DR Congo: Jeannette's journey - from tragedy to hope
By Rodrigue Harakandi, Communications Officer
In Goma in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo lives Jeannette, a woman scarred by tragedy but who has shown resilience to overcome life's challenges. Aged 33, she often recalls her peaceful life in Kirotche, where her small clothing business and the support of her husband offered her a promising future.
"Then came the war," she says, her eyes filled with painful memories. "We fled for our lives. My husband took some of our children, I took another, and we walked for days to Goma."
“The journey in search of refuge was painful, marked by hunger and uncertainty. We lost everything along the way, except our will to survive", she confides.
In Goma, Jeannette was hungry; she decided to go home and find something to eat and feed her children. "One day, i returned to our house in Kirotche to look for food, I was confronted with horror," she recounts, her eyes brimming with tears. Armed men attacked and raped her, leaving her physically and emotionally broken.
"They showed me the body of my husband, who had preceded me a few weeks earlier and whom I hadn't heard from for days, abandoned and devoured by rats. It was the darkest moment of my life".
Every day, Jeannette and her children struggle to survive in Goma. "We work hard. I wash clothes in exchange for food and my children help me as much as they can.” But the road is long. "We have lost so many things. My husband wasn't even given a proper funeral", she laments.
Back in the Buhimba site for displaced people in Goma, the light is timidly beginning to break through the darkness. "It was there that I met an angel", she says gratefully. A World Vision volunteer psychologist, sensitive to the distress of her children, offered her a glimmer of hope. "He listened to me, consoled me and helped me to find the strength to carry on despite everything".
The sessions with the psychologist were a balm for her wounded soul. "Every conversation brought me a little more inner peace", she confides, her eyes shining with optimism.
Yet the challenges remain. "My children are hungry, they no longer have a father to guide them", she sighs, with sorrow. But thanks to World Vision's intervention, Janette and her children have received essential support. "I received a WASH kit that changed our lives, enabling us to store clean water and have access to hygiene items," she explains gratefully.
World Vision's actions are not limited to materials; they also include crucial psychosocial support. "These meetings have given me hope of a new life, far from the horrors of the past", she says, a shy smile lighting up her face.
Jeannette prays for the future. "I ask God to change our destiny, to give us a better ending than our tragic beginning," she confides with faith.
Her story, marked by resilience and the invaluable support of World Vision, is a powerful reminder of the strength of the human spirit in the face of adversity. "I don't know what tomorrow will bring," she says with sincerity, "but today, thanks to World Vision, I know that we are not alone in this struggle.
With the support of Irish Aid and World Vision's support office in Ireland, World Vision has distributed WASH kits to 2,400 households, or around 16873 people.
*Janette is not the real name.