Terrible situation. Solange's parents died when she was young. A kind uncle took her in and helped care for her. She says she wouldn't have survived without him.
Solange was recently able to repay his kindness with generosity of her own. About a month ago the escalating war in Congo forced him to flee their rural hometown with his wife and 5 children. He borrowed money from neighbors to be able to travel to Goma and Solange opened her doors and welcomed their family, keeping a roof over their head and food on the table this past month (your purchases made this possible!).
The other day her uncle traveled back to their hometown, leaving his wife and children at Solange's house in Goma. He wanted to repay the money he had borrowed. While traveling through the forest in an insecure area on a motorcyle taxi he was stopped, robbed and killed. These are the effects of a war that never ends. Not only did this man leave a wife and 5 young children, his wife is pregnant with their 6th child.
Solange traveled with the wife back to their hometown to bury this beloved man. The children remained at Solange's house in Goma and Argentine and Riziki went to stay at Solange's house to help care for the children. They are all broken-hearted and at a loss to know what to do.
I have no words to express how difficult life is many times for the people of Congo. But I continue to be amazed at their spirit and their generosity. Like Solange, many, many people in Goma open their very humble homes and share what little they have with refugees who have nowhere else to go. And in the face of loss, these women, who are from different families and different tribes, just bind closer together.
The women would appreciate your thoughts and prayers for this family.
To me the women never cease to remind me of how we should use overwhelming obstacles to drive us together. Even when we don't know what to do, and have little to offer materially, we can offer each other the knowledge that we are not alone.
