A Samaritan’s Purse vocational program in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is teaching Kaswera to braid hair while also showing her the love of God.
As strands of hair slide through her fingers, Kaswera says she feels safe right now in a Samaritan’s Purse class in Bunia, Democratic Republic of the Congo. She is learning how to weave women’s hair into tight rows at a makeshift beauty salon lined with mirrors.
The Samaritan’s Purse Safe Haven project provides a safe space in Bunia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, for women to connect with each other and learn livelihood skills.
The room hums with the conversation of fellow students from Ituri Province who were displaced as teenagers when militias attacked their villages, looting and burning what was in their path.
Displacement and the resulting fear have become a way of life for hundreds of thousands of people in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, as armed groups prey on rural areas, forcing families to flee lands they have lived in for generations.
Kaswera, now 20, was 14 when she traveled the 40 miles from her village to Bunia, the provincial capital, to establish a new life with her family and few resources.
Kaswera has lived in Bunia since she was a teenager. The skills she’s learning will help her thrive in adulthood.
“It was the war that brought us here since 2018,” she said. “There are three of us with my older sister.”
For six years, she and her sister worked odd jobs for people in the city “drawing water, washing dishes,” and running errands to buy shoes, clothes, and food staples for others so they’d have something to eat. Ridicule from others often accompanied their labor.
“Even now, the displaced are still being mocked,” she said. “They still mock us. We only endure because we are already here. We can’t change that.”
Seeing the Future with Hope
But in the Samaritan’s Purse Safe Haven beauty salon, Kaswera is pursuing a dream, building relationships, and growing in her relationship with God.
“I always wanted to learn how to braid hair. That’s what brought me here—to move my life forward.
“Here we live in freedom. Here we are told that no matter your tribe, we are one and we must not divide. This means that we live very well here, and in the salon are not laughed at.”
Kaswera dreams of the new life she will build with the newfound trade of hair braiding, a skill that she doesn’t take lightly. It provides an income today and greater opportunity down the road.
“Hairdressing is simple. If you have someone come to you now, you braid them and they pay you immediately. With other jobs, you don’t get paid immediately. Sometimes you get paid even after two months, and I don’t think that’s good for me. That’s why I chose hairdressing, where I braid today and they pay me today.”
The common hair fashion puts her in contact with people from all walks of life from nearby communities, and she’s forming close friendships with fellow stylists who work side by side with her for hours.
Kaswera is already getting paying customers as she practices at our local school and, when she graduates, she’ll continue to grow her own client base. Soon she will have her own salon.
She’ll be able to earn an income and growing her very own business without traveling far from home.
Hair braids are a common style for many in Bunia and graduates of the Safe Haven program have dreams of starting their own businesses.
“I’m going to open a salon right here,” she said. “I won’t need to go anywhere else in the city anymore.”
During the Samaritan’s Purse training, Kaswera says she’s experienced acceptance and love. The classes teach women like her about God’s love, which can sometimes feel distant with all that’s happened in the Democratic Republic of the Congo the last few years.
Kaswera remembers those days of fleeing as a teen, of settling in Bunia, and of trying to survive when they “couldn’t find enough food, water, practically anything,” but she’s only looking forward now, and doing so with gratitude.
“Life wasn’t good, but it’s better now,” she said. “I’m so grateful for the work of Samaritan’s Purse because they love us and called us here to learn. I really thank them. Now we will be OK, because things will change very soon. We live in freedom here.”
As Kaswera and her fellow displaced students continue to learn a new trade, please pray that they will find eternal hope in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Scores of women and men have graduated from the Safe Haven project where they learned a new trade and also about the hope found only in Jesus Christ.
