Nyiragongo, between the ditch and the summit, The impact of an exceptional project
On the night of May 22, 2021, the Nyiragongo volcano, the most powerful fire mountain still active in the entire Virunga volcanic chain, erupted. The populations of Nyiragongo Territory, the cities of Goma and Gisenyi were thus under the threat of lava capable of decimating everything; living beings and their property. This was the beginning of a crisis that would last for months. Without a concrete and popularized evacuation plan, the population took different routes, each one seeking to save itself at all costs. Some took the road to neighboring Rwanda, others to South Kivu, the neighboring province, and many more limited themselves to the west of the city in the town of Sake in Masisi territory, with the most vulnerable limiting themselves to the Mugunga district at the western edge of the city. Since government institutions were more concerned with the volcanic situation, local and international humanitarian organizations moved in to provide assistance to the victims.
A week later, more than 6,000 families were homeless, housed in schools and sheds in Sake, Kirotshe in Masisi territory. But also among them, the forgotten ones, the weaker ones made up mainly of small children, old people and people living with disabilities who, for lack of strength, could not go beyond Mugunga, the district in the extreme west of the city. All the assistance went to the city of Saké where there was a greater number.
AGIR-RDC, from the very first hours, was interested in these forgotten populations, housed in schools in the Mugunga and Lac Vert neighborhoods, without water, without anything.
More than 390 families living at the Uamsho school site, with an average of 5 children each, were the first beneficiaries of AGIR-DRC's emergency actions. The state of vulnerability of these populations, assessed through emergency listening and needs assessment by the mobilization team, served as a basis for the design and implementation of the "Twa weza shinda" project.
Some emergency actions in the framework of protection such as the organization of the hygiene of the site by the installation of a committee of hygiene, the provision of drinking water, soap as well as hygiene kits for women were carried out before the vast campaign of sensitization in view of the return in the sites recommended by the State for an appropriate care.
It was once they returned to the sites recommended by the State in the territory of Nyiragongo that this project was launched.
Studies of the sites were carried out before moving on to the mobilization of volunteers to invest the community. Thus, the community mobilization and mental health components have allowed to accompany the victims in the search for solutions to the problems caused by the damage of the eruption and many other problems that could be related to the reasons of security, protection, environment, ... in short; the plural context.
During 6 months, the activities of the Twaweza shinda project were carried out with the groups of words in Mugunga, Buhene and Mujoga in the territory of Nyiragongo where there was also the club of the Youth and the children as well as spontaneous actions within the community structures. It was necessary to dare to provoke hope again in order to allow all these people who had lost the taste for life to hold hands and get up together without leaving anyone behind.
With the help of community leaders and psychosocial assistants, the youth clubs and discussion groups met once a week to discuss different topics related to their daily situation, such as: peaceful cohabitation, positive masculinity, GBV, family planning, etc. They also initiated actions to protect the environment in their community, commonly called "Salongo".
It is only at the beginning of the year 2022 that the socio-economic reintegration program was launched for the beneficiaries of the project through training in trades for three months in all our intervention sites. With this program, we wanted to support the beneficiaries in their will to redevelop economically in their community and with their own initiatives. On this basis, an evaluation was made in order to study the indicators according to the sectors organized by site.
For this much sought-after sap of hope and for the quest for solid and lasting help, for the will to succeed where fatality was building a domain, the "Twa weza shinda" project will have been a trial with an unexpected impact, a success in a region where the culture of death is rampant, a new horizon traced on a land where for nearly 30 years the uncertainty of tomorrow has been the way of life, a light reappeared whose flame must continue to be fanned. Because in reality, Twa weza shinda is not an achievement. The march is still long!