Conflict survivor in the Congo shares her story of both pain and gratitude
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, there are roughly 2.7 million internally displaced people. That might seem like an overwhelming statistic, but Samaritan’s Purse is working to provide food and non-food items to those displaced by conflict – one family at a time.
Below, Bahuma Kavira Josephine shares her story. It reflects the experiences of a devastating number of people in the DRC. Through the aid of Samaritan’s Purse, her story is one with hope.
-Gracie Fairfax, communications intern in the Samaritan’s Purse DRC office
Since the death of my husband, my life has not been the same. We worked in the field in order to earn money for our home, and everything was fine until a terrible day when we were working in the field. Some kind of larva fell in the eyes of my husband and caused complications, which led to his death.
Taking care of my five children alone has not been easy; my mother still lives with me as well. We had penalties because our field was taken over by dignitaries. We were left with nothing, and because of regular attacks in our forest, we failed to eat.
Two of my daughters were kidnapped by the military, and I was left with one girl and two boys, who ran away to find a better life elsewhere. I couldn’t take care of my mother, and we were overcome with hunger. So we left Akokola for Eringeti, where we found odd jobs in the fields.
When rebels came and attacked our village, we lost everything again. Now we can’t go more than five kilometers from our home, so we can’t access the fields, and we have to return home before 2 p.m. because of insecurity.
Since we agreed to have a surveyor come from Samaritan’s Purse to where we are living temporarily, we have felt so much happiness and grace. I was preparing to leave Eringeti for the Eastern province, but after we received the results from the survey, my decision changed. In the weeks that followed, Samaritan’s Purse has brought us blankets, clothes, and a lot of food, as well as important cooking equipment.
As long as I’ve been alive, I’ve never seen such a kind act. Today, we received twice the amount of food than we received last time. I am now feeding my neighbors and their children. I do not fear for the state of my mother’s health now, since I know a lack of food used to be one of the sources of her weakness.
I thank God, and I hold your support in my heart. I know that I now eat meals and have kitchen supplies, but my regard for you is infinite even if I did not have such an opportunity. May God bless you.
