Church supports families affected by war in Congo

Key points:

• United Methodist Committee on Relief distributes monthly food kits to 300 vulnerable families in Goma affected by the armed conflict in North Kivu.
• A church orphanage in Goma, which houses 22 children, received separate food support during the six-month program.
• Beneficiaries and UMCOR officials say the aid restores stability and dignity to families, while noting that needs remain immense in health, education and access to clean water.

The United Methodist Committee on Relief has been supporting United Methodist families facing food insecurity in war-torn eastern Congo. 

Over a six-month period, 300 United Methodist households in Goma received relief kits, which included rice, cornmeal, beans, vegetable oil and salt.

The initiative aims to support families weakened by years of armed conflict in the region. In North Kivu, repeated fighting has caused massive population displacement, destroyed livelihoods and driven up the cost of living. 

The North Kivu province had an estimated 1.16 million internally displaced people at the end of July, according to reports from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the Displacement Tracking Matrix. For many United Methodist families in Goma, the war has meant the loss of cultivated fields, the closure of small businesses and, at times, the separation of family members.

To respond to the hardship, UMCOR worked with local church leaders to identify the most vulnerable households in the city. At the end of each month, the kits were distributed.

A United Methodist orphanage in Goma, which houses 22 children, also received food kits. 

UMCOR also works in Goma and throughout North Kivu on clean water, hygiene and sanitation and food security for displaced people.

Jean Tshomba, coordinator of the United Methodist Committee on Relief’s Disaster Management Office in eastern Congo, based in Kindu, said the program, though limited in duration, meets a real need.

“We know that six months won’t solve everything, but it’s a step toward restoring a little stability and dignity to the families of our members, as well as to the few displaced people who are still living with host families after losing everything,” he said.

Tshomba praised Bishop Antoine Kalema Tambwe’s role in mobilizing support for people affected by the war, while acknowledging that needs go well beyond food aid, particularly in health, education and access to clean water.

Bahati Innocent, 30, a United Methodist member who recently returned to Goma after being displaced by the fighting, collected his food kit on behalf of his wife, who was in the hospital after a cesarean delivery.

“I’m happy because when she comes home, she will find something to feed the family,” he said, before asking the church to open a place of worship in the neighborhood where his family has resettled.

Jeanne Okamba, a mother of five and a member of The United Methodist Church in the Office 2 neighborhood, explained that the war had made it hard to feed her children every day.

“Some nights, we went to bed without eating,” she said. “With this help from UMCOR, I feel a little more at ease for the coming months. I know my children will have something to eat.”

Marie Otchinga, a caregiver at the church orphanage in Goma, said that feeding the children at the facility had been difficult before UMCOR stepped in.

“With the war, feeding 22 children was becoming practically impossible,” she said, adding that the aid would allow the children to keep eating regularly.

Shabani is a communications officer with the Kivu Conference.

News media contact: Julie Dwyer at [email protected]. To read more United Methodist news, subscribe to the free UM News Digest.