Mopila Comic Book Series

Produced by Search for Common Ground (SFCG), this comic book series is about a taxi driver in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) called Mopila. The comic book series seeks to provide an accessible and entertaining way to communicate about issues related to good governance and citizens’ rights. Mopila originally began life as a character on a radio drama before becoming the lead character in this comic book series.

The latest edition, called "Mopila on Justice Avenue", was released in May 2010 and sees Mopila caught up in helping a sexual violence victim, assisting a courageous young policewoman, and getting himself arrested. The 24-page comic book shows both positive and negative police characters, and includes a mixture of SFCG’s well known radio drama characters from "Tomorrow is a New Day", "My Neighbour is my Brother", and the Mopila series.

More than 90,000 copies of "Mopila on Justice Avenue" have been produced in French, Swahili, and Lingala, and are being distributed throughout the DRC. Pre-tests revealed that the messages led to concrete learning and positive shifts in attitudes amongst a diverse audience ranging from police officers and magistrates to ordinary youth and market women.

This edition follows on from "Let's Vote with Mopila" and "Mopila on Democracy Avenue" produced before and after DRC's historic 2006 elections. SFCG is currently preparing a new Mopila edition entitled "Mopila on the Avenue of Love" which addresses issues around sexual and gender-based violence, access to justice, and relationships between adolescents. This is due for publication in January 2011. The comic book will soon be available for download at the SFCG website, and hard copies are available at SFCG’s offices in Kinshasa, Bukavu, and Goma.