In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, site of over 5 million deaths and hundreds of thousands of rapes in a conflict spanning more than a decade, women are imagining peace. They say peace means being able to live and to work freely. They see peace as walking to the fields without fear of rape; they envision a more prosperous future, harvesting from the fields the fruits of their own labor. Yet war wages on.

To honor the resilience of these and the millions of other women survivors of war around the world, Women for Women International was hosting a global campaign – Join me on the Bridge.

On this International Women's Day, 8400 women (and men!) worldwide gathered on bridges from London to New York, from San Francisco to Congo to call for an end to war and to demonstrate that women can build the bridges of peace and hope. Supporting them in their call were women from Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, Sudan and Nigeria, to say NO to war and YES to peace and hope.

Thousands attended the event on London's Millenium Bridge, where brochures were passed out  about the work that Women for Women International does,  and signed a banner with our messages of hope and support. Hundreds of white balloons were released to signal the marchers' desire for peace and equality. You can now view photos and videos from our events all over the world here.

Engaged individuals who were not able to join our walks organized their own Join me on the Bridge events and showed that every single effort helps to demonstrate that we have a unified, powerful voice for peace.


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What You Could Do at the Bridge Event:

+Pledge to support women suffering from inhumane treatment and unstable societies all over the world

+Learn about some specific women taking part in Women for Women's Sponsorship program

+Write notes of hope and encouragement, which we will send to women taking part in the Women for Women Sponsorship program

+Find out how to support Women for Women International

+Watch slide shows and films about Women for Women International and the countries where they work

+Pick up commemorative ribbons to wear

+Take part in the UN Action "Stop Rape Now" by adding your photo to their campaign: http://www.stoprapenow.org/takeAction.html. We will be taking pictures of people with the crossed-arm "X" gesture at our event.

+Add your signature and message of hope to our banner!