Congo Sole: How a Once Barefoot Refugee Delivered Hope, Faith, and 20,000 Pairs of Shoes

Ntibonera, cofounder of the Christian aid nonprofit Ntibonera Foundation, makes a captivating debut with this heart-wrenching account of living through the Congolese civil wars of the late 1990s. He paints an authentic, hard-hitting portrait of life in Congo, including idyllic days of peace (“the sun, hot in the sky, would glisten off of Lake Kivu, sending gold and blue waves rippling”) and the rumblings of war (“outside, the shots cracked, one after the other, a steady stream of bullets tearing apart the peaceful fabric of the city”) when he is seven years old. Central to this story is Ntibonera’s belief in God and the industrious spirit of his family and others as they become refugees to escape the war. Readers are taken on a frightening journey as Ntibonera evacuates his hometown of Bukavu with his family of eight to hide in the eastern Congo jungle from violent men with guns, before fleeing to Kenya with the help of Good Samaritans. Ntibonera later moves to the U.S., where he and his two brothers start a foundation that donates shoes to refugees throughout Africa. Christians and those interested in international aid will enjoy this harrowing yet hopeful tale. (Oct.)