Goma, DR Congo….estimated to be at the center of the most violent war since WWII. The local population and the international community are at a loss to explain the brutal nature of this war….especially toward women! During the 6 weeks I was there (July -September) the UNFPA reported that the numbers of rape in North Kivu were up 60% over the past 8 months….351 cases in Aug. Everyone acknowledges that this is only the tip of the iceberg. When I arrived the UN briefing paper stated that there were approx. 370,000 internally displaced people in the region this year (over 700,000 in total)….and during the time I was there, another 30,000 were estimated to have fled due to the war. Goma is one of the major safe sanctuaries (surrounded by the UN Peacekeeping force) but has also become the home of thousands of militias and armies. The UN now says that approximately 150,000 people have been cut off from food aid.
HEAL Africa, based in Goma, has primarily a community-based focus…which puts our work (and workers) smack in the middle of the conflict. As always I am amazed at the dedication and commitment of the team, who risk their lives daily to work in this conflict-ridden region. I see not only their dedication but what they bring… compassion, hope and a bright ray of light from Jesus in an otherwise dark world.
To illustrate this: in late July I accompanied a group of visitors to Rutshuru (40 miles north of Goma) to meet with one of the community groups (HIV) with whom we work. In the 90 minutes of driving to get there we crossed several lines crossing either the rebel faction or the government troops. Rutshuru is a divided town. As we met with the local leaders one visitor asked what their biggest problem was…they said hunger. They can’t safely get to their crops without risk of rape and or being shot. They said they take turns eating…one meal every other day. It made me think: what if I had to make a daily decision ….watching my children starve to death or take the risk of being raped and/or shot or taken hostage as a sex slave? This is what a woman faces daily in Rutshuru. This is just one town of many in eastern Congo. The HEAL Africa team goes there weekly to encourage, train and equip them in a variety of ways….intensive urban food production, HIV/AIDS education, school construction, counseling for victims of rape, and community mobilization (around their priority needs).
Mama Muliri, one of the leaders in Heal My People, the sexual violence program, was shot and robbed 3 weeks ago in Goma. Today (10/17), she is going back to work (after surgery) to face more unknowns. Mama Virginie was beaten and robbed in her home the month before that. As soon as she was released from the hospital she returned to Sake and other hostile regions to encourage widows and support their work. These are women on the front line! Every trip I find myself asking the question: what makes people so brutal? On the other hand, I am also forced to ask the question, what makes women like Mama Muliri and Virginie take such risks to love their neighbor? The oft quoted verse “Love your neighbor as yourself” is easy to say but hard to practice. These two women are doing it. And they represent many more who’re working on a daily basis for a better future for the children, women and men of Congo.
I ask your prayers and help….pray for
Peace
Demilitarization of the region
Protection for the HEAL Africa team
Ethnic healing and conflict transformation
Access and resources to help the victims …healing physically, emotionally, socially, economically
Board Member, HEAL Africa
Labels: update from Goma
