They were Just Playing

Two Mama Shujaa students were injured by discarded munitions in Itombwe, and we are asking what more can we do to keep our children safe.

Every day there is news from Itombwe. Some days it is good news and some days not so good. Today I received news that caused alarms to go off in my body. Two young boys, students from our Mama Shujaa school, were just playing outside around their village homes, enjoying the weekend, when they became seriously injured.

Children in this very remote area don’t have toys so they make up games and use their imagination with whatever props they can find. Well, this morning, a 12-year-old and an 11-year-old were playing in the field when they found two shot gun shells, so began playing with them. Somehow the shells exploded and both boys suffered serious hand injuries. The boys were immediately evacuated by moto taxi to Minembwe Hospital, at least two-hours away, to receive whatever medical care might be available.

This incident really distressed me. I used to play around in those same fields when I was a little girl, and to think that now, those fields are full of munitions from years and years of war, is very unsettling. 

We want our children to be free to play their games and not have to worry about such things. What are asking ourselves what we can we do to keep our children living in this Conflict Zone safe. 

Immediately after this incident, the teachers took the following measures: 

—raising awareness among parents and other students about the dangers of explosive devices

—emphasizing that students must strictly avoid playing with such objects

—securing the route to school, and calling upon local authorities and security services to address the explosive devices scattered throughout the villages of Mikenge and even along the area's foot paths.

Please, if you have other ideas about how to keep our children safe, please let us know at rise@HeroWomenRising.org