Reuniting families split by violence
Growing up in a safe family environment is essential for the psychological, cognitive and physical development of children.
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When fighting broke out in Kasenga in July 2020, many families were separated in the chaos. The village, located 37 kilometres from Lake Tanganyika, saw its population empty as a result of clashes between the Congolese army and Zambian forces. “Everyone went their own way and when we looked for the children, we couldn’t find them,” recalls Clémence, a mother who was separated from her children for several months.
It was while fleeing that Clémence was separated from Ngozi, Kalunga, Malekane and Bijou. “The sky was always cloudy, we were lost, tired and so exhausted that we thought we were going to die,” say the eldest, Ngozi and Kalunga. The four children covered more than 150 kilometres to get away from the fighting.
”We sometimes went a whole day without eating and only drank water from streams of questionable quality,” say the children, who were eating what they found in the fields they crossed. When they arrived in Fube, a village spared from the fighting, the four children were taken in by a temporary host family. After one year of separation, UNICEF facilitated their reunification.
After months of anguish wondering where her children could be, Clémence was finally reunited with her four healthy children. “We are happy to see you bringing our children back in good health,” she says.
Reuniting separated children with their families is a difficult process in areas where there is virtually no viable infrastructure or telephone coverage. UNICEF-supported social workers often have to travel for days to reach remote areas to trace families and begin the reunification process. UNICEF helped reunite 78 unaccompanied children following the clashes between Congolese and Zambian forces in 2020 with support from the Multi-Partner Trust Fund. To date, 22 children have not yet had the chance to be reunited with their families.
“I want to go back to school in the next school year so that one day I can help other children who are suffering like me,” said one of the reunited children.
