Michael’s daily routine in his farming community was to care for  the cattle and other animals in the bush. After a full day in the bush one day, he returned home to the cries of women and children who survived a gruesome attack by militia soldiers. He saw the house had been burned to the ground and his mother and father mercilessly killed. His only son was stubbed to death while on his mother’s back. His wife was brutally raped and beaten and left for dead. She had pretended to die, helping her to avoid being killed like everyone else. He was unable to put into words how they moved with his wife from the Congo to Zambia as memories were clearly too hard to share. Unfortunately, his wife still struggles with PTSD and undergoes medication to mitigate the effects. She often hallucinates and screams out things like, “they are coming, please help”. After the training he feels equipped now to be a better caregiver to his wife and deal with his own grief.

 

One woman shared how the soldiers come to their village and took away her 5 boys, aged 7 to 14. She recalls how they called out to her for help and could do nothing as she stood at gun point. She blamed herself, living each day wondering how her kids were doing, whether they were alive or not. But this training gave her a new lease on life. She felt empowered by the knowledge she received and continues to hope in God to be reunited with her children.