DR Congo: Victim of Mistreatment, Sarah Shares Her Journey of Healing Through the Channel of Hope Approach

By Tatiana Ballay, Communications Officer

‘My name is Sarah, I'm 14 years old. This is my story.’

I used to live with my parents. Everything was fine until the day my father left. My mother remarried soon after, but her new husband didn't want me. He said there was no place for me in their new life. So my mother took me to my grandmother's house. She said it would be better for me, but things didn't work out as planned.

Things started to change at my grandmother's house. She used to go to church and was known as a devout woman. But when her business began to struggle and she noticed strange things happening at home, she told her pastor about it. The pastor told her that I was the source of her problems, that I was bringing misfortune into her home.

Things got worse. She started to treat me badly. 

She beat me, insulted me and deprived me of food. I had no one to talk to. Finally, she chased me out of the house. I wandered the streets for several days. I didn't know where to go or who to ask for help.

That's when a woman found me. She was a volunteer in a church and had been trained by RECOPE members. She knew how to recognise the signs of abuse and abandonment. She spoke to me calmly and took me to the health centre. 

There I met Dr Maxime, a RECOPE member. He looked after me for malaria and gave me a safe place to stay temporarily. 

Meanwhile, he contacted the social services and, with the help of RECOPE members, a mediation was organised with my grandmother.

The social authorities met my grandmother and discussed the situation with her. They made her understand that what she had done to me was not the right thing to do. 

After a few days of dialogue, she agreed to take me back into her home. 

But my return did not erase what I had experienced. My body bears the scars of that period, and I'm still scared when adults shout at me. I'm back at my grandmother's, but things are moving slowly.

Support made possible by the Channel of Hope for Child Protection approach

All this has been made possible thanks to the Channel of Hope for Child Protection (COH CP) approach, which has been put in place in my community. This approach aims to mobilise faith leaders, volunteers and families to raise community awareness of children's rights and their protection. In my case, the volunteer who found me had been trained to recognise the signs of abuse and how to intervene. Dr Maxime, a member of RECOPE, was able to act quickly thanks to the tools and knowledge he had learned during the training.

The COH CP approach helped to build the capacity of RECOPE members and community leaders to identify, report and respond to cases of abuse. 

Thanks to this method, reporting mechanisms and social mediation have been improved, giving children like me a chance to be heard and protected. Without this support, I don't know what would have happened.

Note: Sarah's name has been changed to protect her identity.