Chaplain Adolphine, Reverend Simeon, Chaplain Pascal, Jean Claude, Chaplain Canisius
The Women of Goma Prison
Over the last two years, all of the Women of Goma Prison who were attacked have been released. However, efforts to reintegrate them back to their own communities has not gone well. A few weeks ago, Reverend Simeon reported that of the 23 women who were raped, only one was welcomed back by her partner. 15 were rejected by their husbands, 3 remain single, and 4 widowed. As victims of mass rape they remain stigmatised and unwanted by their communities and their families. Reverend Simeon, and his team have been mediating to have them accepted.
During this process, the Chaplains continue to provide emotional and mediation support for the women. The Just.Equipping Report for 2009 states that just $10 a day supports a chaplain and his family at a very basic level.
Simeon advises that provision for legal assistance, literacy training, family mediation, trauma and health counselling are needed. He says that these women need skills development, micro finance support for such ventures as soap making, sewing, handicrafts, renting farm land, seeding crops, and understanding new agricultural techniques. There were some children born out of rape. In the words of Simeon, these children “Need proper care, education, love, and to be accepted”.
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