a salvaged family
Twenty-two-year-old Lovi used to sell the diverse crops he grew in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Now, he struggles to buy a small bowl of beans – the price has doubled since the war started. He and his pregnant wife arrived in Shasha camp for internally displaced people in September, after fleeing heavy fighting in their home village, 25 kilometres away.

“We ran, fearing the rebels might kill us,” said Lovi. “I came across two children alone in the forest. I picked up one with one hand, and one with the other and my wife carried our belongings.” The children, eight-year-old Nyirere Kanyeshamba and Gabon Sebiraho, who does not know his age, have no idea if their parents are alive or dead. Despite his poverty, Lovi has taken in Nyirere and Gabon and provides for them.

The new family eats one meal a day, buying as much as they can from the small amount of money they earn from farming other people’s land. But now Lovi is also planting cassava, maize, potatoes and cabbage provided by World Vision. He is pleased with this opportunity to regain his independence and farm his own crops.

seeds of hope
Displacement camps are usually crowded and densely populated, with little land to cultivate – and Shasha camp is no different. Over 900 families live close together at the foot of lush green hills. World Vision negotiated land from the neighbouring Catholic church, who agreed to provide 200 families with a plot to farm.

“I will now be able to grow food for myself and my family,” said Lovi. “I will not have to work on other people’s land for small amounts of food. I can’t go home, because I’m sure someone else is on my farm, and my crops are probably now dead.” Many farmers like Lovi share his desire to earn a living and to provide for his family. With World Vision’s help, they can start to reclaim their livelihoods.

a helping hand
World Vision continues to supply food to families at the camp. At the beginning of December, close to five thousand people were receiving food, including maize, peas, vegetable oil and salt.

Matadi is six years old and fled to Shasha camp with his seventy-year-old father, Miterano Manueli, more than a year ago. They walked for three days to get there, and have received food along with the other families in the camp. Their ration is likely to last them one month.

Miterano’s livestock have been stolen and his farmland destroyed. “I used to have 30 goats and four cows, but all my animals were looted by militia,” he said. “Now, we do the only thing we can do – we plough land for other people. There is no way we can return home as militia are still living on my land.”

World Vision’s support will help Miterano and his son eat more regularly. It will mean Matadi can spend more time at World Vision’s Child Friendly Space and less time working in the field, so he can have a childhood again.