International Christian Concern, July 11, 2024
Children and students alike in the Democratic Republic of the Congo continue to endure Islamist attacks and militia violence, forcing them to leave school and flee their homes.
According to UNICEF, “in both 2021 and 2022, DRC had the world’s highest levels of cases of sexual violence against children committed by armed forces and armed groups … in 2022, 730 children were verified as abducted.”
As a result, a reported 750,000 children have been forced to leave school and discontinue their education.
Some of these students pursue their education elsewhere and pledge to return to the DRC to help their fellow citizens overcome near-insurmountable odds.
In 2021, when Kahindo was 19, she and her parents were abducted by ADF, an Islamic terrorist organization with ties to the Islamic State group (ISIS).
“The rebels appeared abruptly and pulled us away into the thick forest, separated me from my parents and, for 3 days, sexually abused me in turns. They were eight in number.”
Kahindo’s mother managed to flee to the authorities for help. When the police returned, a gun battle ensued and Kahindo made a daring escape during the confusion. However, her father’s whereabouts remain unknown.
Despite Christians being the religious majority in the DRC, they are routinely attacked and murdered by the Islamic ADF and other terrorist groups.
Kahindo now hopes to become a doctor and help young girls and women who get sexually assaulted by the rebels.