The village of Victims

The DR Congo is widely considered to be the richest country in the world in terms of natural resources and raw minerals such as diamond, gold, coltan, cassiterite.

The DR Congo is widely considered to be the richest country in the world in terms of natural resources and raw minerals such as diamond, gold, coltan, cassiterite. But these resources also fuel most of the conflicts in the country. Violences and a falied state make the DR Congo to the world's deadliest country. The prevalence of rape and other sexual violence is described as the worst in the world. UN agencies cite 10.000 known cases of women who have become victims of sexual violence over the past fifteen years. Despite the signed peace agreements, the presence of NGOs on Congolese territory and the supervision by MONUSCO, sexual violence continues unabated since 1996, the beginning of the first Congo war. Sexual abuse is commonly used as a “weapon of war” in DR Congo by both rebels and Congolese armed forces (FARDC). In the village of Buganga, South Kivu province, hundreds of Congolese women, victims of sexual violence, have taken refuge. Madame Masika, herself a victim of sexual violence, started helping all other women since 2000, in collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). She started bringing victims to the village of Buganga giving them all necessary assistance since in most cases victims after violence lose their home and their family. In the village these women start a new life. Accompanied by their children born from the rape they are trying to forget the past with their personal commitment and the work of Madame Masika. The recovery program includes private dialogues and group work. They use to work in the community camps for the production of agricultural products that sometimes are sold in the surrounding villages. Masika founded the APDUD association (Association de Personnes Desheritees Unies pour le Developpment).