Holding a Family Together Amidst Loss: Victorine’s Journey to Food Security and Hope

Victorine overcame years of conflict‑related hardship and food insecurity by rebuilding her livelihood with the support of CWS, Alongside Hope, and her local women’s solidarity group. Today, her family enjoys reliable meals, renewed stability and a restored sense of dignity.

Holding a family together amidst loss

In Tshamatengu, about 45 kilometers from Kananga, we meet Victorine—a woman who lived through the Kamwina Nsapu conflict and carries the grief of losing both her husband and her brother during that period of unrest. Their passing left her responsible for fourteen children—nine of her own and five belonging to her late brother. For Victorine’s family, the memories of those years remain painful, even as they continue to heal.

In this rural community, where subsistence farming sustains most households, the conflict brought daily life to a standstill. When families eventually returned home, they found abandoned fields, damaged crops and livelihoods interrupted. Hunger took hold quickly, and many families faced significant hardship.

For Victorine, the struggle was constant. Her family experienced severe food shortages, and the lack of nourishment made farm work difficult. To get by, she and several of her children walked long distances to collect palm nuts to sell to artisanal soap makers. Despite her efforts, the income was rarely enough to meet the needs of such a large household, and periods of malnutrition left Victorine feeling overwhelmed.

Support That Brought Back Her Smile

Victorine remembers the turning point clearly—when she finally found her smile again. With the support of Church World Service and Alongside Hope, she was able to buy enough food for her children, who gradually began regaining their health. The seeds she received from CWS also began to grow, bringing a welcome variety of vegetables into the home—something her family had not enjoyed in a long time.

She did not rebuild alone. Victorine joined eight other women in a solidarity group, taking turns working in one another’s fields. This collective effort helped her regain a rhythm of work and community life that had long been disrupted by conflict.

To secure her family’s future, she used part of the assistance to clear a large field, planting corn, beans, peanuts and other crops to ensure a stable food supply beyond the project period.

A Future Reclaimed

Today, Victorine looks to the future with a calm she had not felt in years. Her approach to farming has changed, and her household now reliably enjoys sufficient and diverse food. A family that once managed only one meal a day can now count on two or even three.

With her strength restored, Victorine participates actively in community life once again. She engages in agricultural work, contributes to collective labor and her children are back in school. The transformation is visible not only in her fields but in her renewed sense of dignity.

Victorine’s journey shows that even in the hardest moments, hope can grow again with the right support. With help from CWS and Alongside Hope, she has been able to care for fourteen children, regain her role in the community and rebuild her life with resilience and purpose.

Reflecting on her journey, she shares the truth that motivates her forward: “Having enough to feed my children means regaining my dignity and my place in life.”

CWS is grateful for the support of the Alongside Hope and Canadian Foodgrains Bank for making this work possible. To learn more about the work in the Democratic Republic of Congo, click here.