Hope Amidst Tragedy

Imagine that you are a refugee, fleeing in fear from your homeland, desperately trying to escape the violence and war that threaten your whole way of life. Picture yourself struggling to reach a refugee camp in a foreign country-and then constantly battling overpowering hunger, loneliness, and uncertainty as you wait in limbo to return home. For over 150,000 citizens of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, this is the grim reality of their lives as refugees in Tanzania.

Fourteen-year-old Sofia Mocke has known this difficult existence for over four years, and her story illustrates the tough choices and painful circumstances refugee children face every single day.

Ten years of combat between rebel forces and the army in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have resulted in over three million casualties and thousands of refugees. Their needs are stretching the resources of UN relief agencies such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the World Food Programme (WFP) located at centres like the Lugufu refugee camp where Sofia lives. There, the UN was recently forced to cut food rations by 50 percent in order to feed the endless waves of new refugees seeking shelter and safety in the camps. Like so many refugee children, Sofia's life is a torturous quest for basic necessities, which has taken its toll on her well-being and her dreams.

Sofia's Story

Sofia lives in a small mud hut at Lugufu with her mother and two sisters. She spends her days looking for ways to maximize her family's meagre rations, yet she is constantly hungry. There are two long weeks between trips to the food distribution centre, and even then, there aren't enough supplies to feed a growing teenage girl.

Food shortages have very real consequences. According to a UN partner, the International Rescue Committee, a non-governmental organization that also supports refugees worldwide, malnutrition and easily treatable diseases account for 85 percent of the estimated 30,000 deaths each month caused indirectly by the conflict in the Congo.

To survive, Sofia has learned to repress her gnawing hunger pangs by drinking water, but she knows there are other ways to get food. A young, pretty girl, it would be easy for Sofia to trade sexual favours with the men at camp for food and supplies. Some desperate women make this trade, but Sofia knows the possible consequences: pregnancy or AIDS. So instead, she focuses on carving a better future for herself through education. Most girls are expected to work at home, so Sofia is one of the few girls in class. But she attends each day, determined to direct her life.

What's Next for Sofia?

Like the other Congolese kids profiled in What's Going On? Sofia will remain at Lugufu until the war in the Congo is over. Tanzanian laws prevent her from settling there, while dire circumstances make returning home impossible. Nevertheless, she is optimistic about the future, relying on good health and a sense of dignity to pull her through the incredibly difficult circumstances she faces at Lugufu. Sofia, in a word, has hope. She sees herself as more than a refugee and has dreams of obtaining a diploma and continuing her education in Kenya, South Africa or Europe.

What Can You Do?

To find out more about the plight of refugees worldwide as well as in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and what you can do to help, visit UNHCR, a UN agency that assists over 20 million people globally. You can also check out the site of the UN partner, the International Rescue Committee, a non-governmental organization that has monitored and assisted refugees worldwide since 1933. USA for UNHCR is also helpful in finding ways to help.