Imagine: you’re approaching 80 years of age, and your grandchildren have come to play. Perhaps you’re settling down for a family afternoon, a little one giggling on your knee.
But no. Instead, there are gunshots outside your door. Men armed with kalashnikovs and grenade launchers are storming the village. An explosion rocks the house. The children, terrified, start to cry.
‘When I heard the shooting, I thought to myself – we are dead,’ says Michel, a grandfather caught in a brutal conflict. ‘We had no choice but to run. We locked all the doors and fled with the children.’ Michel lives in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), in Central Africa.
His village lies to the east, near the Rwandan border. At 79, Michel should be enjoying retirement, but as he says: ‘Since I was born, I have fled because of three wars.’
Michel scarcely knows what lasting peace feels like.
Read the latest issue of Christian Aid Magazine to see how communities like Michel’s in the Democratic Republic of Congo are standing strong in the face of conflict – and how your support is helping families rebuild hope and livelihoods.
Image credits and information
Forced to flee again
Decades of political instability and violence between multiple non-state armed groups and the national army have had a catastrophic impact on civilians.
Millions like Michel have been uprooted from their homes and trapped in one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises.
In February 2025, Michel and his family fled fighting in his village. Leaving everything behind, they took refuge in another village. The children, he says, were traumatised.
Eventually, hearing the rebels had gone, they ventured home – only to find devastation.
Livelihoods lost and rebuilt
Image credits and information
When we came back, four goats had been stolen – they left only one and its baby. Christian Aid helped us a lot by giving us money to buy those animals and we were happy. I was very sad to see those who were victims like me.
Michel had personally distributed goats and rabbits to 25 neighbours as part of a community-led project to uphold older people’s dignity through practical measures, including cash grants, clean water, and resilience plans.
It’s vital that this programme of support continues, so that determined families like Michel’s can forge a more secure life while waiting for peace.
Image credits and information
Daily life under strain
Though Michel works every hour of daylight to provide food for his family, he tells us:
We hardly eat because we have nothing to feed these children … except the vegetables and bean leaves we pick.
The emergency aid we deliver with our trusted partners is helping to protect children from the pain of hunger and malnutrition.
