DRC Crisis Blog 4

Yesterday we went to a camp where almost 14,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are living. At first it seems that their needs are well covered; the camp looks organised, the shelters, although small and extremely basic, at least have plastic sheeting, and there is a market in the centre of the camp. Some of the IDPs have been here for 2 years, as a result of DRC’s ongoing conflicts. There’s been a huge wave of new IDPs in the last couple of months, which has swelled the numbers.

Around 60% of the families are headed by women. Once in the camp, the women are still not necessarily safe. In order to make their shelters and find fuel, they have to go to the forest to find wood. We came across a small girl, Cherie, aged around 2 years old, sitting on the ground eating from a bowl. Her mother had gone to collect wood a week ago and had never returned. General Nkunde’s troops are in the forest and kidnap women, raping them or taking them into the army. No one knows what happened to Cherie’s mother, and it is likely that they never will. Now she is being looked after by her father, and neighbours who help to care for her.