In the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), young children have known only war, and many lives in camps for the displaced. “If we don’t take care of them, it could have repercussions on the future of the whole province,” explains an Action Against Hunger official. A report in the Kanyaruchinya camp.
In the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), armed conflicts have been going on for thirty years, to such an extent that the younger generation has known only war. For many children, living under plastic sheeting in the Kanyaruchinya displacement camps is nothing new.
Ariel is 12 years old and this is the second time he has taken refuge in the Kanyaruchinya IDP camp. The first time he was with his father. But this time, his father is absent. He died “during the war”, he says.
With a dozen other children, he is part of a group nicknamed “life” and plays games to learn how to manage his emotions: “Now I feel better. We play and we are told how to behave with other children. When I arrived here, I felt very bad», said Ariel.
For Jacques Mufuni, psychologist and deputy head of the mental health program at Action Against Hunger, it is essential to deal with the trauma of children: “It risks disturbing them in their daily lives. This can also influence their academic performance, their social adaptation, and their integration into society. If we do not take care of these children, this risks having an impact on the future of the whole province, on the development of the province, on the production of the province. “.