“It gives me courage to see that after the tragic circumstances and bad moments I passed through in the bush, and deeds I committed from which God has rescued me, I am now enjoying my studies, am well taken care of with a sponsor who prays for me for me with the hope that I will overcome this life. I always have good conversations with my friend here at the Village of Hope, where we laugh together, building the future and joking with one another, but the progress in my studies is showing me that my dreams are becoming a reality…”
These are the words of Eleanor*, one of the Children of Liberty (ex-child soldiers) living at the Village of Hope run by Comfort Congo, our partners in Goma, DRC. The tragic circumstances she refers to allude to a traumatic journey that many here in the West could not hope to begin to understand. Despite a relatively good start to life, when she was 13 years old, Eleanor’s father abandoned her mother and the rest of the family leaving them in a precarious position. Her older sister made various attempts to support the family, and even married a good man who helped look after the family, but after just one year of marriage, he died. In desperation her mother started to sell beer as a business, and young Eleanor started drinking the alcohol and soon became addicted. She became involved with some rebel soldiers in the area who convinced her that she could have a better life with the armies in the bush, having everything she could need and no longer knowing the poverty she was living in now. She accepted their offer.
It soon became very clear that life was not all it was promised to be as a young soldier in the rebel armies. Eleanor writes, “Life as a soldier was not easy as we knew that killing and robbing were sins. We thought we it would be fun just to play as soldiers but it was no joke when we were sometimes beaten for not having mastered some of the exercises. After being trained they gave me a weapon. This weapon was a means of intimidating people when we were deployed to attack the village. One day we attacked a village and there was a strong resistance of the government army, and our major was killed in front of me and it traumatized me. From that time I started planning how to escape but in vain.”
Eleanor eventually managed to escape by pretending to be ill and running away. She was reunited with her mother who took her to meet the team at Comfort Congo and she began to be supported through the project. Soon after, she wrote to us, saying, “Here in COL my life has completely changed. I am starting to forget every bad event I came across in the bush. My relatives are telling me that I changed because they knew me to be very aggressive. But also I hated being with people and could not speak to them when I did not feel like it.”
This year, Eleanor completed sixth year and high school, finishing her secondary school studies, specialising in pedagogy (teaching). She is hoping to sit State exams in the coming year with the ambition of going to university. The effect of sponsorship on Eleanor’s life is inestimable, providing her with the opportunity to take control of her future and forge her own path in the knowledge of the love of God and his grace on her life. She says to sponsor Joanna, “Sometimes I get a time to think to myself about the mercy of God, and the way he chose you to be a part of my destiny … I happen to wonder also if I will have this opportunity to do the same you are doing to even one person.”
*name changed to protect identity