When you have to start all over again

This is the question Isha, a mother of four, asks herself as she tenderly holds her youngest child, Hope, who is a year and a half old. We are at the health centre in Buhumba, a village nestling in the Nyiragongo territory in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

A few years ago, Buhumba was nothing more than a battlefield. Armed clashes forced its inhabitants to flee, abandoning their homes, memories and hopes to take refuge in the camps for displaced people around Goma.

Isha still remembers the day her life changed:  

“When the fighting reached our village, I was in the fields. My children had stayed at home. My friends begged me to flee, but how can a mother leave without knowing if her children are alive? I ran, my heart pounding, filled with fear, to find them. That's how our exile began, towards the unknown, towards Goma.”

Like thousands of other families, Isha found shelter in the Kaynaruchinyna camp in the Bushagara site, north of the city of Goma. Living conditions were extremely difficult. Then, a few weeks ago, after more than two years in exile, she decided to return to Buhumba.

“The return was not easy. The village was unrecognisable — almost ghost-like. My house had been destroyed by a bomb. The homes of my neighbours, though still standing, had been looted. I managed to find a tarpaulin to cover what was left of the roof, and we did our best to live there. The hardest part was feeding my children and finding healthcare. The health centre lay in ruins, looted and abandoned. I was terrified. I told myself: we’ve walked into a graveyard. But when you’ve already survived the worst, you find the strength to go on. For me, starting over meant rebuilding everything — a shelter, a routine, and a sense of dignity.”

Precarious living conditions quickly led to the spread of disease. Isha’s children often fell ill, exposed to the cold, mosquitoes, and the unsafe water they had no choice but to drink. In response to this emergency, Medair launched an emergency assistance project following an assessment mission prompted by alerts from OCHA (the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs). The project aimed to ensure free access to health care, with funding from the Humanitarian Pool Fund in the DRC.

Dr. Hilaire NDAJIBIYE, Medair's Health Project Manager, explains:  

“ Buhumba is a priority return area. The population is highly vulnerable, facing numerous health risks and lacking the means to care for themselves. Our intervention seeks to address these urgent needs, in alignment with national priorities and those of the Health Cluster. Medair’s support includes free access to primary health care, malnutrition treatment, and epidemic response. Because the health centre had been vandalised, we also undertook its rehabilitation—this involved restoring the main buildings, latrines, and showers; constructing a waste management area; installing solar electrification; and, most importantly, providing access to safe drinking water through water trucking, which remains a critical need for this community.”

For Isha, this support has been a real relief:

“When I heard that Medair was going to help us access free health care, I felt immense joy. I already knew them — they had been there for us in Bushagara, at the camp. They treated us and raised awareness when epidemics like cholera and Mpox were spreading. My youngest child, Hope, is only a year and a half old. He was born in the camp, at the Medair clinic. We’ve already been through so much together. He has fallen ill many times, due to the cold, mosquito bites, and the unsafe water we had to drink. Every night, I watched over him, afraid he might die in my arms.”

“This morning, I brought Hope to the health centre with a high fever. He was examined, treated, and he’s already improving. Every day, I see a little more light returning to his eyes.”

“What Medair is doing here is more than just providing care. It's about giving children like Hope a chance to grow up, to live, to dream. At a time when we are rebuilding our lives, every gesture counts. Every medicine, every word of comfort, every smile on our faces is a promise for the future. I am deeply grateful.”

Today, the chiefdom of Buhumba is home to more than 19,000 people, all of whom have returned from the camps and are looking for a new start. Thanks to funding from the Country Based Pool Fund in DRC, Medair continues to provide a vital response to those who, like Isha, have lost everything... but still hold out hope for a better future.

This content was produced with resources gathered by Medair’s programme and headquarters staff. The views expressed herein are those solely of Medair and should not be taken, in any way, to reflect the official opinion of any other organisation.  

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