MUST READ: "We live in fear"

Two mothers and the hope they hold onto »   {NAME}, they want to return home with their families, feed their children, till their farms, and run their businesses. But horrific violence across their country gives them no choice. In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), pregnant women, like Emerance, are walking on foot for days to seek safety. Mothers, like Esther, and their children are living in overcrowded displacement camps. Their food rations are just one month away from running out. [Give now to provide emergency food and meet women with support to help their families survive conflict and hunger.](   [GIVE NOW](   [View online »]( Two mothers' stories of survival, fear, and the hope they hold onto   [CARE Crisis Alert](   Emerance’s story   Emerance, 23, mother of two, was tending to her field when the sound of heavy artillery neared her village. “My husband asked me to leave because I am pregnant. My two children went to stay at another center. I came here (to a displacement camp), since I have nothing,” she says. She arrived with nothing more than the clothes on her back. No blankets. No mattress to sleep on. No food. But the extreme violence puts her and her unborn child’s life at even greater risk.   [If I had the money, I would have bought plastic bags to cover myself and a mattress to lie on...](   So for now, she has no option but to hope for a different future and that, until she can return home, organizations like CARE can continue to provide life-saving aid in camps like hers. [Give now to support women in crisis, like Emerance, with emergency food aid and more.](   [GIVE NOW](     Esther’s story   Esther, 65, mother of six, braved a tortuous journey fleeing the violence with her children. “We traveled on foot for three days through the forest before we arrived at the camp,” she remembers. Every day since, life is about survival. “Living in a camp is like exposing yourself to death. You rarely work, and if you manage to eat, it is never enough.”   [We live in fear, not knowing when it will end. - Esther, 65, mother of six](   Still, Esther holds onto hope that she can return home one day, tend her farm, and provide for her children once again. The DRC is home to the largest number of food insecure people in the world – women like Esther who’ve had to flee violence. CARE has distributed emergency food sacks to 12,855 displaced people, including Esther. The rations are enough for one month. But then what? [Give now to ensure women and children don’t starve.](     As violence continues, more and more people are arriving in displacement camps every day. By next month, 26.4 million people in the DRC will be hungry.   Help meet the emergency needs of millions who are enduring conflict and hunger worldwide.   [GIVE NOW](   CARE is responding to emergencies and crises in more than 100 countries worldwide. Your urgent gift supports food aid, livelihood opportunities, and more to help families survive, thrive, and create a hunger-free future for themselves. [Please give now.](   [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Twitter](   Text CARE to 227387 to receive SMS updates about your impact around the world. Give to [CARE.org]( 151 Ellis Street NE, Atlanta, GA 30303-2420 CARE works around the globe to save lives, defeat poverty, and achieve social justice. We are known everywhere for our unshakeable commitment to the dignity of all people. [Get fewer emails from CARE or unsubscribe]( © 2023 CARE All Rights Reserved