DR Congo: When War Overtakes Healing but Hope Prevails: The Story of GAKURU
In January 2025, GAKURU was two years old and had a chance to survive. Spotted during a screening campaign in MAKOKA, he had just been admitted to a care program that would save his life. But no one knew at that moment that war would soon sweep everything away and that his fight against hunger was only just beginning.
In the hills of the BINZA health zone in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, MUHAWE, 40, a community volunteer from the KISEGURO health area, spotted GAKURU, age 2, during a screening campaign for severe acute malnutrition. This operation, supported by World Vision, visited the most remote villages to identify cases of malnutrition and refer them to life-saving care.
SIFA, 36, GAKURU's mother, did not hesitate. Every week, she undertook a journey of more than 12 kilometers on foot, her exhausted son in her arms, to reach the KISEGURO health center. There, the therapeutic foods provided by World Vision through the Nexus Accelerator Fund project brought GAKURU back to life. SIFA could finally see a light at the end of the tunnel.
But just a few months later, before GAKURU had even fully recovered, the village of MAKOKA was plunged into horror. Armed conflicts swept through: livestock looting, kidnappings, killings. Survival became a race. SIFA and her children fled, abandoning everything, to take refuge in KATWIGURU, another health area in the same zone.
"In the haste, I took only my children, nothing else. When I arrived in Katwiguru, with no resources, I could no longer feed my family properly. My children, already weakened, quickly relapsed into malnutrition," says SIFA, her voice heavy with exhaustion.
She adds: "Before the war, I had received a WIN (WASH in Nutrition) kit and I participated in the savings groups initiated by World Vision. But after the displacement, everything collapsed."
In Katwiguru, she struggled to provide even one meal a day for her nine children. To survive, she worked every day in the fields of local farmers, for a meager wage of 3,000 Congolese francs (about 1.4 US dollars), far too little to feed the entire family, even once a day.
GAKURU's siblings, old enough to attend school, had to trade their notebooks for work in the fields. Only his younger brother, CHIZA, escaped the worst, he too was saved from malnutrition thanks to World Vision's support.
It was during a follow-up mission that the project team found GAKURU again. He was sitting in front of his home, his body exhausted, unable to stand or walk. At three years old, he weighed barely 7 kilograms. He was urgently readmitted to the care program at the Katwiguru health center, where he underwent a new course of treatment, without interruption, until his full recovery.
Today, SIFA has been reintegrated into the savings groups in Katwiguru, giving her renewed access to credit and new opportunities. She can finally look to the future without the constant fear of hunger.
Her smile is returning: "I am happy. GAKURU is doing very well now. He walks, he plays with his friends in the neighborhood, he has regained his appetite. My dearest wish is that peace returns to MAKOKA, so that I can find my land again, cultivate once more, and that my life can return to normal."
In this context of chronic insecurity, World Vision has managed to save more than 7,100 children in the BINZA health zone since 2020. The Nexus project, despite the dangers, continues to extend its work into the most unstable areas. Because every child, like GAKURU, deserves not only to be saved, but also to thrive.