Third Congo Site For Traumatized Women Receives Aid
- Teresa Suarez
- Sep 30
- 4 min read
Key points:
· More than 30 women who have suffered sexual violence have just received food and medicine from The United Methodist Church in Bukavu through Harper Hill Global.
· The site, along with two others in Goma, provides support for traumatized women.
· Bishop Antoine Kalema Tambwe said that helping traumatized people is a priority, and he emphasized the importance of combating sexual violence.
By Philippe Lolonga
Sexual violence in eastern Congo has left many women traumatized and abandoned, with no legal aid or material support for their care in Goma and Bukavu.
Harper Hill Global has just provided support to a third site in the war-torn region to help traumatized women. The site, in Bukavu, is in addition to two sites in Goma.
More than 30 women who have suffered sexual violence received food and medicine in the recent distribution of aid at the Bukavu site.
Harper Hill Global has funded three sites. Each site provides therapy, counseling and food aid through Harper Hill Global’s Triumph Over Trauma program, in coordination with The United Methodist Church.
For many women, the sexual violence they have suffered has left them ostracized by society and expelled by their own families.
“This aid to survivors of sexual violence comes at just the right time, and these women now recognize the good work of the church through this important support during a very difficult period,” said the Rev. Badeux Muunga, associate of the United Methodist district superintendent of Bukavu,
Bishop Antoine Kalema Tambwe, who took up his post on Sept. 1 as The United Methodist Church’s new bishop in eastern Congo, emphasized the importance of this work.
“Helping someone who is suffering and traumatized is a great blessing, and as a church, this category of people is a priority for me,” he said.
The support has restored hope for some of the traumatized women.
“Despite the financial and material difficulties, today I am reassured that the church always comes to the aid of those who are neglected by society,” said Kito Luzonga Anne Marie, president of the United Methodist women in Kivu.
As part of the aid distribution, $800 worth of medication was deposited at the United Methodist Health Center for medical care for the traumatized women in Bukavu and the surrounding area, according to Mbilizi Bonane Bibiche. Upon arriving at the center, she said, she “met a woman abandoned by her husband because of the rape she had suffered in Kazingo by armed men, 5 kilometers from the city of Bukavu.”
“I prayed with her and encouraged her not to lose hope of living,” Bibiche said.
Odette Sangani, a mother of three and widow, was raped by armed men in the Essence neighborhood as M23 rebels entered Bukavu early this year. “I am proud today of the support I receive from the church through Harper Hill Global,” she said. “Before receiving food today, I received psychological counseling from our mothers Mbilizi Bonane and Jolie Mwaidi. When these rebels raped me last February, I contracted urinary tract infections, but today I have just received medication for these infections.
“I ask our Mother Neelley to continue to advocate for us so that we can have income-generating activities that can help us take care of ourselves because our families have abandoned us,” Sangani said, referring to the Rev. Neelley Hicks, executive director of Harper Hill Global.
Josée Fatuma, a 24-year-old single mother, said this is the first time she has received help after being sexually assaulted by armed men in her home in Nyalukemba in March.
“The food and medicine I received today will help me, and I plead with the church not to abandon us, because the church has become my father, my mother and my husband today,” she said. “I ask that, in addition to providing food and medicine, you create a learning center for us to learn small trades such as soap making or baking.”
Bishop Kalema said sexual violence is a weapon for the enemies of peace. “We have an obligation to restore peace, and we must combat the sexual violence that is traumatizing some people today,” he said.
“My predecessor, Bishop Gabriel Unda, who has just retired, did great work in eastern Congo, specifically in Kindu, with the construction of the Maman Lynn Center, where single mothers are now beginning to be integrated into social life. I want to continue this momentum in the episcopal region,” Kalema said.
“I ask people of good will to support me in my program to help marginalized and traumatized people.”
Lolonga is a correspondent for Harper Hill Global based in Congo.
How to help: For less than $1 a day, your gift will provide a woman with food, medicine, and trauma recovery. Join the Health and Hope Circle today by becoming a monthly donor! Your monthly donation of $10 or more will directly provide food and trauma recovery resources for survivors of this conflict.