Experiencing New Life
How does one talk about new life to a 22-year-old young girl who was sexually assaulted at age 14 while working in her parents field near the home?
How does one talk about new life to a 22-year-old young girl who was sexually assaulted at age 14 while working in her parents field near the home? As a result of the rape, she is the mother of 8-year-old twin boys. Kyakimwa has become one of the nightmarish statistics of 2 out of 3 girls raped in the eastern Congo yearly. For more than two decades the violent conflict raging in the country has attracted very little international attention and yet in one hospital, among many designed to treat women and girls following their assault, an average of 2000 fistula operations have been performed yearly since 2002.
Kyakimwa has chosen not to dwell on what life could have been but rather on what life can be. She, her children and her mother were chased from the home of the mother’s family after the death of her father. The family members decided to rent out the homestead as a source of income for the larger family. Kyakimwa managed to find a small space to stay with a family friend. While there she discovered a training program being sponsored by Global Ministries and enrolled in some of the life skills classes. She completed the course and was able to start her own business selling corn flour. She saved money to send her boys to schools and never lost sight of her own dream to get an education and start a new life for herself. After meeting her financial obligations and paying school fees for her boys, she saved until she was able to enter school. Today she is in the 11th grade and continues to run her business to support her boys and herself. She was happy to share her story so that others may be inspired. Her words of wisdom as she thanked Global Ministries are a testimony to new life, “I didn’t receive a handout. The assistance was accompanied by concrete training that gave me hope that I could change my life.” Kyakimwa gives each one of us hope that new beginnings are possible in the midst of turmoil and uncertainty.
For more resources on the lives, successes and struggles of our partners in the Democratic Republic of Congo, join in the Global Ministries’ sponsored Congo Initiative.