For our neighbors in the Democratic Republic, your love is needed more than ever.
Escalating violence between armed militias is forcing millions of innocent families to flee their homes in search of peace and safety. Many end up in displacement camps, which are vastly ill-equipped to support the needs of people who arrive with nothing but trauma and the clothes on their backs.
Like Mary and Joseph, these families find themselves “making do” in makeshift circumstances. The camps lack clean water, and disease spreads quickly. Right now, food insecurity is higher here than anywhere else in the world.
Idi Seth is one of these neighbors, caught in the crossfire.
You can imagine the terror he felt when gunfire woke him at 2 a.m. The M23 rebels and the Congolese army were clashing again. This time, his neighborhood had become the front lines.
Idi and his wife Mariam grabbed their eight children and hid in the bushes outside of town. By morning they knew it was unsafe to go back. Overnight they lost their home, their peace … everything.
Idi is disabled and has difficulty walking. Mariam has a chronic illness. Yet they had no choice but to rush toward safety. After a painful 17-mile journey on foot, they arrived at a camp for displaced families.
“I am a refugee,” Idi told aid workers, trying to come to terms with his new reality.
But the danger wasn’t over.
Due to violence, millions of people in the Democratic Republic of Congo have fled their homes. The camp was overflowing when Idi’s family arrived, so they set up shelter on the outskirts.
Clean water was scarce. There were no toilets, nowhere to wash your hands. And in crowded settlements with poor sanitation, diseases can spread quickly.
That’s how Idi got sick with cholera. Without treatment, cholera kills about half of its victims. Fortunately, Idi made it to the health center in time. After three days, he was well enough to return to his family.
But without your love, there is nothing stopping him, his wife or the children from getting sick again…
Camp resident Saidai Kikuku washes her hands.
You can be a source of hope and clean water
Too many people were getting sick. Too many were drinking contaminated water. Thankfully, we can always count on compassionate Lutherans to hear our calls for urgent support!
Faithful stewards like you have improved families’ access to clean water and sanitation facilities. They have helped more than 32,000 people by:
- Providing hygiene kits, water filters and handwashing stations in 16 camps
- Building latrines and showers to serve 17,000 people
- Disinfecting more than 2,300 households and 84 latrines
- Educating camp residents on handwashing and other healthy hygiene practices
- Chlorinating water sources to kill harmful bacteria.
These efforts are a life-saving start … but the needs are still immense.
Will you join us in helping us reach our neighbors in the DRC?
Idi Seth working on a shoe.
Idi can tell you. An experienced cobbler, he makes about 1,000 francs on a shoe repair job. This equals about 35 cents — barely anything, considering fresh water is expensive at the camp market. So, twice a day, Mariam walks over a mile and back to fetch water at the river. Due to her poor health, it takes her up to two hours to make each dangerous trip.
And it’s still not enough. “When we have a little water,” she says, “we have to decide whether to use it for cooking, washing or bathing.” An impossible choice.
Mariam on her way to fetch water.
Will you help our neighbors in their time of need?
Together, we can make the impossible possible. Thank you.
