Helping Survivors of Sexual Violence
- Teresa Suarez
- Jun 12
- 3 min read
Key points:
More than 40 women victims of sexual violence are receiving help from Harper Hill Global.
Harper Hill Global recently provided food aid to more than 20 of the women.
Bishop Gabriel Unda thanked Harper Hill Global for its support and called for its continuation in the region.
By Philippe Lolonga
June 11, 2025 | GOMA, Congo
The war in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has left hundreds of people traumatized, and this trauma stems from gender-based violence (sexual violence), the effects of war and the growing insecurity in the region with the killings.
“Not a day goes by without deaths in the occupied zones,” said the Rev. Henriette Omoy, one of the women's leaders. “We've brought them together at different sites in North and South Kivu, and we’re raising their moral awareness so that they don’t lose hope in life.”
Most of these women were raped during the war, and others became pregnant, leaving them to fend for themselves, according to Bibiche Okala, who serves at the United Methodist Health Center in Goma and works with Harper Hill Global. “That's why I decided to live with two of these women in the house where I live, and today I manage to provide these women with food and first aid. We served each traumatized person a bag of rice, corn flour, beans, salt and oil,” she said.
“I would like to thank the Harper Hill Global organization, through our Bishop Gabriel Unda, who made it possible for us to provide these women with food and distribute it to the great satisfaction of the beneficiaries,” Okala concluded.
Harper Hill Global is providing support to more than 40 women in the Goma area who have suffered sexual violence. The organization recently provided food aid to more than 20 of the women.
Sexual violence is a major problem in eastern Congo, which has been gripped by conflict. In recent months, rebel forces have seized the cities of Goma and Bukavu, along with smaller towns.
Henriette Ahako suffered sexual violence in February on the outskirts of Goma. “After the sexual act committed by force, I found myself with a pregnancy, and with this pregnancy I (didn’t) know how to (support) myself, but today I benefit from the support of Harper Hill Global,” she said.
Tatiana Kalinda was attacked by armed bandits in her house in Majengo.
“I am a victim of sexual violence orchestrated by the bandits who had entered the house,” she said. “They found me with my two children and they raped me in the presence of my two children, and until today nobody cares about me. I thank the Rev. Neelley Hicks of the Harper Hill Global organization for her support towards us.
“I have just received food that will help me and my family,” Kalinda said. “I plead for the Harper Hill Global organization to be able to integrate us into society by providing us with social integration kits in order to be independent.”
The Rev. Timothé Makaza, who represented the United Methodist district superintendent of Goma at the food distribution event, thanked Harper Hill Global for this support, which he said came at just the right time for the people in need.
Omoy thanked Bishop Gabriel Yemba Unda, who leads The United Methodist Church’s Eastern Congo Episcopal Area, for his plea to Harper Hill Global to help Kivu’s traumatized people.
“I have faith that through our mom Rev. Neelley, the other two sites will be served and we hope to expand this important program,” Omoy said. Harper Hill Global has funded the first of three planned sites in eastern Congo for its Triumph Over Trauma program, which is providing counseling, therapy, and food support to victims of violence.
The bishop also thanked Harper Hill Global for its support and called for peace to be re-established as soon as possible in Kivu, so that the church can extend this support to people traumatized by war.
Lolonga is a Harper Hill Global correspondent based in Kivu.
How to help:
Please give now to help us fund two additional sites in the war-torn areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Your gifts, whether small or large, will provide these women with hope and recovery.
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