The first days of the visit we were given a tour of the entire Heal Africa operation and facility as well as an induction to Heal Africa mission, objectives, and purposes. We were given the induction by the current Program manager of Heal Africa, Dr. Likofata and some the HIV staff and assistant project staff. We met the medical staff, HIV program staff, counseling staff, arts and livelihoods program staff, justice/law advocacy staff and pharmacy staff.
Literally everyone we met, though particularly the female doctors, nurses and lawyers, were some of the most inspiring individuals we’ve ever come across. The way they held themselves, presented their work, the way they spoke and the passion that they approached their daily tasks, just floored us. If it is possible to actually see the driving force of another human being, the bits and the bobs that really make someone tick, I would have imagined that we would have seen a fire in the eyes of those we met that day. Not an seething, all consuming bonfire, but rather a welcoming and constantly burning flame – one you would want to spend most of your time sitting beside for comfort, just to watch and be warmed.
The second day of our visit we visited several field locations, where we met the women and staff of two different current Heal Africa safe houses. The safe houses are where most women first go to after they have been raped, especially if they don’t have physical access to the Heal Africa hospital immediately after they have been assaulted.
These houses provide shelter, medical help (referrals to the Heal Africa hospital), psycho-social counseling, livelihoods programs, language classes, justice/law counsel and a strong church network. At the centre of these safe houses are groups called ‘Nehemiah Committees’, which are male and female village leaders who represent different local faith groups who help to find local solutions within to sexual violence. They also have a Heal my People program, which focuses on issues of gender and justice and the root causes of sexual violence within the Congo.
One Heal Africa supported safe house we visited, provides shelter and a sense of community for women who have had over 6 fistula repair and other more intensive surgeries after being severely sexually assaulted during the war – many of whom have been told that their conditions are unfixable – despite all the excruciating operations they’ve endured. Earlier the previous day, during our tour of the Heal Africa hospital, we had been afraid to ask the question of where women go if they are unable to be physically restored by surgery. It was then, at the shelter in the black lava speckled rolling hills outside of Goma, that we found our answer.
In this type of safe house the women are building and living in community while participating in income generating activities such as bread and soap making, farming or animal husbandry. The strength in these womens’ eyes, and the joy with which they spoke made us forget the histories that they shared with us – things that we may never be able to repeat. These women were joyful and happy to receive visitors. After we introduced ourselves they began singing and dancing. One woman told us a Congolese proverb that we’ve heard many times since arriving, but at no other time have we felt so happy to hear it spoken – ‘a place is blessed when visitors are present’.
When one of our colleagues asked if it was possible to have a picture of us together with these women, we were cringing at what their answers might be. We had been given a place of honor, to enter the lives of women who had suffered the most severe forms of violence, to sit among them, look into their eyes and hear them share their stories. We felt that we had been given too much already, and could not imagine any one of them actually wanting to have their photo taken. Perhaps we underestimated their dignity, because they jumped at the opportunity. Their smiles still remind us of that all too elusive hope for this country, and specifically for the women of the DRC. There is hope here, among these courageous women and despite the terror of the night, there is reason to search for joy in the morning.
Healing Arts and Livelihoods Program
Dancing with the women at the Safe House
Staff at the Safe House
