by Halcyon Martin
“We have left everything and we don’t know when we will go back”
The Rush To Leave Goma
Hundreds of thousands of people rushed to leave Goma last week as fear of the possibility of further eruptions of the Nyiragongo volcano to the north of the city spread. The order came to leave as an eruption right under Goma or even under Lake Kivu became a real threat. Most left their homes with very few, if any, belongings, food or money and headed to Sake in D.R.Congo or across the border into Rwanda. Our partners, Comfort Congo, have made contact with several of their project members in Sake to find out how things are.
Patrick – Children of Liberty
When Patrick was just a schoolboy he was captured during a raid by militias. They took him off to be one of D.R.Congo’s many child soldiers where he was taught how to loot, kill and rape with only alcohol and drugs to combat the fear and shock. He eventually managed to escape and found refuge, hope and a new life with the Children of Liberty Project of Comfort Congo. When he graduated from school, he was supported to rent a small farm, he planted his first crop of beans and purchased a herd of goats. But now Patrick’s life has been thrown into disarray again, as with thousands of others, he has had to evacuate to Sake leaving his farm, his vegetables and his goats. Now moneyless, foodless and roofless Patrick, with everyone else is struggling for water and food.
Nabindu and Kanyere – survivors of sexual violence
Nabindu and Kanyere are two of an amazing group of women who have previously sought refuge in Goma, and are now supported by Comfort Congo, following the cruelly common horror of multiple rape by militias. Now forced to flee again they and their young children find themselves in Sake with virtually nothing. They have found refuge in a church which has provided them with a small amount of food and water. Here is what they have to say:
Nabindu says:
“Since leaving Goma after the volcanic eruption we have been in this local church in Sake. There are many challenges; we have been without food and water. We feel hopeless about returning to Goma as the governor has not yet announced when we can return. Sleeping conditions are not good. Yesterday they brought us a little water. Food is expensive and we have no money. We are really suffering here because we left Goma so quickly. We ran without taking anything with us and without even knowing where to go. Here we are just sleeping on the floor. The children don’t have food. We go into the market begging for money or anything. We are also scared that our children will die. Even here we see that our children could also die because of hunger. There is no work, no money, nothing. Please help us if you can. We ran from volcano but the hunger is killing us.”
Kanyere says:
“We are people who ran from the volcano. This is our 6th day of traveling and we are now here at Sake. We have a lot of problems. We are so hungry. We would love to sleep but we don’t sleep well here. We have left everything we have behind. At least here they give us some food because people here have helped. Yes, they have really helped us in this place.
The government said that we needed to leave and only they know about the state of the volcano but if we stay here we do not want to die of hunger with our children.
Everything, all of our pots, our mattress, everything that we would normally use has been left behind because we were just running for the sake of the children. Some people even left money because we were just in a rush to run, we didn’t take anything. Any money that we did bring we have used on the way.”
Teachers
Over the past year the Covid situation hit the teachers really hard, with no income they were reliant on Comfort Congo for food and now they find themselves with nothing as evacuees in Sake.
Safari, Principal Kisima Secondary School says:
“We are thankful to Comfort Congo staff who have come to visit us. Since the Nyiragongo volcano erupted on May 22 we have been suffering here in Sake. We are in need of help, in particular for food, water and clothes. Two of my teachers have lost their homes since their houses were destroyed by the volcano. Our biggest need at the moment is food and water.”
Comfort Babies Congo
Vulnerable mums and babies who have been protected and supported by Comfort Congo are now finding themselves in a vulnerable position once more as they have fled the city. One Mum with her young child from the Comfort Babies Congo Project had been sleeping rough in Sake for several days.
Help is Coming
Once again the team at Comfort Congo will battle adversity to bring support and hope to people like Patrick, Nabindu, Kanyere, Safari and the women & children of Comfort Babies Congo.
No-one knows when people will be able to return to Goma. In 2002 a similar eruption destroyed a third of the city. When in Goma it doesn’t take long to realise the whole city is built on the hardened lava of recent eruptions. But Goma is safer than the North Kivu hinterland where many of its residents come from and which are prey to the killing and marauding lechery of the rebel armies. In the meantime, for homeless teachers, for Patrick and the women, basic essentials will start to reach them from Comfort Congo in the next 24-48 hours. They are all they ask for as they hold onto the hope that once again, life will turn a corner and trauma and heartache will give way to another rebuild of their lives and homes.
Thank you!
Many of our supporters have given to the appeal and funds have been sent to our partners in D.R.Congo. We look forward to hearing of the change that this will bring. Thank you for your generosity which will most certainly save lives!
If you are able to give to the Emergency Appeal to help provide emergency relief such as food, water, shelter, medicines and rebuilding of lives please click visit our appeal page.