Peace Germinates in Volcanic Stone | From Survival To Governance

Hands carefully tend to seedlings planted in Goma's characteristic volcanic rock soil during a reforestation activity organized by FUDEI, the women's organization coordinated by Rachel Malulu, in Goma, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo, on February 21, 2026.

The image small green shoots pushing through black lava stone is a metaphor made real for Malulu's entire philosophy: that life, peace, and community resilience can take root even in the hardest, most damaged ground.

Goma sits at the foot of Mount Nyiragongo, one of the world's most active volcanoes, and has been further scarred by decades of armed conflict that have stripped the region of both its forest cover and its social fabric.

In planting trees here in this soil, in this city Rachel Malulu and the women of FUDEI are making a statement that no international communiqué has yet managed to make with equal clarity: Goma is still alive, and its women intend to keep it that way.