DRC Crisis: Blog 3

We spent the day with one of our partners here in North Kivu, PPSSP.
PPSSP was established when we came out to DRC in 2002 and 2003 following the previous crisis in North Kivu and Ituri regions. It was great for both of us to meet up with our dear friend, Mwaka the Executive Director, and catch-up on all the latest news and gossip in PPSSP. We were also really encouraged to see how PPSSP had developed in the past 6 years. PPSSP have opened an office in Goma in August and was implementing a water and sanitation programme when the current conflict broke out so now they are seeing how they can scale up and respond to the influx of displaced people.

We visited a church, Shirika 4, led by Pastor Emmanuel Shamavu. When the first wave of displaced people arrived early October the church members hosted 95 families, however when the second wave came in November they could not host anymore so they opened their church and now 125 families are living in a half completed church building. They share one toilet and have no washing facilities. They sleep on the floor which is made of lava rocks from the volcano. They have very little and besides the church-members the only people who have provided any assistance are the local Muslim community which gave all the women mattresses to sleep on.

I met a schoolteacher, Eugene Kighoma, from Kiwange north of Goma, who had fled fighting 4 weeks earlier. In the confusion he had got separated from his wife, but he managed to keep his two children, 5 and 8 yrs, with him. He has not heard from his wife and does not know if she is alive. He hopes and prays she made it to safety.

We visited a number of sites like this, where the displaced have arrived at churches or schools, too afraid to stay in the displaced camps which are often raided by the various armed groups. They are all deeply traumatised and have been displaced several times and so have nothing with them. Almost all we spoke to had, like Eugene, been separated from their loved ones. But at Shirika the church has provided a shelter and they have shared what little they have. Truly God is present when the church becomes the compassionate hands of God.