A call for solidarity and hope

Kahindo Tantine, mother of six children, five of whom are still here to share her daily life, looks back on a life of harmony and prosperity in the village of Ngumba, in Masisi territory. A passionate farmer and petrol seller, she has long coped with life's challenges, also contributing to her community as a health volunteer and community relay. 

However, everything changed when war struck. Attacks from Shasha and Ngingwe Hill spread terror, driving Kahindo and her family to flee their beloved home. “We found ourselves right in the middle of the shooting,” she confides with infinite sadness, recalling the tragic moments of their flight to Sake and Goma, where some of their relatives lost their lives under the bombs. Despite the horror, their survival was an act of divine grace: “Our lives were saved thanks to God.”

Back in Ngumba after two years in an IDP site, Kahindo discovers a distressing reality. “Hunger is widespread, and we have no source of income,” she declares with a heavy heart. The crops that fed her family, such as cassava, maize and beans, have disappeared, giving way to an overwhelming food crisis. The houses, once full of life, are now ruins, and the only health center has been destroyed and looted, transformed into an empty shed, deprived of any assistance.

The latrine situation is another source of concern. Before the war, every family had this fundamental element for a dignified life. Today, however, the latrines have been reduced to ashes, leaving the inhabitants to seek refuge in the bush to meet their natural needs. What's more, heavy rains increase the risk of erosion and disease, making their daily lives even more precarious.

“Our biggest dream is to get our lives back,” says Kahindo with a glimmer of hope in his eyes. Kahindo is appealing for solidarity, an invitation to compassionate souls to reach out to those who are suffering, to restore not just homes, but lives, dreams and hopes within this hard-hit community.

Oxfam had begun community meetings to set up a humanitarian response for water, hygiene, sanitation and protection. Initiatives to guarantee food security were also planned, but unfortunately all this seems to have been abandoned due to the suspension of funding by USAID. The village of Ngumba, on the shores of Lake Kivu, depends on this water to feed the needs of its 200 households, but today this hope is fading.