Refugees

Goma has quite a few refugees right now. They have been coming in for a long time and only the most recent ones have made the news. They are all fleeing the fighting from Nkunda and the different armies that want him and his men destroyed. We visited a project of HEAL Africa’s where kids, many of them orphans or refugees, are put in a safe environment where they can share what their experiences are and other things that they think and fear and where they’ve come from:

I was in school when we first heard the gunshots. We all went out and went back to the village but already all the people were gone. My father, family, and I fled the village but the way was blocked by the military. We had 5 cots (sleeping mats) with us, but when the military saw us, they told us to leave the area and took our cots. There was nothing we could do and I was so scared because that was all we had.

I left the village with my mother and family and we had some food and other things with us. As we were walking we were stopped by the soldiers and they took our food and things and so we had nothing. Now we are here in Goma. My father before was a carpenter – he made furniture. Now he does nothing. My mother also does nothing. There is nothing to do. But I feel safer here than there. There is no war here.

The program has two groups of about 15 children each, but when the others see the children having fun, playing, and interacting with each other, they all want a part. They don’t say no to anyone so today with three foreigners watching, the crowd swelled as they played some local games, including a variation of tag. It was great to see the psychological and emotional healing going on, but there was so much that was not available to these kids. They are not in school, are malnourished, hungry, and don’t have much of anything. Some of the kids they actually have to encourage to play because its been so long since they have really played with other kids. I felt privileged to see that.