02.06.2022

Tens of thousands on the run: UEM communion helps with 30,000 euros

The CBCA congregations organised quick help; Poto: CBCA

Armed conflicts in the province of North Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) led to more than 72,000 people fleeing their villages north of the megacity of Goma at the end of May.

To help the refugees, the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland, the Evangelical Church of Westphalia and the United Evangelical Mission have each provided 10,000 euros in emergency aid to their member church, the Baptist Church in Central Africa (CBCA). Initial emergency aid efforts by the CBCA are already underway. According to the CBCA report, church officials were on the road on May 25 to assess the situation on the ground in order to most effectively address emergency aid measures. According to the report, the church will assist about 5,500 affected people in the regions of Kanyaruchinya, Munigi and Majengo. The CBCA itself, together with its local partners, has provided emergency shelter for people and is now distributing drinking water, relief packages containing food, mats, household goods, hygiene kits for women and children, and offering medical and psychosocial assistance.

The UEM communion and in particular its member church, the Baptist Church in the Democratic Republic of Congo, are asking for prayers and support for the affected people in the Congolese province of North Kivu.

Since May 19, 2022, the Rutshuru and Nyiragongo areas have been rocked by fierce fighting between militias affiliated with the M23 (March 23 Movement) rebels and FARDC government troops north of the city of Goma. In Nyiragongo Territory, the villages of Kibumba and Buhumba have been hardest hit. Kibumba is located about 20 kilometers north of the city of Goma and a stone's throw from Rwanda's border. People there have gathered their belongings and fled south to Kanyaruchinya and Goma. Schools and health facilities are closed. Traffic on the Goma-Rutshuru national highway is blocked, affecting the economic life of the city of Goma, with its more than 1.5 million inhabitants*. The population lives in a state of fear of a new war.