2022 PROJECT COMPASSION Week Four: Ex-combatant, a leading example to all

24 Mar 2022

By Contributor

Rosalie is an ex-combatant who lives with her husband and seven children in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Forced to join the army when she was just 15 years old, Rosalie experienced significant trauma and hardship during her years in the military.

After leaving the army, Rosalie, like other ex-combatants, was left to fend for herself in the community. 

With your generous support and through our local partners, Rosalie was able to connect with other members of her community and participate in business skills training to help her to reintegrate into society. 

She joined a Saving and Internal Lending Community group (SILC), which helped her with a loan to start her own small business selling second-hand shoes and natural remedies. She has now become the SILC group’s president, helping other women to start their own businesses. 

Project Compassion week 4
Rosalie poses for a photograph near her home in Bukavu, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, July 2021. Photo: Arlette Bashizi/Caritas Australia.

Rosalie has become a role model for other ex-combatants who are seeking to readjust to civilian life.

Her leadership is inspiring others to overcome the trauma and violence of the past and to work towards a more peaceful and harmonious world for all future generations. 

This year, Caritas Australia is also encouraging supporters to run their own fundraising events. Learn more at fundraise.projectcompassion.org.au/  

Thank you for making a difference ‘For All Future Generations’. Your support is helping to improve the livelihoods of the world’s most vulnerable people.   

Caritas Australia is a member of Caritas Internationalis, one of the world’s largest humanitarian networks in the world with 162 agencies operating in 200 countries and territories. 

Rosalie walks to a local market near her home to sell second-hand shoes. Photo: Arlette Bashizi/Caritas Australia.

Please help support people like Rosalie and make a difference to the lives of the most marginalised and vulnerable members of society. 

Your gift will help uplift the most marginalised and vulnerable members of society.  

To donate to Project Compassion, visit Caritas Australia’s website: lent.caritas.org.au  or call 1800 024 413.