LIFE RESCUED

 

LIFE RESCUED

This is a true story of my Life from my home country when I escaped a deadly incident until I reached the refugee camp in a foreign country where I started a humanitarian project. I'll share it with you in parts:

Part 1. MY LIFE AT MY HOME VILLAGE:

Hello world, I am KASHINZWE CHANCE Innocent, I’m 23 years old male. I was born in Ngula village, South Kivu province of DR Congo. I was born in a poor family of 8 people i.e. 2 parents and 6 children among whom I am the 5th, in case the last born is still alive. We owned an enormous land but we didn’t live a happy life because we had no money to leverage it. We couldn’t join hands with our parents in cultivating it because of the school that took much of our time by the fact that we were all schooling at a far  distance (3km) where we were going daily. And this was hard for both us and parents because whenever they went to garden, we couldn’t have lunch meals when coming back from school. And sometimes when they were working up to late hours, since it was also far, we went to sleep with empty stomach.

There were always family conflicts about this land and we came to understand that some people were jealous of our ownership of it. In this conditions, our father failed to pay the school fees for all of us as not enough effort was invested in it in order to supply us. After realizing this, father resolved to sell a part of the land but people feared to buy it basing their reasons on family quarrels. All my elders stopped studies but luckily, the school sponsored my tuition not only because of their mercy on my father and family but also because of my exceptional performance that I was scoring each year in classes. They supported me until  I got a diploma and I’m the only child out of my family who attained that educational level so I remain thankful to God and all my teachers for that.

One Saturday 15/07/2017 when I was waiting for the final results of my diploma, we all went to garden early morning as usual, it reached 12:30 when we paused and sat for lunch. Suddenly we saw a group of unidentified face-masked people all in black garments approaching us with spears and pangs. Without hesitation we started screamingly running everyone in their direction. Unfortunately my Mom was pregnant and it wasn’t easy for her. In my running I just heard one sorrowful cry which I believe was hers but I couldn’t apprehend the words since I only got it once. I ran very fast until I reached a lake shore because our village is on an island (Idjwi). But reaching there and seeing people busy loading luggage in the boat I had no peace within me because I thought about how the boat will go and I remain alone and be caught by the people I was fleeing from. Standing aside frantic and in solicitude, I saw the boat preparing to go and immediately my mind convinced me to get into it so that I could feel safe although I didn’t know where it was going. I decided to get in and the boat sailed to our nearby province which we reached in the morning of the following day.

Part 2:  MY LIFE IN GOMA TOWN

We were all requested to get out of the boat, but as for me I didn’t know the direction to take since it was my first time in that town. I started wandering up and down. Because it was already a Sunday, I decided to enter in the church where by at the time of testimonies I went in front to testify about how God rescued my life. I asked the church to pray for me as I was traumatized and didn’t even have a shelter. After the Mass, a certain church member came to me and requested me whether I would agree to go to live at his home. I had to agree and he drove me to his home and introduced me to his family as their relative that God has given to them. They cheerfully welcomed me with hugs and kisses. The man was known as a dealer in gold and was believed to be rich. He entrusted me the responsibility of his shop that I enthusiastically managed successfully although it was some miles away from his home. Life became easier and I felt like at home but always pondering on where my family members could be and what could have happened to them since none of us had a phone at the time of the incidence. But whenever they could detect me in such mood, they never cease to comfort me.

One night of Wednesday the 01/03/2018 around 0:00’, we heard people at the door telling us to choose either to open or lose everything. The father had gone for gold in the evening of the same day. Then the mother with her 3 young kids became frenetic and panicked, I approached them and we chose to open. When they entered they were all in black suits with covered faces. They told us to choose between dying and giving them  USD 10.000 in a minute. And this was hard for us because all the money was taken by the father for gold. I went in to my chamber and brought USD 500 that I had while they were also looking around everywhere. After missing they asked mother to bring money and she replied that her husband has taken all for gold, immediately they shot her down. All this happened while I was kneeling and begging that they could forgive us since the father wasn’t present. After shooting mom I heard them arguing in national language ("lingala" since they believed that we couldn't understand it) that they should also shoot me but others could oppose saying that I was not known to be there and that it wasn’t stated in their mission and as result, my blood could break their conditions. They bound me and took me in their car and they drove for almost 3 hours. They stopped and took me out, unveiled me, and strictly charged me not to tell it to anyone if I wanted to save my life. They showed me a road to follow and told me to never come back in that area again in case I still want to live long because they will be remotely investigating me.

I started moving despondently until morning. I continued following the same road without knowing neither where I was nor where I was going. Whenever I could ask about the place they told me names which I had never heard about but still they were telling that it was still in Congo. 3 days later, I felt wounds in my feet and completely lost strength even of standing. At first I was unable to tell people what happen to me even when they asked, but on this 3rd day I released the drama to them. After narrating to them, they took me to hospital and explained to the doctor about my case. He tested me and after him injecting and giving me some drugs that I instantly swallowed, he told me that I needed some good rests. May God bless this man. He admitted me at free costs and took charges of my meals. The next day he came and interviewed me about my health condition and the incidence I explained to him and he advised me that I should continue and go to the refugee camp. I told him that I don’t know what it means, he explained to me that people in similar situations have always been secured in the camp. I appreciated the idea but told him that I couldn’t reach again by myself with the state I was in but he promised me that he is ready to transport me in case I was willing. I highly thanked him and it was already late evening. Early morning he came and took me to a car that drove me to Nakivale refugee camp where I was told that it was already Uganda on 6/3/2018.

From the taxi park, I had no idea of where to go in that evening, I just followed the sound of musical instrument that I heard and reached to a certain church which I entered and found that singers were in practice. After the practice, I met some of them and explained what happened to me and showed them that I was homeless.  They called the pastor and told him everything about me. He approached me and told me not to worry that I was now safe and that they are all here because of similar situations. He sent for me a mat and bed sheet and told me that in the morning I needed to go to report myself at OPM. The following day I was taken to OPM and was registered as a refugee on 7/3/2018.

Part 3. MY LIFE IN THE REFUGEE CAMP

After getting this new status, I preferred a lonely life whereby most of the time I was withdrawing and fall into deep nostalgia which could make me even missing some meals as they were also mediocre in relation to the ones of my home country. When people discovered this, they approached me for several counseling and told me that my whole duty should be constantly thanking God for having spared my life. I opted the advice and developed a daily praying habit and gradually I felt relieved and understood that this was maybe a 3rd phase of my life that God wanted me to apprehend and undertake.

I started a process of integration whereby I moved to different places not only learning refugees’ culture, conditions of life in the camp but also trying to see whether there were jobs that could fit my abilities (both physical and intellectual). I found out that the camp lodged 7 nationalities with different languages comprising Congolese but none of them that I met originating from my island neither could one speak my local language. I saw some opportunities that fit my experiences but only English language could make me a good match for them yet French and Kiswahili were only my official languages.  Studying English became now my first need yet I had no one to sponsor it and no fellow refugee could help since most of them had the same challenge. Manual labor became the mere option for me to tackle with this challenge.

I started making bricks for sale. Per day I could make 150 bricks which I dried and sold after a week at Ug shillings 7.500= nearly $2 and on this same money on which I could deduct my daily ration and save a little for school fees. This work was very tough because I could get water from a distance of 500 meters and did this from morning to evening without having taken any meal. But I persisted until I started my training in English.

I began an 11 months training circle studying unstably because whenever they could require the school fees I could first quit and go to make money either by making bricks when in sunny weather, or carrying sand for people when it rained.

I did likewise for the next 5 months. 

When I have finished, I was rewarded certificates of recognition. And this made me qualified for some jobs in the camp. As a professional teacher from my country, I was engaged with some schools and worked for them for 8 months. I realized that they were charging much school fees for refugees and this made many of them leave due to lack of resources yet the schools were not providing quality education when I consider the educational standards I learned. Although I was receiving a mere salary but still inside of me I felt like spoiling the education and offending to humanity.

I withdrew and started a project of free quality education to both miserable and orphan refugees where they access a quality education at free costs. 

The project began on 15/8/2019 and it is operating to to date. Now it is well known under the name of LIBRAFRICA EDUCATIONAL CENTER. 

You will read more about this project using the next post on this blog.

Thank you!