38-year-old Joel used to be a primary school teacher. He comes across well spoken and thoughtful. You can imagine him being good with his students.
Just as he is good now with the women and men he’s been offering vital advice to every day.
He is one of about 24,000 people who sought refuge in the Lac Vert camp in DRC. And one of the 30 educators who have been trained by CARE International and its partners.
His role? To provide solace and advise survivors of sexual violence on how and where to access medical care. He works with both women and men, and gives practical advice on how to take measures to prevent incidences of sexual and gender based violence. And he works with men so that they are engaged in the fight against attitudes and traditions, which render women and girls vulnerable, exposed to violence.
His advice ranges from “Don’t walk alone to collect firewood, but in a group” to “Don’t blame your wife if something bad has happened to her. It’s not her fault. You have to support her, and seek medical health. You know, your health can also be at risk.”
Any day you will find him walking from tent to tent, or attending gatherings where he can spread the good word. “Look at my sandals,” he says pointing to his well-trodden blue slippers. “I walk so much that I will soon have to do something about them. They are falling apart.”
So how many people does he see per day?
“Many,” he says, showing neat lines in his notebook. “Just this week, I saw 13 women who have been raped, 19 who have suffered from genital complications, two men who were traumatised and needed to speak to someone.”
And, sadly, the number of women who survived rape keeps growing–36 cases in January, more than 50 by end of March. The rise is to do mainly with the new arrivals–women who have fled recent fighting in Kitchanga. Many have been raped as they were fleeing to safety, on their way to the camp.
But Joel is not disheartened by these numbers. “My motto is: don’t die, survive. More bad things will happen if we don’t do anything, if we shut up.”
“I want to live the day when there will be maybe just one or two cases of rape per month,” he says.
This work is like a gift
His hopes are also shared by Zawadi, a woman in her 30s with a kind face. She is one of the nine psycho-social agents in the camp, also trained by CARE.
She picks up work where Joel leaves it. Once the women know there are services in place for them, and that they should feel no shame seeking them out, they arrive at the “house for mothers”. The house might be just a big, half-empty tent but it is a safe heaven for women.
Zawadi makes sure they feel at ease, and gets a good sense of their needs. She offers them emotional support and referral to a nearby health clinic for medical treatment.
She’s been working as an agent since January. “I am not receiving anything for doing this, but will continue to do it. This work is like a gift,” she says.
Do she think she is making a difference? “Not a difference,” she concludes. “A big difference.”
ABOUT CARE: Founded in 1945, CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty and providing lifesaving assistance in emergencies. CARE places special focus on working alongside poor girls and women because, equipped with the proper resources, they have the power to help lift whole families and entire communities out of poverty.