Njuma Ekundanayo

Expert Profile
Name: Njuma Ekundanayo
Profile by: Lucy Mulenkei
Democratic Republic of Congo

Coming from the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo, Njuma Ekundanayo has experience working with the most neglected indigenous peoples of Africa: the Pygmies.

As a researcher and a director of the Center for Science and Human Research in Kinshasa, her interest and love for the Pygmies began when she was a young girl in school. Coming from the Mushi people of south Kivu, she grew up wondering why the Pygmies, who are known as the Bambuti, were neglected and isolated by the society. In 1970, the then president of Congo, Kinshasa, Mobutu Seseko, called upon the Bambuti and other Pygmies groups to come out the forest and join the rest of the Zaire people and stop isolating themselves.

The pygmies did not make a move as they did not understand why they had to leave their natural homes to go to join people they did not even know. As a young scholar studying sociology and psychology, Njuma decided in 1971 to go herself and live with them and try to see why people say the pygmies are bad; why were they discriminated against in schools and, instead, opting to stay away.

She later discovered that the only problem was that people did not understand the Pygmies. They did not know that Pygmies have a rich traditional way of life and can live with anybody, as long as you abide by their traditional rules and culture. Even though it's a closed community, they have a history to tell.

The land belonged to them. Their oral history tells about a sultan who ruled and governed their territory, and up to today they still remember and celebrate their reign and ruler. It was during colonial times that they were pushed away into the hills and forests. Unfortunately, these areas are full of natural resources that make them prone to encroachment by different powerful people, both in their country and their neighbors.

Today this continues. Njuma looks at it as one of the problems that indigenous peoples have to tackle. It will be a challenge for the Permanent Forum to bring it all to the attention of the world. She says, "We want to stress the fact that the indigenous peoples of Africa are not appreciated. As long as the system forgot about them, whether they live in the desert, or in the forest, or on the high mountains, they were not aware of the danger. Today, interests have changed due to intolerance and the refusal to grant the right to be different "

Njuma has never stopped working for indigenous peoples. Since she started began her research with the Pygmies, she continues being a liaison between them and the Government. She has organized several workshops and seminars to present her views on the Pygmies in different parts of Africa and internationally. The Pygmies have great respect for her. They believe she has opened doors for them. Despite that, it is very difficult to communicate, network or even visit groups in her country. She tries very much to keep up with them as it is a big country with some areas controlled by rebels.

Some of the problems encountered by the Pygmies are violence due to regional conflicts. Also, there is sexual abuse, environmental problems due to the encroachment on their territories by foreigners, health issues and HIV/AIDS.

Njuma has been successful in lobbying and advocating for the Pygmy indigenous peoples. She has worked hard to highlight the problems at local, regional, national and international levels. Some of the issues she has helped voice are need for education and promotion of indigenous languages that are slowly disappearing; the use of traditional medicine as a means of promoting good health and accessible health care for the marginalized communities; reproductive health with a main focus on women's health. During the World Conference Against Racism, Xenophobia, and Related Intolerance, she prepared the indigenous peoples in good time and was able to come up with a strong declaration on the human rights abuse and marginalization of the Pygmies of the her country. She was also able to join the other indigenous peoples from Africa and all of the world in pushing forward the problems of indigenous Peoples.

Njuma's struggle for the indigenous peoples in her country has borne fruit. Her lobbying and advocacy have earned her success in her country, and it was just after the World Conference Against Racism that she was appointed as one of the experts in the Permanent Forum on indigenous Issues. Her mission now is to work with all the indigenous peoples of Africa and learn more about others from different parts of the world.

She hopes that there can be a common way for all indigenous peoples to communicate and share problems. In her first presentation to the Forum, she was very concerned about African issues due to the lack of education and awareness on what is happening around the world. Indigenous peoples are marginalized from the mainstream and not included in any planning, implementation or even evaluation of policies and projects in their lands. indigenous peoples have remained the most neglected in the society and have been pushed beyond the wall, they have been " moved from their ancestral lands and leaving behind their sacred sites all in the name of progress. As a result, the continent of Africa has become the depository of toxic waste, of the diseases of civilization, and the indigenous peoples are made to suffer without having a voice in the actions of outsiders", says Njuma.

Njuma has hope for the continent. The Permanent Forum is the hope, and working together towards the common goal of advancing the cause for indigenous peoples, there will be success. For her, it is a bigger challenge in a country where the world of the Internet is not anything to be proud of. She is looking forward for support from all the indigenous peoples, governments and other international organizations to help for the success of the forum.

Funding is a challenge for this forum, and for it to succeed more money has to be invested in order to facilitate the members of the Forum to reach their constituencies.

Njuma is proud of who she is and hopes to further the cause for indigenous issues in Africa.