SECWAC Hosts Talk on ‘Complex Crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 30 Years On,’ Dec. 16

OLD LYME, CT – On Tuesday, Dec. 16, the Southeast Connecticut World Affairs Council (SECWAC) will host Greg Ramm, Save the Children’s Country Director for the Democratic Repbublic of the Congo, in a talk titled “A Complex Crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 30 Years On.”

The 6 p.m. presentation will be held at the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme, 5 Ferry Road. The talk will be preceded by a 5:30 p.m. reception with hors d’oeuvres and followed by a 7 p.m. holiday mingle with festive treats.

SECWAC in a press release said Ramm, who lived as a Peace Corps teacher in a village of Mobotu’s Zaire, will describe the current political and humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Through the lens of humanitarian, development, and rights-based organizations such as Save the Children, Greg will talk about the various conflicts affecting the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the type of humanitarian response needed by millions of Congolese directly affected by the crises. He will also touch on education and climate-related initiatives that offer hope for the Congo.

Ramm has over 30 years of experience in humanitarian and development issues, with a strong focus on Africa. He opened Save the Children’s first office in Kinshasa in 1998. Since then, Greg has held various key positions including Country Director in Ghana and Regional Director for West and Central Africa. In 2014, Greg led the Save the Children response to the Ebola crisis in Liberia. He also served as Global Program Director in London and held key leadership positions at Save the Children in Washington, DC, including Vice President for Humanitarian Response and Associate Vice President for International Programs focused on Child Protection and HIV/AIDS. He served as a member of the UN’s Inter-Agency Standing Committee’s Emergency Directors Group from 2016 to 2020. Greg served as a Peace Corps Volunteer teaching high school math and physics.

SECWAC members are free. Non-Member in-person attendance is $20. Non-Members may visit this link to register.

For more information on SECWAC, visit their website.