One Million Thumbprints began when Espérance, a woman from the Congo, stamped her thumbprint underneath the words, “TELL THE WORLD,” inviting Belinda to help her bring healing to her sisters in Congo who were being brutalized in a country known as the rape capital of the world. Since then, One Million Thumbprints has helped thousands of women and girls in Congo and the Middle East.
Hundreds of women and girls are raped every day on the front lines of conflict. “In order to break a nation, you must take the land,” said a Congolese warlord. “To take the land, you must break the village, and to break the village, you must break the heart of the village—the women.” Ending violence against women in conflict includes changing community perceptions about sexual violence, putting an end to stigma so that survivors can receive adequate care and restoration.
