• Finding a voice in DR Congo

    Finding a voice in DR Congo

    Children in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are vulnerable after more than a decade of conflict.

    World Vision is working with children and parents in 12 camps for displaced people to help children recover from the catastrophic consequences of war.

    From a displacement camp of almost 4,500 people, four ordinary girls share their stories…


  • Dr Congo Francois

     Francois, 12

    DR Congo Francois  "I think I've been here almost a year because I remember Christmas in the camp.

    “My father was killed by rebels. I saw the bullet go into his chest and then he died.

    “Then we ran.

    “I don’t know where his body is or who buried him because when we went back to find him, he was gone.

    “I had nine brothers and sisters but three have died of disease.

    “When I arrived here I was very sad because I thought I also might die. I was very weak from hunger.

    “But now I eat one meal a day and play games and dance. After dancing I feel very good.

    “It’s very difficult to collect firewood from the bush – they are raping many there. If I see anyone I run. But I have to go. If I don’t, we will not eat.

    “Every day I wake up at five and sweep the house, and then I collect water from a truck that comes to the camp. I go to school in the morning and the Child Friendly Space in the afternoon. I cook sweet potatoes or beans before eating my first meal of the day.

    “Sometimes we do not eat at all.”

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  • DR Congo Charlene

    Charlene, age unknown

    DR Congo Charlene  “I was born when the [rebels] came.

    “My home village [is] two days walk from here. I walked with my parents and my three brothers and sisters. My father is a teacher and my mother farms in a nearby field.

    “We had been in the camp only one week and rebels looted the camp. They took all our money.

    “When I am playing, sometimes I forget. It helps when I talk to people about what happened.”

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  • DR Congo Lisa

    Lisa, 12

    DR Congo Lisa  “My family is here but my father died when I was very young. I don’t know how.

    “I remember the sound of the rebels’ guns but we made it here safely. My brother ran in another direction and is now in Uganda.

    “We were afraid to speak after what we had seen. I could not sleep deeply because I was too afraid. And I kept seeing pictures in my mind.”

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  • DR Congo Florence

    Florence, 10

    DR Congo Florence  “[The rebels] chased my father through the forest but he hid under leaves. They took our goats and lambs and ducks.

    “I ran here through the forest. I remember seeing dead bodies without heads.

    “I was walking with my mother and she was carrying my one-day-old sister. We saw the rebels and they said, ‘Give us that baby.’ The rebels took my sister and put her in a dish used for making cassava flour. They pounded the baby like you pound cassava. Then they said, ‘Now you can pass.’

    “I used to be afraid. I used to dream about being in the forest and I would tell the rebels, ‘If you don’t give me that baby, I will not go.’ That is still in my heart and it is very difficult to forget.

    “I used to dream of being in a coffin but now I dream of playing games.

    “It is so real sometimes I shout in my sleep and my mother wakes me up and I say, ‘It’s OK, I was just playing with my friends’.”

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