Rene Byamungu is a workshop leader and trainer in Goma, North Kivu, in the east of the DRC, where over 3 million people have been displaced by war. 20% of those displaced are children, and over 2,000 schools in the region have been closed. This crisis has been described as the “epicenter of child suffering in war” (Save the Children, 2023) and as one of “the world’s most neglected displacement crisis” (Norwegian Refugee Council).
Rene has shared some of his experiences and stories here:
Let’s meet this child, whom I call ‘Amani’, whose dream was to become a doctor, and whose
childhood was stolen by war. Seeing her dream come true became almost impossible. Even as a child, she learned to support her family, either by doing household chores or by using her childlike innocence to beg passers-by in the streets of Goma. She experienced horrific scenes, even witnessing the death of her loved ones. The days go by and her fate is almost sealed, under the makeshift shelters of the camps made for the displaced.
The day she looks forward to with enthusiasm is the day when Kivu Youth Music comes to visit the camp. It is a time for celebration and joy – they sing, dance, laugh, oooh what happiness even for us as workshop leaders!
At the end of the day, it is time to share a small gift brought by the GVA staff, which for Amani and other children, will be the only nourishment of the day.
On the other side of town, children who have been separated from their families and have lost contact with them find themselves spending their nights in the streets of the city of Goma. They always used to run behind my wife’s car telling her they were starving and wanted something to eat. My wife used to take them to a restaurant in town and order food for them, or buy them bread.
One day one of the children ran very fast towards my wife and fell into her arms, for a few
seconds I was stunned because at first, I was afraid of the way he was running towards her but the amazing thing was that on that day he did not want to ask for food, he just needed to be held, to get some affection and love.
All these events influence my artistic projects and being part of a GVA group has been a gift and a privilege for me. In Kivu there’s a rich culture, a strong and resilient people. My song “Twa endeleya” is one of my most important, because through it I have expressed myself, I have unburdened myself of the emotional weight imposed by this unjust war. It is like a synthesis of the different sufferings that my people in North Kivu live through on a daily basis.
“Twa Endeleya” means we are moving forward.
However, it is not just about moving forward but also a demand, a denunciation of the serious human rights violations that are taking place on my land under the helpless eye of the international community that was supposed to uphold and enforce these human rights.
I believe one day the sun will rise on my land, and dissolve all these abuses that my people face.
By supporting our This Is Me campaign, you can help us continue to provide workshops for the children of internal displacement camps in the North Kivu region of the DRC. Just €9 will pay for the travel costs for a team of workshop leaders to visit children in an orphanage or displacement camp, and €60 will cover all the costs of a full workshop visit.
Please give what you can today, and help more children in the DRC build resilience through music.
