HEAL Africa "we cannot stop our work in Kayna health zone" 2009

Joseph Ciza- HEAL Africa Public Health Expert

Whatever UNICEF says, we cannot stop our work in Kayna health zone, the needs are only growing !  I came back from there three days ago.

I listened to the testimony of 5 young women who had just been released by the FDLR (Interahamwe) after two years of captivity.  Unfortunately, four of them have babies from their captors, and one young girl is pregnant from a rape just a month after being kidnapped during the operations of hunting down the FDLR at Bunyatenge.  Many similar cases are reported in Kayna health zone.  We have to help them, especially help them get their balance back psychologically, and help them settle back into their community and family.  Frankly, they hate their children, and we are doing crisis counseling in the first instance.  But as every day goes by, more rapes are happening.