Democratic Republic of Congo

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO (DRC)| CHILD WITCHES

Photo Credit: Roland Hoskins

For every 1000 children born in DRC, 146 will die before they reach the age of 5. In Australia, that number is 4. Life expectancy at birth, for females in DRC is 51. In Australia, it's 84. A Congolese woman has a 30 year life expectancy difference FROM THE DAY SHE IS BORN! Feeling grateful to be born in Australia? You should. 

Over 50,000 children are living on the streets of Kinshasa (the Capital), all abandoned after being accused of witchcraft. That's the equivalent of filling the Sydney entertainment centre 4 times over or Madison Square garden 2.5 times with school aged children and telling them to go and live on the streets, to feed and fend for themselves. 

The belief of witchcraft is widespread and children have the opportunity to be 'cured' by priests, but those who are not are exiled from their families and sent to live on the streets. Poverty is a major force behind the trend of 'child witchcraft' and carers, whether extended family or immediate who can longer afford to care for them often resort to this. Remy Mafu, of the street children charity REEJER, explains that "every development within the family – a death, unemployment, bad school marks, and an unexpected pregnancy – demands an explanation". But, of course, some things cannot be explained and that leads families to turn away from reason, and look to the spirits. 

As you can imagine, these children are homeless, without education, food, income or contraception, and as a result, unplanned pregnancies are high. Two babies are born on the streets of Kinshasa every day to girls who have been condemned as child witches. Their children are considered witches by inheritance and the cycle continues. UN's new 'global goals' hope that the drivers of this tradition, poverty and a lack of education, will be completely eradicated in the next 15 years.

The nation was also given a seriously low score on the Daily Beast's ranking of best countries for women: just 13.6 out of 100. Iceland ranked number 1 with 100, Australia 88.2, America 89.9, New Zealand 87.2, and the U.K 85.

Are you feeling grateful? You should. Are you feeling guilty? You shouldn't. We cannot change where we are born. But we can change what happens when we are. You should continue to read, learn and educate yourself. Commit to it, because it is people who change the world. 

#tendaystotellme #tellmeaboutthecongo