Traumatized Women Learn Entrepreneurship In Congo
- Teresa Suarez
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
Women who have been raped are learning how to be self-sufficient through baking and soap making with the help of Harper Hill Global.
By Philippe Lolonga
Nov. 4, 2025 | KINSHASA, Congo
Harper Hill Global has provided funds to help 20 women who are victims of rape learn to become self-sufficient through baking and soap making.
The women were sexually assaulted during the conflict in eastern Congo, driven by the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels.
The aid has helped the women achieve financial independence, said United Methodist Bishop Antoine Kalema Tambwe.
Women who have suffered sexual assault amid the violence in eastern Congo are now learning new skills to help them become financially self-sufficient.
Since the capture earlier this year of the cities of Goma and Bukavu by the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels, the women have been living in deplorable conditions, and some have been abandoned by their families, according to Bibiche Okala.
Okala supervises a site in Goma that is focused on helping traumatized women recover and become self-supporting. The site is one of three centers in eastern Congo supported by Harper Hill Global, which is working in partnership with The United Methodist Church to address the needs of women who have suffered rape and violence.
In Goma, Harper Hill Global has provided funds to help 20 women who are victims of rape learn how to support themselves by baking and making soap.
The Rev. Henriette Omoy, who helps train the women in baking and soap making, said she was proud to have the necessary equipment, which will enable each learner to take charge of her own life and become financially independent.
The women reaffirmed their commitment and dedication to helping each other, while also starting to contribute 5,000 Congolese francs (equivalent to US$2) each week, which will enable them to organize themselves in the days ahead and help each other.
“I thank Harper Hill Global for this support because I was desperate after being raped by men in uniform in Kanyarushinya, 10 kilometers from the city of Goma,” said Kanyere, 50, whose full name is being withheld. She is the mother of eight children.
This aid will not only enable my family to survive, but also to become financially independent.
Jeanne, 25 years old and the mother of two children, said that after she was raped and immediately became pregnant, she didn't know if she could be useful to society. “I am grateful to Bibiche Okala for her weekly lessons, and today I have just learned how to make bread and soap,” she said. “I want to start selling every day, which will allow me to support myself without having to rely on anyone else.”
The United Methodist Church is a reference point in her life, she said, and she wants to continue preaching love while participating each week in pooling money to enable everyone to support themselves.
Joyce, 16, was sexually assaulted in February in Goma. “I no longer had any value in my neighborhood because everyone made fun of me,” she said. “I want to capitalize on this entrepreneurial activity in baking and soap making, which will allow me to become useful and forget, at least a little, the atrocities committed against me.”
The Rev. Henry Jean Robert Kasongo Numbize, the United Methodist district superintendent of Goma, thanked those who are helping support the women during a time of financial crisis in the region.
Bishop Antoine Kalema Tambwe, who leads The United Methodist Church’s Eastern Congo Episcopal Area, also thanked those who have supported women that have suffered sexual violence in Kivu, and he invited Harper Hill Global to extend its support.
The church’s primary mission is to help the poor and neglected in society by making them useful, the bishop concluded.
Lolonga is a Harper Hill Global correspondent based in Congo.
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Contact: nhicks@harperhill.global or call: +1(615)260-6945.
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