ADELA, mother of 6 children, 3 males and 3 females, lives in a small house with a bedroom and a living room of hard-packed earth. Three of her children are struggling to study and one of school age stays at home due to lack of money. Her husband is a military man who had an accident in 2015 and is still hospitalized. She used to sell charcoal in the neighborhood, but had to use all her capital to pay for their children's school. Currently, she is waiting for her husband's salary to resume her business.

ELIZABETH, born in 1954, farms the land and is a widow because of the war. She gave birth to eight children, but today only one daughter remains, a widow herself. Elizabeth lives with her daughter and her 10 grandchildren (two of them helped by the CDB), in a house in poor condition, without even a mattress. Her desire is to increase the sale of beans to give more to the little ones.

FLORENTINE lived in Burega with her husband, but he was killed in the Kasika massacre. Their house was burned and Florentine had to flee with her 7 children, carrying scars and pain with her. She was a victim of sexual abuse and benefited from assistance at the Panzi hospital (where Dr. Denis Mukwege, Nobel Peace Prize 2018, works). She lives in a small rented house, but risks eviction and does not know where to go. Among her 7 children, one lives in the street and another has disappeared. Mother Florentine used to sell fuel, but now she can't do anything for lack of money.

In the AVEC groups the participants agree to deposit each week 1000 Congolese Francs (about 0.60 Euro) in a common fund and 200 FC in a solidarity fund (in the event of illness, death, etc.). After some time, they can apply for a credit to start an activity and thus meet the primary needs of their families. The mothers presented in this article, despite being part of the AVEC groups, often fail to find the money to be allocated to the group and ask for help from the Don Bosco Center. 

• ELIZABETH ELIZABETH
• FLORENTINE FLORENTINE
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