DRC: When dance transforms pain into hope in Kivu

In North Kivu, a region ravaged by armed conflict, a group of children are reinventing hope through dance. "Invisibles Kids Academy" is much more than an art project. For these young people aged 6 to 18, many of whom have lost loved ones or witnessed violence, dance has become a therapy and a cry for peace. Through each movement, they transform their trauma into art, offering the world a powerful message of resilience in the face of war.

Dancing to survive the unspeakable

Innocent, 10, is one of those children for whom dance is much more than entertainment. Orphaned by the fighting between the Congolese army and the M23 rebels, he found refuge in this academy. “When my father died, my mother could no longer provide for us,” he says. His story, like that of so many other children in the region, embodies a dark reality, but also a vibrant hope that is expressed on stage.

The academy's founder, Bush Seba, explains that dance is the only therapy available to these traumatized children. "When they dance, they forget everything and find the freedom to express themselves," he says. Each performance becomes an act of resistance against the omnipresent violence, a way to tell the world that peace is possible even in the most wounded places.

Art in the face of inaction by the authorities

As the academy struggles to survive, lacking funding, voices are being raised calling for more support from the authorities. For Hassan Kibabe, a local cultural operator, these children are sending a strong message, which the government prefers to ignore. "They are conveying a message of peace, and it is a shame that this is not supported," he laments.

Amid the horrors of war, the dance of the children of Kivu resonates as a beacon of hope. It is a demonstration of the power of art, capable of transforming shattered lives into powerful ambassadors of peace.