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Video: Lynne Hybels Appeals for Aid in Congo

Congo in Crisis: Human Catastrophe Unfolds

The situation in the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is critical.  

The crisis is rapidly unfolding into a humanitarian disaster on a huge scale.  Reports of random killings, rape and other atrocities are widespread.

Right now, the situation in Goma, eastern DRC, is incredibly tense, with many Congolese upset at the inability of the United Nations peacekeeping force to protect them.  The 17,000-strong force has been unable to halt the violence in a region that has been devastated by two civil wars.

The conflict in the Congo is one of the world’s most under-reported catastrophes.  In the past 12 years, an estimated 5 million people have died from malnutrition and disease spurred on by the conflict.

World Relief Responds

In the middle of the current crisis, World Relief is looking to get food and vital supplies into the hands of uprooted families, many of whom have fled their homes with nothing.  At one location, children were trampled underfoot as panicked crowds surged forward, desperate for food.

“It is like the Bible says… the people are harassed and scattered, like sheep without a shepherd,” says Maurice Omollo, World Relief’s Country Director.  “We are working in a very unstable environment in which many of the people have been uprooted by war and the infrastructure has been destroyed.”

While expatriate relief workers have been evacuated, many of World Relief’s Congolese staff members have chosen to stay in Goma at this time – in spite of the danger – so they can help the most vulnerable.

You can help! Click here to provide vital aid to a family.

In partnership with local churches in and around Goma, World Relief is preparing to provide targeted assistance to 3,000 families.  

Every $68 gift will provide one household with a month's supply of food including rice, corn, flour and cooking oil, and every $144 will provide a food kit as well as a household with temporary shelter materials, cooking kits, blankets and clothing. 

Your gift of any amount enables World Relief and local churches at the scene to provide urgent aid to a family in distress.

Join us in praying for peace in the Congo.  Please pray for aid workers and church members in this highly volatile and dangerous setting.

Resources

Congo Conflict Q&A: Click here.

In Congo, Fresh Anxieties: Click here to read a Washington Post article.