In celebration of International Women’s Day, this March we are celebrating some incredible women who inspire us with their courage, strength and kindness. This is especially embodied in the context of Central Hospital Rusayu (CHR), in North Kivu, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where a team of dedicated staff provide life-saving care for those who would not otherwise be able to afford the treatment they desperately need. DRC is notoriously dangerous for women, and never more so than now in the midst of extreme conflict and fear, with M23 rebel armies overtaking Goma city and the surrounding areas. UNICEF reported that in the last week of January 2025, the already sky-high number of rape cases treated across 42 health facilities jumped five-fold in one week. From very young children right up to the elderly, women live in serious and extreme danger of sexual violence. CHR is providing physical and emotional support for survivors of rape and sexual violence, and is helping deliver newborn babies to mothers who face great danger and uncertainty in their labours. We wanted to bring you the stories on both sides of the hospital who are experiencing light in the midst of the darkness.
Francine:
“My name is Francine. I am here to thank the hospital for the care I received over the last two years. In November 2022, I come here to the CHR to deliver a baby during the night. I was alone, as my husband passed away 7 years ago and I live about 2km from the CHR hospital. My neighbour came with me to the hospital and we were well received and immediately, I was brought to the labour room. The doctor and the midwife who were helping me tried their best to help me deliver but later on as there was no result, I was brought to the surgery room for a caesarean section. Fortunately, when I recovered the midwife came to announce the good news that I had delivered a baby girl. I was surprised to see that every day and night the hospital was giving me porridge and good meals and two weeks later, the administration of the CHR came to me and said I was free to go back home with my baby and I was charged nothing for the hospitalisation and even the surgery fees were waived. Instead, I was surprised to see the driver coming to take me and my baby home in the CHR ambulance. My thanks are addressed to the Rusayu maternity and general maternity clinic and their supporters from Scotland and elsewhere in the world who have initiated this project to help many poor women in DRC like me who have no means to have access to medical treatment. We women are very proud and thankful for your intervention in contributing with your funds for us to have this beautiful building to have our babies and this increases our hope that we are not abandoned and with your prayers we will have even more.”
Asifiwe:
My name is Asifiwe. My pain started when I was forcedly taken by three armed men who raped me and I had no one to help me as I had lost my husband during the attacks one year before. Some eight months later, I endured the same during the troubles and massacres of Kitchanga. If I remember well, it was around 8pm when we heard shooting guns and in horror, we left our homes to go to hide in a Baptist church. There were some men with us as we were about 6 women. The rebels surprised us hiding and separated the men from the women. I was taken to a house nearby where I was brutally raped by many men I don’t know. Those who came to my rescue found me half dead. I was brought to the Rusayu Maternity and General Clinic and met doctors and nurses who helped me recover my health and was well taken care of with comforting words. I have started recovering my health here at CHR, who are teaching me how to behave and to overcome the trauma I went through. I pray that the almighty God will provide the Rusayu maternity and General Clinic the capacity to deal with the cases and situations that they will face and continue to serve the population in general.”
Christine:
Christine works as the secretary and accountant at the Central Hospital Rusayu, and her work has a direct influence on women like Francine and Asifiwe. She says, “I am the only daughter of my father and mother but my father died some years after I graduated from High School so my mother worked very hard to enable me to complete university studies. She used the crops she got from the farm my father owned when he was still alive. I chose to be a CHR worker to help the population of Rusayu and to improve my work after I graduated from university. I have been working for the Rusayu maternity and general hospital since it opened its doors.” At the end of 2024, Christine told us, “The highlight for me in the hospital over the past year was that even though we had many sick people in our hospital who were displaced people, we treated them with joy. The main difficulties are the is the danger that surrounds us here in the hospital, with a lot of disturbance.” Christine loves to sing in church and continues to serve the people of Rusayu despite the serious dangers all around them.
Nathalie:
“My mother was a midwife and used to tell us about how good and important it is and I told her I would be one, and God helped me realise my dream. I have been working as a midwife since the time I completed my studies and training in 2004. However, we did not have the chance to see our father because he died some years after my younger sister and I were born. My younger sister was six months and I was about two years old. So, we lived with our mother and she was a midwife until we both completed our education. Now I am married and my husband and I have four children. I’ve chosen to be a worker at CHR because being a midwife is my career and God wants to use me to save the lives of women and their babies no matter where they come from. There is great need at CHR maternity and general hospital including a need for midwives for the women to give birth safely; I find it a pleasure and a privilege to be here. Also, it increases my professional experience to work in different areas and in different circumstances. At CHR maternity and General Hospital we are like a family, I love my work and love being with these women who really need all kinds of help. My family is happy when they see me going to work. I am happy with my husband and our four children. We live in love and the children are at school but my husband has no job so I am the sole provider for our family; paying for food, accommodation, school fees and other necessities for our children. We still rent a house and this is a serious challenge for us because houses in the town are very costly.”
This month’s stories serve to highlight the especially perilous situation faced by women in the Goma area, and the courageous valour with which they face it. Each woman is valued, brave, and dignified. Central Hospital Rusayu and the amazing women who work there continue to bring life-giving hope through powerful love and practical action. The need is great and the current situation at CHR is tragic, given that the hospital has been recently robbed and ransacked, forcing it to close its doors until it can be restocked and re-equipped. Our ongoing appeal aims to raise the funds necessary for this. To donate today, head to our appeal here.
