People to People Liaison (PTPL) was officially formed in December of 1999, with the filing of Articles of Incorporation as a nonprofit corporation with the Secretary of State of North Carolina. Bahekelwa Imatha (“Baim”) and Matumaini Furaha (“Mimi”), both natives of the Democratic Republic of Congo, signed the articles of incorporation, along with two of their friends. Before PTPL existed, Matumai
ni and Bahekelwa had been helping friends and family – and particularly children – who were living as refugees as the result of a war that had been simmering in Congo since 1994 and is often described as “the war the world has forgotten”. Matumaini and Bahekelwa were especially devoted to this work because they knew that their families and friends were among the refugees. One day, though, as Bahekelwa says in describing the background of PTPL, “then God put this idea into our heart.” The idea was People to People Liaison. Further, Bahekelwa says, “Our mission in creating People to People Liaison [was] to promote the survival, protection, and morally and spiritually healthy development of children…living with the trauma of war.” Thus PTPL was born.
