The other day, one of my students came to see me during class break. He’s usually very punctual but this particular day he’d arrived late and distracted, and he wanted to explain why. His fifteen year old daughter had just given birth by Caesarean, so he’d been to visit her and his wife who is looking after her at the hospital. He explained further that his daughter had become pregnant after being raped by her school teacher. This is an all-too-common occurrence here. According to statistics, since the end of the war in 2003, rape committed by civilians has increased seventeen fold in DRC. A culture of impunity has developed: during the war traditional social structures and sanctions broke down in many communities, and people became accustomed to violence.
Later that day, I rode with my student on the back of his motorbike to visit his daughter in hospital. She looked so small and fragile, withdrawn, subdued, just a child herself. But the baby is healthy, and her Caesarean wound is healing well. We’re praying that God will heal the deeper emotional wounds she bears and set her free from any sense of shame because of what happened to her. And we’re praying, too, that she’ll be able to continue with her schooling, and know hope and joy in the future.
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