HAMDEN -- The Farmington Canal linear trail will be the scene Saturday to raise money for women of the Congo.

The Run for Congo Women Connecticut is a 5-mile run or walk, with proceeds going to Women for Women International to sponsor women who live in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to Catherine Spain of West Hartford. Check-in is 9 a.m. at Brooksvale Park, 524 Brooksvale Ave. The run/walk starts at 10 a.m. along the trail. Pets and strollers are permitted; water will be provided. There is a $30 registration fee. There will be prizes for the top fundraisers. Food and beverages will be served at the park after the event.

Run for Congo Women was begun by Lisa Shannon of Oregon. Every $324 that's raised sponsors one woman in the Democratic Republic of Congo so that she can attend training classes to improve her life, Spain said. They learn job skills, rights awareness education and trauma counseling, among other topics.

"Women have learned how to sew, make cards and arts and crafts," Spain said, and have been provided with information about health and other topics to help with their well-being.

Spain said she has been upset to learn about mass gang rapes against women that are used as a tool of war to terrorize and control populations. "Anyone who learns about it wants to do something," she said.

Women for Women has operated in the Congo since 2004, during which time it has helped more than 39,000 women whose lives and communities have been torn apart by war and other atrocities.

For more information visit http://www.runforcongowomen.org/ or http://www.letterstocongo.com/.

According to those websites, the conflict in the Congo began with the Rwandan genocide, when the Hutu militia pushed over the border to set up camp and began terrorizing people. Since 1998, 5.4 million people have died. Women have been gang-raped and tortured.