Actor/director Ben Affleck has joined Facebook, partially to raise awareness for his new Eastern Congo Initiative nonprofit. I had the eye-opening experience of seeing Ben Affleck’s “Nightline” special in 2008, in which he made his third trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo to see the terrible effects of war on the Eastern Congolese people. The atrocities that Ben heard about were unbelievable, and you could see how much it moved him and how surprised he was that there were people who could do such horrible things. Ben has since gone to the Congo several more times, he shot a short documentary there that he premiered at the UN, he’s written an essay for Time, and he founded the Eastern Congo Initiative in 2010. He told People that he wants to make a difference in the world now that he has children:

The actor, 39, founded the Eastern Congo Initiative in 2010 and recently got back from his eighth trip to the war-torn region. Affleck says it’s his kids, Violet, 6 and Seraphina, 3, who inspire him to do good in the world.

“I got to a point in my life where I felt like I had been very fortunate,” Affleck tells PEOPLE in an interview for the Feb. 27 issue, on newsstands now.

“And I wanted to do something more with my life than just make movies and try to make money. I wanted to do something that was important to me in other ways and would serve as an example to my kids.”

Wednesday, Affleck launched a Facebook timeline to share pictures and stories from his trips to Africa. His nonprofit helps support Congolese-led organizations helping to rebuild the region, from groups aiding former child soldiers to those supplying health care to the most vulnerable.

“The people there are working as hard as they can to make their lives better,” says Affleck. “And that’s inspiring.”

As for his own kids, Affleck says he shows them where he’s going on a map when he travels to Africa. Says the actor: “I tell them it’s important to be involved in the world in ways that help others and not just yourself.”

[From People]

I’m so impressed by Ben’s commitment to this cause, and it seems like he’s genuinely concerned and has done a lot of hard work behind the scenes. This guy used to be persona non grata in Hollywood post Bennifer, but he put his head down and emerged better for it. He could have done so much more to rehab his image, but he seemed more concerned about becoming a better person and that has made all the difference.

Ben’s wife Jennifer looks like she’s due any day now. I have to admit I’m excited to see whether she’ll have a boy or a girl. Either way, Ben will be surely thrilled.

In a very superficial side note, do you guys like the new Facebook “timeline” format? I don’t, and I usually try to embrace change but it just seems distracting and harder to follow to me. I like things that are linear, and “timeline” should be, but it fills the page with photos and different features and it’s hard to tell what’s new. Still, it’s good to see Ben on Facebook.

Here’s Jennifer Garner out on 2-21-12. She’s ready! Credit: Pablo/FameFlynet Pictures. She’s also shown out with Ben on 1-25-12. Other photos from Ben’s Facebook