Church Life

From Rape to Rebuilding

Women persevere in the Congo despite daunting obstacles.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, men fight wars, and women often bear the brunt. Angela Kalesa was kidnapped by five men and taken to a dense forest in eastern Congo, where she was repeatedly raped. “They destroyed my arm with a bayonet,” she told a Christian doctor. In medical terms, she has a complex, non-consolidated fracture of the right humerus.

Pregnant farmer Mwavita Luanda was gang-raped while tilling her field, causing a miscarriage.

Angela and Mwavita are among thousands of women who have been raped during Congo’s conflicts. Hundreds bear resulting physical disabilities, such as fistula, which causes incontinence.

Surgery is often their only chance of returning to a normal life. Recently, UNICEF provided funding to HEAL Africa, a new Christian medical ministry, to build a women’s hostel on the Goma hospital premises. At the hostel, up to 150 women and their children can access hospital care.

They are the fortunate ones. Amnesty International estimates at least 40,000 women and girls have been raped in DRC since 2000. Ndoole Mastayo, a Nyabiondo women’s association leader, told CT, “In one village, [rebels] went house to house, raping all women and girls.”

Stigma remains a huge issue, but Congo’s pastors, nearly all male, seldom receive training in how to respond appropriately. “They say, ‘If you were raped, come to the front for prayers,’ ” Mastayo said. “It is so embarrassing. Many women just keep their experiences to themselves.”

In spite of this tragedy, Congolese women supply hope. “The future of Congo is in the hands of women,” proclaimed nurse Kathy Holmgren, wife of Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren. A report on her short-term medical missions trip to Congo was televised to a global audience during February’s Super Bowl.

Congolese church leaders agree. David Kasali of the Congo Initiative said, “Yes, our future is in the hands of women. They work hard from morning to evening. They have no minute to rest.” Their duties are legion, including fieldwork and water and firewood collection.

Where are the men? Many have been killed. War has also cost many men their jobs. A subsequent sense of powerlessness discourages them, so they lose interest in providing for their families. This leaves mostly women who remain motivated. Recently, Americans visited a Congo Initiative project, where they found 100 women volunteers at work.

In Congo’s churches, women jam the pews. Though women have the numbers and the dedication, “they are not given leadership positions,” said Mboligihe Ndalu, a Congolese leader with the Evangelical Church in Central Africa. Holmgren found exceptions, such as Lily, a Congolese Evangelical Covenant pastor. Lily is expanding her women’s literacy program to include primary school scholarships and mentoring for girls.

Holmgren also talked about Charlotte, a destitute aids widow with two children. Charlotte’s faith moved her to help her fellow widows. Someone loaned her a weedy lot, which she and a few other widows cleared. Together they planted a garden, fed their families, and sold surplus produce. Now 360 widows in her program engage in microenterprise and training.

“[Charlotte’s] message was turning a very difficult situation into something positive,” Holmgren said. “It was working with practically nothing materially, just using it to God’s glory.”

Copyright © 2006 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Related Elsewhere:

Also posted today is:

Cover Story
Hope in the Heart of Darkness | With 3.9 million dead and 40,000 raped, Christians work for renewal and healing in Congo’s killing fields.

Sidebar
Born Again and Again | ‘Jesus gives us strength,’ says a Congolese pastor.

Sidebar
Gospel Work in Time of War | Who says evangelism has to stop during conflict?

Inside CT
Glimpses of God in Africa | Reporting from the heart of darkness.

Previous Christianity Today coverage of the Congo includes:

Uncivil War | Missionary tells of horrors in strife-torn Congo. (July 25, 2005)

Roadblocks to Mercy | Congolese Christians won’t allow a civil war to curtail outreach, church-planting. (Dec. 22, 2000)

Also in this issue

The CT archives are a rich treasure of biblical wisdom and insight from our past. Some things we would say differently today, and some stances we've changed. But overall, we're amazed at how relevant so much of this content is. We trust that you'll find it a helpful resource.

Cover Story

Hope in the Heart of Darkness

Do It for the Children

The Lure of Theocracy

Second-half Calling

Q+A: Michael Cromartie

Free Speech Fiasco

More than Logic

Pro-life Feminists

Cutting Deeper

Grand Illusions

Latter-day Complaints

Friday Night Fish Fry

Beyond Azusa Street

Lost Missions

What's Right About Patriotism

Hide Your Bible

Crowded Out

Belgrade Curve

Health Care, Everyone?

News

Passages

Wire Story

Sky's the Limit

Excerpt

'Jesus Mean and Wild: The Unexpected Love of an Untamable God'

The Faith of Our Founders

Social Justice Surprise

Experiencing Life at the Margins

Born Again and Again

News

Go Figure

Gospel Work in Time of War

Glimpses of God in Africa

News

Quotation Marks

Summer

Editorial

Beyond Yellow Ribbons

Editorial

Sex Isn't a Spectator Sport

Reforming Wayward Reformers

View issue

Our Latest

New Archbishop of Canterbury Steps into Anglican Divides

Conservatives call on Sarah Mullally, the first woman at the spiritual helm of the Church of England, to uphold biblical faith amid same-sex blessings debate.

News

FDA Approves Generic Abortion Pill

Students for Life leader calls the move “a stain on the Trump presidency.”

You Haven’t Heard Worship Music like This

John Van Deusen’s praise is hard-won and occasionally wordless.

The Russell Moore Show

BONUS: Lecrae on Reconstruction after Disillusionment

 Lecrae joins Russell Moore to take questions from Christianity Today subscribers

News

John Cornyn’s MAGA-land Challenge

The incumbent senator is up against his strongest challenge yet in populist-right leader Ken Paxton.

Fighting Korea’s Loneliness Epidemic with Cafés and Convenience Stores

Seoul recently introduced free public services to tackle social isolation. Christians have been doing that for years.

Excerpt

‘Don’t Take It If You Don’t Need It’

The Trump administration releases new recommendations for Tylenol use during pregnancy.

Apple PodcastsDown ArrowDown ArrowDown Arrowarrow_left_altLeft ArrowLeft ArrowRight ArrowRight ArrowRight Arrowarrow_up_altUp ArrowUp ArrowAvailable at Amazoncaret-downCloseCloseEmailEmailExpandExpandExternalExternalFacebookfacebook-squareGiftGiftGooglegoogleGoogle KeephamburgerInstagraminstagram-squareLinkLinklinkedin-squareListenListenListenChristianity TodayCT Creative Studio Logologo_orgMegaphoneMenuMenupausePinterestPlayPlayPocketPodcastRSSRSSSaveSaveSaveSearchSearchsearchSpotifyStitcherTelegramTable of ContentsTable of Contentstwitter-squareWhatsAppXYouTubeYouTube