The VAGINA WARRIOR Program continues to provide a vibrant and comprehensive set of opportunities for transformation and life skills development. From training in health and sexuality, rights awareness, judiciary and community activism to specialized individual and group counseling focused on the connections between women’ s sexuality and mental health, women are given a foundation from which they can heal themselves. Massage, art, dance, physical education, literacy, nutrition, vocational( sewing, soap making etc.), computer training and theater programming all serve to help women graduate with solid footing.
The security situation in North-Kivu and Ituri provinces deteriorated dramatically beginning in early 2024, with fighting between the army and armed groups forcing thousands to flee. In addition to the violence perpetrated by armed groups, the security environment remained tense and unstable, mostly in North-Kivu. Approximately 35 % of the City of Joy graduates come from North-Kivu, especially from the territories of Rutshuru and Masisi. In the past three years, these territories have become the epicenter of war by the M23 militant group. Our graduates have been victims of this war in one way or another. Some of them have lost relatives, others have had trouble running businesses, farming and going to school. A few have been left with no option but to live in camps for internally displaced people. A dozen graduates who actively participated in the recruitment of City of Joy residents were forced to flee their homes because of bombings in Bweremana, Masisi, Shasha, Karuba, etc. They moved to live with host families in Minova and Goma. This ongoing violence is also impacting our recruitment process, limiting accessibility to some zones where women survivors of gender violence need our assistance.