INUKA “GET UP AND MOVE ON”

Community-based support for socio-economic recovery

2006 till Today

Goma, Province du Nord Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Context

Civil wars and other disasters that have shaken the Great Lakes Region for many years, especially in Eastern Congo, have caused a massive exodus of people, especially women and children. Young people are still fully suffering from the effects of these multiple crises, from which various forms of vulnerability arise. The extreme poverty of households in the Province of North Kivu (DRC), in addition to several years of intense political and social instability, is at the base of most of the miseries suffered by the population. This is often accentuated for children, and particularly towards daughters who accumulate disadvantages and discrimination.

Beneficiaries

Vulnerable girls and their siblings aged between 3 and 18, abandoned, rejected by their families, displaced or orphaned.

Objective

INUKA (meaning “Get up and move on”) has a vision of North Kivu in which children live in a family and community that encourages their full development and enables them to be actors of change. INUKA’s mission is to restore the dignity and well-being of children in extremely precarious situations by supporting their family and community through actions in the field of education, psychosocial support and economic recovery.
Inuka is based on an innovative approach, resulting from a South-South collaboration with Burundi’s Maison Shalom, which has contributed, since 1993, to the reintegration of thousands of children who have been victims of armed conflict and misery.
In 2017, the project received the exceptional support of the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity.

Results

Since 1993, INUKA has contributed to the promotion of peace and national reconciliation in the Great Lakes region .
In concrete terms, INUKA’s initial objective was to reintegrate vulnerable young girls and their siblings into their family community with a view to their empowerment. To guarantee a sustainable reintegration, revitalise their living environment and consolidate intra-community links, families received various support: material, economic and psychosocial. Despite an extremely difficult context, the results are remarkable: 1,159 girls and boys have been welcomed at the Inuka Center, of which 1,142 have already been reintegrated into their families. More than 16,000 children have benefited from school support and 1,120 families have received economic support.
In January 2022, INUKA became an autonomous Congolese non-profit organisation whose mission is to restore the dignity and well-being of children in extremely precariousness by supporting their family and community base. INUKA is pursuing its mission by further developing its actions within the targeted communities, through three areas: education, psychosocial support and socio-economic support.

Testimonials

ROSELINE, 14, VICTIM OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE

I am a 14-year-old girl who was sexually abused by unidentified men in uniform in my home village. As a result, I was never safe and felt insecure in my village. I was discriminated against in my community.
I was welcomed at INUKA in 2012, but I did not accept the reality of my situation. I was contacted many times by the INUKA team members and felt considered. No child knows my story and I live in harmony with all the children and the INUKA staff. I participate in housework like all the other children. From the interviews with the INUKA staff, I realised that despite my past, I can make myself a beautiful future. I have hope for a better future. At present, I feel very fulfilled because I have been enrolled by INUKA in a vocational training center for cutting and sewing. I am very proud of this training when I see the work I produce. I am happy to live with others without being discriminated against. My paternal uncle often comes to visit me. During the last interviews with him, he showed me a paternal aunt who has moved to Goma. My aunt and father agreed that after I am reintegrated into my biological family, I will go live with my aunt in Goma to no longer live in my home village.

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PROVIDENCE, 13 years old, a vulnerable young girl hosted by INUKA

My name is Providence, I'm 13 years old, I'm from Masisi (kilolirwe); both my parents are still alive but my mother Tabu is mentally ill. My parents are separated and we are three children in our family, all girls. Because of our mother's mental issues, my father's family tried to separate us from her.
On my father's side, one of my paternal aunts, Mme Marceline, who cared about us, picked me up and brought me to Goma for health care. Three months later, Mme Marceline started to mistreat me until I had wounds all over my body from torture. Thanks to some neighbours, I was introduced to INUKA’s field workers. They listened to me, and decided to take me in to the INUKA transit center from 2008. This is how I was saved and today I thank the INUKA supervisors and my aunt's neighbours. The INUKA project taught me to forgive, to organise a household and to manage a small budget. Moreover, I am in school and am currently in my 4th year of primary school.
To you young girls, don't close yourself off as there are people who can listen to you and take care of your problems to guide you in your future life. The INUKA center is unique in Goma as a center for support, care, reconciliation and family reconstruction for young girls.

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Our actions

Whether on a national or international level, we want to offer young people the best possible opportunities for the future. We support projects through concrete action on the ground thanks to our partner organisations

Discover this action

2010 till 2019

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