We are nuns but we are also humans and it has been very emotional
Two babies, including newborn Buswaza, died from Ebola at a church-run orphanage in Bunia, DRC, with six others identified as suspected cases. Children represent 17% of confirmed cases; WHO warns Bundibugyo strain impact on children remains poorly understood amid high malnutrition rates.
- Two babies died from Ebola at a church-run orphanage in Bunia, DRC; six others identified as suspected cases
- Newborn Buswaza lived less than two weeks; orphan triplet girl 'Cherie' died after testing positive
- Three caregivers including a nun tested positive for Ebola
- Children represent 17% of confirmed cases in the outbreak; 52.1% of children under five in Ituri suffer chronic malnutrition
- Orphanage houses 69 children, many survivors of armed conflict in eastern Congo
Two infants died from Ebola at a Congo orphanage, with six others suspected infected, highlighting heightened vulnerability of children in the outbreak. Malnutrition and conflict compound survival risks in the fragile region.
In late May, a newborn girl named Buswaza arrived at a church-run orphanage in Bunia, a city in eastern Congo's Ituri province. Her mother had just died. Within days, the nuns caring for her noticed a fever. She was gone before anyone could fully understand what was happening. The diagnosis came after: Ebola.
Buswaza lived less than two weeks. She may have contracted the virus in the womb or during birth, or through her mother's milk in those final days—the virus has been found in all three. Her death marked one of the youngest casualties in an outbreak that has now infected nearly 600 people and claimed at least 115 lives across the Democratic Republic of Congo. She was buried in a sealed, waterproof body bag designed to contain the disease.
Six other babies at the orphanage, which houses 69 children, were soon identified as suspected Ebola cases. They were transported to the Evangelical Medical Centre in Bunia, where medics in full protective suits moved them into isolation tents. Five tested negative and were discharged on a Tuesday, carried out by relieved nuns in pink hooded gowns. Sister Clarisse, holding one of the recovered infants, expressed gratitude to the hospital staff. But the relief was short-lived. Another baby—an orphan triplet girl less than a year old, nicknamed "Cherie," meaning "darling"—had tested positive. She died on Wednesday. Dr. Freddy Kibwana, the hospital's head, delivered the news with spare words: "The child has left us."
Three of the babies' caregivers, including a nun, have tested positive for Ebola. The sisters at the orphanage, established by Belgian missionaries during the colonial period, now pray for those infected. One nun, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of stigma, told Reuters: "We are nuns but we are also humans and it has been very emotional." The orphanage sits at the epicenter of the outbreak, and health teams now visit daily to monitor the remaining children and staff.
What makes this outbreak particularly dangerous for children is not just the virus itself, but the ground it lands on. Children represent roughly 17 percent of confirmed cases in this epidemic, according to preliminary data from UNICEF. The World Health Organization has warned that young children may face increased risk of severe outcomes and death, yet little is known about how this particular strain—Bundibugyo, a rare variant—affects children specifically. The region offers almost no margin for error. A 2023 survey in Ituri found that 52.1 percent of children under five suffer from chronic malnutrition. Vaccination rates are patchy. Many of the orphanage's children are survivors of armed conflict that has ravaged eastern Congo for years.
"In this fragile context, children could deteriorate more quickly if they become infected," said Douglas Noble, who leads health emergencies for UNICEF and visited Bunia last month. The combination of malnutrition, trauma, and conflict-weakened immune systems means that even children who might survive Ebola in other circumstances face steeper odds here. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has stockpiled child-sized body bags for safe and dignified burials in the area—a grim acknowledgment of what may come.
Babou Rukengeza, a senior health adviser with Save the Children, framed the crisis in its full context: "This epidemic has hit an area already in humanitarian crisis. This place is the only refuge for these children." The orphanage, for all its fragility, is the only home many of them have. The virus has arrived where vulnerability is already deepest.
Notable Quotes
The child has left us— Dr. Freddy Kibwana, head of the Evangelical Medical Centre, on the death of the infected triplet
In this fragile context, children could deteriorate more quickly if they become infected— Douglas Noble, UNICEF health emergencies lead
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does an orphanage become a vector for Ebola in a way that, say, a hospital might not?
Because the nuns live with the children. They change them, hold them, comfort them. A hospital has protocols and protective equipment. An orphanage has love and routine and no barrier between caregiver and child. When a fever appears, you don't suspect Ebola—you suspect malaria or flu. By the time you know, the virus is already in three caregivers.
The article mentions that children represent 17 percent of cases but we don't know how many have died. Why is that data missing?
Because this is a rare strain in a remote region during an active outbreak. The focus is on containment and treatment, not epidemiology. The data will come later, if it comes at all. Right now, they're trying to keep children alive.
What does malnutrition have to do with Ebola survival?
Everything. A malnourished child's immune system is already fighting on empty. When Ebola arrives, there's nothing left in reserve. The body can't mount the response it needs. In a well-fed child, the same infection might be survivable. Here, it's often not.
The nuns are praying. Is that just a detail, or does it mean something?
It means they're doing the only thing left to do. They can't cure Ebola. They can't prevent it. They can pray and they can show up every day and they can hold the children. That's their job now.
Why does the article mention that the orphanage was established in the colonial era?
Because it's still there. It survived colonialism, independence, civil war, and now this. It's a continuity in a place where nothing else is stable. For these children, it's the only continuity they have.