donated, volunteered, shared our mission, or simply held us in your thoughts, you have made an enormous impact. Together, we are not just providing medical care—we are giving women opportunities to reclaim their futures, their dignity, and their lives.
As I write this, I am reminded of one of the women we treated last fall. She had been through more than most of us could imagine, but when we gave her a moment to feel seen, to feel valued, she opened up, smiled, laughed. It is moments like these that inspire me to keep going, no matter the hurdles.
Thank you for being a part of this journey. Together, we are building a future where every woman and girl in the DRC has the right and access to safe, dignified, and life-saving healthcare to thrive.
With gratitude,
Ravonna Martin
Founder & Director, The Ida Lee Project
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