By East African Report Newsroom Sweden / Goma | 6 November 2026
Sweden — East African Report has deployed its own journalists to Eastern Congo to report original stories directly from the ground.
Our team has now arrived in Goma, after travelling through Kamanyola and Bukavu. The mission is simple: to see, to listen, and to report what residents themselves say — not what is reported from far away.
This deployment marks a new chapter for East African Report. We did not wait for others to tell the story of Congo. We sent our own people.
The Journey: Kamanyola – Bukavu – Goma
The journey began in Kamanyola, a border town in South Kivu that connects communities across the region. From there, our journalists travelled to Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu, before continuing north to Goma, the capital of North Kivu.
It is a long and difficult route. It passes through hills, lakes, markets, and communities that have lived through years of uncertainty. For our journalists, the journey itself was part of the story — meeting traders, drivers, mothers, students, and elders along the way.
“We wanted to follow the same road that ordinary people use every day,” one of our journalists said. “That is the only way to understand what life is really like.”
What Our Journalists Found on the Ground
Upon arrival in Goma, our journalists reported a picture that is different from what is often seen on international television.
According to their first observations from the ground:
– Daily life continues in markets and neighbourhoods
– People are moving, trading, and going to school
– In the areas they visited, they did not witness active fighting or hear gunshots
– They did not see large military presence in the streets they passed through
Residents told our team that life in Goma and Bukavu feels, in their words, like “a country inside another country” — meaning that daily life has its own rhythm, its own systems, and its own way of surviving, even as the wider political situation remains unresolved.
East African Report is not presenting these observations as a final conclusion about the whole region. Eastern Congo is large and complex, and conditions can change from one neighbourhood to another, from one day to the next. What we are reporting is what our own journalists saw and heard in the places they visited.
Voices From The Ground
Our journalists spent their first hours listening, not just reporting.
A trader in Bukavu told them: “We want to work. We want our children to go to school. We want peace so we can live.”
A mother in Goma said: “We are tired of being described only by war. We also live, we love, we trade, we pray.”
A young man in Kamanyola said: “People come here, they take pictures, they leave. We want someone to stay and listen to us.”
These are the voices East African Report came to amplify.
Why East African Report Went There
For months, the story of Eastern Congo has been told by others — often from outside, often in short headlines, often focused only on conflict.
East African Report believes the people of Congo deserve more than headlines. They deserve full stories.
Our journalists will report on:
1. Daily Life — Markets, schools, churches, hospitals, and transport
2. Security Through The Eyes of Residents — What people themselves say they feel and see
3. Women and Youth — How mothers, students, and young entrepreneurs are surviving and building
4. Cross-Border Life — How Kamanyola, Bukavu, and Goma are connected to Rwanda, Burundi, and the wider East African region
5. Stories Not Covered — The human stories that never make international news
What Happens Next
In the coming days, East African Report will publish a series of ground reports from Goma and Bukavu, including:
– Photo stories from markets and streets
– Video interviews with residents
– A special report: “Goma: Life Beyond The Headlines”
– A special report: “Bukavu Through The Eyes Of Its People”
– A special report: “Kamanyola: The Town On The Road”
Our journalists will continue to write only what they have seen and heard. Where there are different views, we will report all sides. Where facts are not yet clear, we will say so.
Editor’s Note
East African Report is an independent voice from East Africa. Our journalists are on the ground at their own risk to bring original journalism to our readers.
We invite our readers in Kakuma, in Rwanda, in Congo, in Burundi, in Uganda, in Kenya, in Tanzania, and across the diaspora to follow this series — and to share it.
“We did not send others. We sent our own. They are there to see, to hear, and to tell the truth from the ground.” — East African Report Editorial Team
Stay with East African Report — RADIO • WEB — for original stories from Congo.
Follow us for the next ground report from Goma.
