When Time is Ticking and Lives are on the Line

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World Relief’s Ebola Response Team Mobilizes As Crisis Hits Headlines.

As the resurgence of Ebola once again threatens vulnerable communities in DR Congo’s Ituri Province, every hour matters. Behind the epidemiological alerts, statistics, and situation reports stands a human emergency in which time is of the essence. We must protect lives before the outbreak  spreads further..  

Thousands of families who fled violence in Goma have settled in Ituri, making the densely populated region especially vulnerable to rapid spread of the disease. 

On May 21, a small emergency response team from World Relief departed from Goma with a clear mission. They intended to reach Ituri and initiate the first response activities in its Rwampara Health Zone, an emerging hotspot of the outbreak. 

World Relief has been on the ground in Rwampara long before this outbreak began, serving nearly 2,000 people through a network of 10 local partner churches. Building on that foundation, we are now rapidly mobilizing to reach 80,000 people, including 80 community health workers and volunteers and one regional health facility. A World Relief team of technical health experts has also been deployed from Goma to provide additional guidance and support tailored to this specific disease.

The following is a description of their journey into the heart of the Ebola outbreak.

More than a Routine Humanitarian Trip 

Traveling in a World Relief vehicle, the journey began before dawn amid a regional context marked by security and public health restrictions. From the very beginning, the team understood that this mission would be far more than a routine humanitarian trip.  

The team’s first attempt to leave Goma was through the Grande Barrière border post. However, upon arrival, they were immediately confronted with the reality of regional tensions: access to Rwanda was denied due to restrictions linked to the closure of borders between the DRC and Rwanda. 

For a brief moment, uncertainty settled in but time was critical. Determined to continue despite the obstacles, the team quickly adjusted its route and headed toward the Petite Barrière border crossing, where only international travelers and certain humanitarian personnel in transit were authorized to pass. After several administrative checks and discussions with border officials, the team was finally granted permission to cross.  

The journey then continued through Rwanda’s green hills to the Rwanda–Uganda border. But even here, concerns remained high. Ugandan border authorities raised numerous questions after learning that the team’s final destination was Bunia, in the middle of an Ebola resurgence. The officials appeared torn between public health concerns and respect for the humanitarian mission. After lengthy explanations regarding the purpose of the deployment and the safety measures in place, the team was eventually allowed to enter Uganda.  

This entire journey took more than two days across three countries, strict border controls, government restrictions and major logistical challenges. 

It navigated unexpected challenges, such as the team learning that an official communication from the Ugandan government had suspended all cross-border traffic between Uganda and the DRC due to Ebola-related risks. And yet the team trudged on.

Every kilometer traveled brought the team closer to affected communities, worried families and overwhelmed health facilities desperately awaiting support.  

Beyond every border crossed and every obstacle overcome stood one purpose: reaching vulnerable communities before Ebola could claim more lives. 

Today, our team of experts have successfully joined other experts on the ground, bolstering the fight against Ebola. We are honored to work alongside such selfless humanitarian workers who are driven by an unwavering faith and sense of duty. 

World Relief’s Response

Today, with your support, World Relief has launched a multi-country response across the DR Congo, Burundi and South Sudan, bringing life-saving support directly to displaced families, health care workers and overcrowded and underserved communities. Our primary response is centered in Ituri and North Kivu provinces in eastern DR Congo, where the outbreak is most active. 

Ituri is already vulnerable to rapid spread because of the number of displaced families sheltering there. In Rwampara, a zone in Ituri directly affected by the epidemic, World Relief is currently in the process of local registration for the response effort, which will provide the necessary approvals to begin addressing identified needs. 

The response centers on two priorities: 

1. Community Education and Engagement: World Relief is working with local communities, trusted churches and trained community health workers to distribute life-saving information to communities quickly. This means teaching people how to prevent infection, improving access to clean water and sanitation through soap distribution and running education campaigns to keep communities informed about health risks and how to stay safe in local communities.  
2. Strengthening Health Facilities: World Relief is providing local clinics with the medical supplies and protective equipment they need, such as an Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) kit stocked with thermometers, hand sanitizer, gloves and personal protective equipment like masks and garments.  By supporting health workers with targeted training to strengthen their capacity to care for those impacted by the virus and establishing disease tracing systems, we are working to support early detection and slow its spread. Additionally, improved hygiene and infection prevention practices in the clinics will ensure the continued delivery of primary healthcare services, including treatment of other illnesses and care for mothers and children.  

World Relief is making sure that critical information reaches communities impacted by the spread of the virus in North Kivu Province, DR Congo. We are working hand in hand with national health authorities and local response teams in Ituri and North Kivu to keep efforts coordinated and leave no community behind. 

In South Sudan and Burundi, border countries to DR Congo, we are not waiting for the outbreak to arrive. Awareness campaigns are already underway in refugee and displaced persons sites and health facilities are being equipped and staffed now so that anyone suspected of having Ebola can be identified and cared for immediately.  

In moments of crisis, courage becomes action, and every minute gained can mean a life saved.  With your partnership, World Relief and the local church can move quickly, equipping local leaders to carry life-saving information, providing protective supplies to health workers and walking alongside families before this crisis compounds the suffering so many in this region have already endured. This is the work God has prepared for us and we cannot do it alone.