When Daniel’s* grandmother passed away, his world turned upside down. Raised in the Democratic Republic of Congo, he never met his mum or dad, but his grandmother took him in and treated him like a son, despite her own difficult circumstances. She did her best to make sure he could go to school until she died in 2015. His aunt, who had also been looking after him like her own brother, got married around this time and Daniel was left with nowhere to go. Some of his friends used to “help out” some of the armed groups in the area in exchange for food and shelter, and although he resisted at first, soon Daniel became a fully fledged child soldier.Â
At that time, Daniel felt quite accustomed to life in the armed groups, commenting, “I was used to life there, and it didn’t seem very difficult at the time, apart from carrying heavy objects during the operations and living with a very high risk of dying within the attacks. We were very little boys when they were older fathers and young adults able to run and fight. As for us, we were considered like we were able to do everything they did.”
When the group he was with was defeated and disbanded, Daniel felt lost and confused but when he met one of the Comfort Congo workers, he found a loving and healing community of many others who had experienced very similar situations to himself. He said, “I found another kind of life that I did not expect could happen to me before. I met over there many boys and some girls who underwent the same situation I went through and who love me like their brother. We hear preaching from the Comfort Congo workers, and we sang praises and worship that has brought me to feel like I am in my new family.”Â
In a letter to his sponsor this August, Daniel wrote his heartfelt testimony about how his life had changed since coming onto the project:
“I write this letter with a heart full of gratitude and joy – something I never thought I would feel again. Before you came into my life, I was lost. I was once a child soldier, carrying a weapon when I should have been playing and laughing. I didn’t know what peace felt like. I had no family, no food, and no place to call home. But then, you appeared in my life like an angel. You gave me everything I had lost—hope, dignity, and a future.
When you offered me a chance to go to school, it was more than just an opportunity. It was a new life. I remember the first time I held a pen instead of a gun. It felt like magic, like I could finally be a child again. I was no longer just a number in a war. I became a student. I became a new person.
Now, Goma has been a place where every day feels like a struggle for survival and life is still very difficult, and the sounds of conflict are never far away. But now, I have a reason to keep going. I walk to school with hope in my heart, not fear. I dream of becoming an important person in the future so I can help children like me. I dream of a peaceful future, one that you helped me believe in.”
a little can change a life
*Name changed to protect identity
Beautiful story of a wonderful work by an amazing God and a great team.