Leja Bulela! Who we are:

Leja Bulela is a non-profit, non-political organization registered under the laws of the State of Iowa since 1995. It now enjoys a 501 c (3) status granted by IRS since 2002.

We are women, men, children of the Kasai Oriental diaspora in North America (United States and Canada) as well as anyone willing to join hands with us, concerned about the welfare of the Luba people of this province of the Democratic Republic of Congo and others related to us.

We are promoting community-building spirit through insight in the common Luba language, culture and customs, history, philosophy, religions, politics as prerequisite foundations for economic, social and political developments. We argue that it is the lack of these foundations that are at the heart of the never-ending Congolese crisis. Insights in these foundations are gained through dialogue and conversation among ourselves and with members of other communities interested in us.

We also want to adjust to new, modern challenges of interaction and change with different cultures and adopt technologies.

Leja Bulela was created in frustration to react to the early 1990s return of over 500,000 refugees of both Kasai Oriental and Occidental expelled from the Katanga Province under the policies of ethnic cleansing advocated by the Katanga officials along with the Mobutu regime. A section of this website is devoted to what exactly had happened in Katanga.

The real challenge facing Leja Bulela today is how to turn these sad events of the past into a positive strength necessary to give hope to the generations of disenfranchised luba and others in the Kasai for the road ahead of building the Luba nation within the Congo.

It is with this background that Leja Bulela was formed in 1993 in Detroit, Michigan (USA). Many of the members of this organization were refugees themselves. The purpose of Leja Bulela is to alleviate the suffering of Balubas, help in the development of educational infrastructures and delivery of health care, and to be a voice that will speak out against injustices and uphold human rights.

Leja Bulela has four main activities:

1) Provision of assistance to needy populations in East Kasai in education and health (as well as to former refugees living in the United States
and other ethnic groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo);
2) Advocacy for the respect of human and civil rights by monitoring the rule of social justice and elimination of prejudice;
3) Teaching the American public about the history and culture of the Luba people;
4) Fundraising.

Selected achievements to date:

1) Shipping of tents for the refugees;
2) Shipping of medical supplies for the refugees;
3) Shipping of computers and more than 2,000 books to the University of Mbuji-Mayi;
4) Funding the plantation of fast growing trees in Muene Ditu;
5) Financing the installation of a potable water pump in Mbuji-Mayi for the refugee children;
6) Shipping of school supplies for a primary school (Project Ndaya);
7) Establishment of a scholarship fund for the University of Mbuji Mayi and the Institute Pedagogique.

Those interested in Leja Bulela details should write to request the By-Laws

Leja Bulela, Inc.
14781 Memorial Drive. Suite # 1323
Houston , TX 77079