Food and healthcare for Baraka in the Congo

Having survived her birth, the start of Baraka's life must have been terrifying and traumatic. When an elderly woman found Baraka in the bush surrounding the town of Goma, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), she was still attached to her dead mother by her umbilical cord.

After initially being looked after by the elderly lady who found her, Baraka was then taken in by Noella, a widow and mother of six who had been forced to flee her home and seek refuge in the city of Goma as a result of fighting.

“I understood that the baby couldn’t survive if left in the old woman’s hands. So I decided to take her with me.”

Despite her best efforts, Noella struggled to provide for Baraka alongside her own children, often having to stop working on her field to look after the sick infant.

Being referred to Save the Children meant that Baraka has been able to stay with her new foster family, with Noella now able to provide her with the food and healthcare she needs.

“Baraka is my little baby. I couldn’t bear to have her taken from me. I was relieved when someone referred us to Save the Children. Since then, Save the Children has given the baby healthcare, supplied her with milk and clothes and given food to the whole family.”

Fighting in the DRC has caused thousands of families to flee their homes in search of safety. Thousands of children have been separated from their families or made orphans.

As well as placing children with foster families while attempting to reunite them with their parents, we’re also working in five of the country’s 26 provinces to get children back to school, provide them with healthcare and protect them from exploitation and abuse.