Our Health Impact in the DRC
The Foundations of Wokovu Way’s Health Commitment
Wokovu Way, a name meaning “salvation” in Swahili, was established in Goma, a city beleaguered by decades of conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In this region, scarred by the actions of warlords, militias, and the M23 rebel group’s offensive in early 2025, health crises have escalated amid widespread displacement and desperation. Confronted with this reality, a group of Goma residents—teachers, traders, and mothers—founded Wokovu Way in the early 2020s to address the critical health needs of vulnerable populations. Our efforts center on the overcrowded camps surrounding Goma—Bulengo, Lushagala, Rusayo—where over 700,000 displaced individuals grapple with disease, malnutrition, and neglect as of 2025. While initially focused on providing shelter, our mission has evolved into a robust defense against epidemics, aiming to restore dignity through accessible healthcare and foster resilience in a region where survival remains tenuous.
Our health commitment arose from an urgent need to counter a failing healthcare system. In Goma’s camps, where families are crowded onto volcanic rock beneath worn tarps, we observed the devastating effects of preventable diseases—cholera, malaria, and mpox—claiming children’s lives, malnutrition taking newborns, and epidemics such as HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis spreading unchecked. In January 2025, nearly 600 suspected cholera cases and 14 deaths were reported in North Kivu, while the mpox outbreak, originating in South Kivu, saw 90% of patients fleeing Goma’s isolation units, heightening risks. Shaped by Goma’s enduring challenges—the 2002 Nyiragongo eruption, the aftermath of Rwanda’s genocide, and pervasive poverty—Wokovu Way’s founders translated this urgency into action. Following the provision of shelters, we deployed mobile clinics, hygiene campaigns, and educational programs to safeguard lives, one intervention at a time.
Our health mission is both ambitious and precise: to reduce mortality and morbidity in a region where 25 million people require humanitarian assistance, according to the United Nations. In Goma, where the muddy paths of camps overflow with displaced families, we confront a multitude of crises—HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, malnutrition affecting 69% of the population, and the repercussions of sexual violence. In 2025, with camps housing over 700,000 people, we have made a resolute commitment: health is a universal right. Beyond merely addressing symptoms, we equip communities with knowledge and resources—training youth in hygiene practices, supporting women’s reproductive health, and ensuring medical access for orphans—to forge a future where well-being is an attainable reality, even amidst adversity.
Initial Steps in Health Intervention
Our health impact commenced with a resolute initiative: establishing mobile clinics in Bulengo camp, where volcanic rocks shelter the displaced and diseases threaten the most vulnerable. By early 2025, Goma’s camps exceeded 700,000 residents, their numbers swelled by mass displacements triggered by M23 attacks that razed entire villages. We targeted Lushagala and Rusayo, where Lake Kivu’s winds exacerbate conditions and waterborne diseases like cholera prevail. We witnessed the stakes firsthand: mothers holding malnourished infants, fathers helpless against deadly fevers, elderly women debilitated by tuberculosis beneath leaking shelters. Our mobile clinics provided an immediate response—vaccines, antibiotics, and prenatal care—in areas previously devoid of services.
These initial interventions were executed with unwavering determination. Our volunteers, often displaced themselves, transported medical kits through mud to set up care stations under patched tents. In Bulengo, we encountered Marie, a widow whose three children suffered from diarrhea caused by contaminated water; we treated them on-site, taught her basic hygiene practices, and provided a water filter. Her quiet “thank you” amid the turmoil spurred us onward. In Lushagala, Joseph, an elder with untreated tuberculosis, was coughing blood; our team diagnosed him, initiated treatment, and protected him from the elements. Each effort strengthened health in lives shattered by war—vaccinating against measles, distributing mosquito nets, and screening for HIV in a region accounting for 11% of sub-Saharan Africa’s malaria cases.
With limited resources—borrowed bandages and donated medications—we drew upon Goma’s resilient spirit. A torn tarp became a clinic roof, a crate a treatment table. The camps taught us perseverance: a single vaccine can save a child, a hygiene lesson can halt cholera’s spread. By March 2025, our initiatives had reached thousands, reducing infection rates and rekindling hope. Signs of recovery emerged: a child playing after a fever subsided, a mother nursing beneath a dry shelter. Wokovu Way established itself as a health force, committed to breaking the silence surrounding Goma’s suffering.
Addressing Goma’s Health Challenges
Goma’s health challenges are formidable and unrelenting. The rainy season, peaking in March, transforms camps into quagmires, with runoff from volcanic slopes fostering cholera and schistosomiasis in stagnant pools. Lake Kivu’s winds spread dust and disease, while rugged terrain impedes aid delivery. Malnutrition affects 69% of residents—43% of children under five stunted, 8% acutely malnourished—weakening immunity against mpox and Ebola. Healthcare facilities, overwhelmed and underfunded, are frequently targeted by violence; in January 2025, clashes paralyzed Goma’s hospitals, already strained by over 3,000 wounded patients.
We adapted our strategies with steadfast resolve. Our teams were trained to combat epidemics—distributing rapid mpox tests, teaching hygiene to curb Ebola, and providing antiretrovirals for HIV. In Lushagala, we met Amina, a young mother whose infant nearly succumbed to malnutrition after her tent collapsed; we stabilized the child with therapeutic foods and expanded our nutritional distributions. In Rusayo, Paul, a war-orphaned teenager, coughed from suspected tuberculosis; we treated him and facilitated follow-up care. Our mobile units also addressed the toll of sexual violence—offering counseling and contraceptives in camps where 45 rape cases were reported by early 2025.
Local expertise guided our efforts. Camp residents directed us to the most critical cases—grandmothers too frail to move, fathers concealing fevers to survive. We uncovered hidden crises: orphans with infected wounds, women suffering from unsafe abortions. Our volunteers labored tirelessly, their voices hoarse from educational sessions, their hands steady with vaccines. Each intervention defied adversity—a vaccine in Bulengo, a hygiene kit in Mugunga—asserting that Goma’s displaced deserve healthcare. Wokovu Way persists, resolute in ensuring this vital access.
Expansion and Partnerships Amid the 2025 Crisis
By early 2025, Goma’s health crisis reached a critical juncture. The M23 offensive displaced hundreds of thousands more, pushing camp populations beyond 700,000—an expanse of illness stretching beyond the horizon. We intensified our efforts, collaborating with local leaders and international partners. In Lushagala and Mugunga, scouts—traders and elders—led us to the overlooked: a family of eight battling malaria under a single tarp, a child with dysentery in a ditch. Partners like Médecins Sans Frontières and UNFPA supplied medications and expertise, though conflict frequently stalled deliveries—a vaccine truck remained stranded 80 km from Goma in February 2025, caught in crossfire.
Collaboration was vital, yet significant gaps persisted. War-disrupted roads and dwindling international donations hampered our operations. In Bulengo, we treated Esther, whose toddler struggled with pneumonia under a leaking roof, using our last oxygen mask and leaving others waiting with regret. We innovated: training residents to identify malaria, sustaining clinics amid combat, and teaching menstrual hygiene to reduce infections. Our vision remained firm—health as a tangible presence: a nurse supporting a rape survivor, a vaccine cutting through chaos, a promise offered with every visit: you are not alone. We have lowered child mortality and contained epidemics, yet 26.4 million across the DRC still require aid.
Our aspiration is profound: a DRC where health is not a privilege. By March 2025, we supported over 300 orphans with care and education, combated schistosomiasis near Lake Kivu, and advanced youth reproductive rights, including free healthcare access in Lushagala and Mugunga with WHO DRC support. Nevertheless, the crisis endures for 26.4 million people. Wokovu Way presses forward—one clinic, one life, one step—building a healthier future amid the wreckage, aligned with Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 3 and 6).
A Health Force for the Future
Wokovu Way is grounded in the conviction that health is the cornerstone of salvation. In a region where 25 million people need assistance and Goma’s camps buckle under daily arrivals, we dedicate ourselves to healing communities ravaged by displacement. From modest beginnings with tents, we have emerged as a health force in Goma—confronting HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, and malnutrition with care, education, and unwavering resolve. In March 2025, our initiatives—mobile clinics in Lushagala, hygiene campaigns in Mugunga, and partnerships with WHO—embody our commitment to those we serve. We deliver salvation one life at a time, demonstrating that health can rise from the ashes of conflict.