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East Congo: The long journey to peace

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The United Methodist Church is flourishing in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The denomination’s newest episcopal area was established in 2012, with offices in Kindu.

But much of the area is impassable because no roads exist in the region ransacked by years of civil wars. Violent outbreaks are still occurring in some parts of the country.

This series of stories and photos shines a spotlight on the many ministries and people of The United Methodist Church in a place rarely visited by members of the global church.
 

 

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Mission and Ministry
Elie Etako Wembo, coordinator of the Yambasu Agriculture Initiative in the East Congo Episcopal Area, and Omanga Sebastien, a zoo technician, inspect a pig with an injured ear at a United Methodist farm funded by the initiative near Kindu, Congo. The United Methodist Board of Global Ministries program has financed the construction of two buildings for pig farming, which can accommodate up to 300 animals. Photo by Chadrack Tambwe Londe, UM News.

Yambasu farm fosters hope in Congo

A mixed-use farm funded through the Yambasu Agriculture Initiative strengthens local food security, creates jobs and generates sustainable income for the community and The United Methodist Church in eastern Congo.
Disaster Relief
Kashalile Bony (right), a United Methodist from the Bethlehem Local Church in Kadutu, Congo, searches through the rubble of his burned-down house on Kaduru Avenue in Bukavu in eastern Congo. United Methodists are among nearly 1,500 families who lost their homes in a devastating fire on July 17. Photo courtesy of the Bukavu District.

Fire devastates church families in eastern Congo

United Methodists are among nearly 1,500 families who lost their homes in a fire that ravaged a densely populated area of war-torn Bukavu.
Mission and Ministry
The Rev. Birgitte French (second from right) of the Tennessee-Western Kentucky Conference addresses a class at the Mama Lynn Center in Kindu, Congo. The center provides training to vulnerable women and girls. During a visit with other members of a United Methodist delegation from the U.S. in September, French expressed her joy at strengthening the conference’s partnership with eastern Congo. Photo by Chadrack Tambwe Londe, UM News.

Center provides hope for women in Congo

The Mama Lynn Center, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, provides training and spiritual support to women who have suffered sexual violence, helping them regain their dignity and become economically independent.

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