My name is Kamungu Ndakali Irène. I am 20 years old, and I study Communication Sciences at the Catholic University of Bukavu, in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. I grew up here, in a place where accurate information can save your life and a single false rumor can destroy it.
I will never forget the day a false rumor spread terror through my city.
Imagine receiving a message warning that an attack is coming to your area. You have no time to ask questions. Out of fear, you take your child’s hand, leave everything behind, and run into the unknown just to stay alive. That is what happened to my neighbors, my classmates, and my friends.
Panicked families fled with nothing. Armed thieves used the chaos to threaten parents at gunpoint, demand money, and take everything. Students abandoned their studies halfway through and escaped to neighboring countries. Shopkeepers left their stores unguarded. Everyone was simply trying to survive.
The thieves destroyed years of family effort in an instant. They broke futures and shattered the hopes of many families. Today, many are still struggling to recover, and those who fled abroad are finding it very hard to return. All of this suffering came from information that was never true.
That day taught me something I will never forget: misinformation can be as destructive as conflict itself. What worries me most is that unverified information is sometimes spread by journalists and aspiring journalists, and public trust in professional journalism keeps falling as a result.
During a Collaborative Online International Learning program run in partnership with the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, I connected with people who share my vision of doing good in the world. Working alongside them showed me what my generation of journalists could become: professionals who verify information before publishing, who understand how misinformation spreads online, and who help people tell fact from falsehood.
That experience led me to the University of Amsterdam, a global leader in the study of digital media and misinformation. My goal is to pursue a Master’s in Communication and Information Studies there from 2027 to 2029. Studying in the Netherlands would give me the tools to train local journalists, promote source verification, and rebuild trust in reliable news back home.
To make this possible, I need to raise €45,492 for tuition, housing, visa, and living costs. Because of the ongoing economic and banking disruptions in eastern DRC, I cannot finance this on my own.
Every donation and every share helps equip a young Congolese communicator to stop rumors before they cause more harm. Together, we can make sure facts reach people before fear does.
Thank you for your support!
ttps://gofund.me/7efd334ff