There is no concrete story here. No success, no joy, no failure. This is a post-war reality. And, in fact, still a wartime reality.

The bombs fell on Ntamugenga at the end of June last year. At that time, more than 3,000 refugees, driven from their homes by the shifting front line, sought shelter around our hospital. The hospital is now functioning, although the area is still under rebel occupation. The Congolese are settling into a new reality. It is a new abnormal normality.

The childhoods of the war babies resemble the children themselves. Shabby and barefoot. No one has money for new clothes. Hardly anyone can afford potatoes, flour, rice and oil, which have to be brought from far away. People eat what grows in their garden. The problem is that not much wants to grow on volcanic rocks.

Congolese children do not go to school. Explosions can be heard every day in the area. The school is closed until further notice, so the children wander among the huts. Finding firewood, carrying water from the well and herding goats are their only activities. This is not the kind of childhood we would want for our children. Congolese parents would also like to give them a different childhood. We can’t change everything, but we can do something today.

A meal for a starving child is sometimes more than a fulfilment of a dream. It’s a rescue from starvation. Let’s do that for them today! GoodWorks 24/7 is the easiest way to make an impact. All we need is your 3 minutes and 15 zloty to make sure a meal for a starving child in Congo reaches them in time.