Displaced Voices: The story of Fela Mbahibwe’s escape from war

“We just grabbed our kids. We ran. We didn’t carry anything.”
Over 2 million people have been forced to flee the escalating violence in 2024 caused by the M23 conflict in North Kivu province, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Among them is Fela Mbahibwe, a courageous mother who fled her village in Kibumba to save her children after violence broke out. With bullets raining down and loved ones lost, she tied her children and grandchildren together with rope and carried the youngest on her back to ensure they stayed together. Her harrowing journey led her to Kanyaruchinya Camp near Goma, where thousands of displaced families arrive with no basic necessities, trying to rebuild shattered lives.
Corus organization IMA World Health met Fela and other displaced families like hers at Kanyaruchinya and provided blankets, latrines and means to start up new livelihoods through a village savings and loan program. Fela now has a small roadside stand that she operated with her daughter.
Since 2000, IMA World Health (IMA) has been a key partner in the DRC’s development and humanitarian response, working alongside the Congolese government and local and international organizations, to revitalize the health system, improve WASH outcomes, fight disease and respond to emergencies. Through long-standing relationships with the Ministry of Health and a robust faith-based network, IMA has provided direct assistance in 251 health zones, consistently and distinctively operating in the country’s most remote and challenging areas where successive armed conflicts and political instability have demanded creativity and unparalleled local partnership.
Learn more about our work in DRC ➡ imaworldhealth...
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Corus International is a relief and development organization committed to overcoming poverty and suffering for those living in the world’s toughest and most difficult circumstances. Corus unites an array of nonprofit organizations and businesses, each with specialized expertise - from health to technology to economic development to emergency response.
Corus features global public health leader IMA World Health, international development and aid organization Lutheran World Relief, technology for development consultancy CGA Technologies, impact investing firm Ground Up Investing, and direct-trade company Farmers Market Brands. Corus brings together the traditional and nontraditional approaches to deliver the multi-dimensional, holistic solutions needed to truly achieve lasting change.
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