Back on 17th July we visited Barbara on the set of her training DVD  as she prepared for her DRC trip to "Train the Trainers." This program  has been set up by Barbara  to address the Social-psychological conseling needs of survivors of war and torture in the Congo. We join Barbara on her return to Australia after her first training trip.

I arrived home yesterday pm - still processing my experiences in the DRC at HEALAfrica - the faith and courage of the people was inspiring - they sing like angels - my favourite moment was on the first day at the hospital when I heard amazing acappella singing coming from the kitchen - choir of staff and rape survivors were practising for Sunday service - But their lives are so difficult - even many of those who work at the hospital can only afford one meal a day - so I was pleased to provide lunch and a couple of little luxuries for the 22 in the training for 6 of my days there - cost just for this ran up to over $US1000 so thanks to those who donated towards this expense.

It was the end of the dry season and the air is so thick you can't see the sky - the volcano is said to spew out silica and gas so that it pollutes more in one day than all the pollution in France in the course of one year! There was no water in the town so armies of young girls with 20 litre yellow containers on their back carry water from the lake at all times during the day - no electricity most of the time. The security in the area has improved but I still saw huge refugee camps with people crowded in rough shelters.

It was wonderful to spend some time at Grounds for Hope, the centre outside Goma set up by HEAL for the rape survivors who, despite 7-8 operations cannot be healed and who, because of security cannot return to villages in areas like Masisi, Maniema etc. They each have a separate little 2 roomed house and produce some basic foods in their garden plots, soil available there, not like areas in Goma where the lava is so close to the surface ( Goma is built on lava which burnt up huge areas of Lake Kivu - so the houses are just built straight onto the lava - more affluent made out of lava bricks hewn by hand with hammer and chisel -the last eruption in 2002 buried the former hospital buildings and even whole section of downtown Goma which can still be seen)- the air out there was cleaner, too. We sang and danced and prayed together - they had sewing machines which had been donated but no material to sew so I gave them $50 to get started making something to sell. Also spent time visiting 2 projects for widows - one where they make soap with caustic soda, some sort of palm oil and water and blue dye, and another where they grind grain and also make a nutritious porridge with various grains - 500 orphan/semi orphans fed thru that as well.

In the hospital there were 14 rape survivors operated for fistulas the first week I was there - 80 women sleeping 2 to a bed in the transit wards waiting for surgery - in orthopaedics, lots of gunshot wounds - in the paediatic ward one of the first children I spoke to noticed my name tag and said she was Barbara, too - the interpreter didn't believe her but she showed us her id card - then I learnt she is an orphan - with extended family - but as staff said 'lots of problems' - she begged me to take me home with her - I felt so bad to just walk away! I left some clothes with the chaplains to be given to her...they asked for money for Bibles in Swahili - have a ten lesson bible course for people living with HIV but need Bibles in Swahili to give them as graduation gifts -$8 each - they tell me that many of these people they visit in their homes have only one outfit to wear, so when they have to wash it they have to stay inside.....

There were lots of difficulties with the training - I had to change rooms, repairs to ceiling nearby created so much noise we couldn't hear one another, the room we moved into had no curtains so the DVD couldn't be seen, education levels were so varied some people had problems with the Swahili of the translated materials, others were more comfortable with French but the French translations didn't get to me before I left Australia etc - still,at least i think the people who came enjoyed some of the activities - (Diny, we did Wood dance, interpreted as the seed of faith growing, and they just loved it - also first part of the Tao dance - left my CD of the music with them - a German sociologist working on her research into gender violence came in one day to see it and joined in and 2 US physios are also interested in the idea). I also left Pastor Malula's CD with them - played it every day and during lunch times.

I need to reflect on what next - I hardly dare to say this given the difficulties for the people who live there - but I found it very hard.