DR CONGO: Displaced people obtain medical care
Don Bosco Ngangi medical center transformed into an emergency hospital
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
(MissionNewswire) While the province of North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo* is still facing ongoing clashes that have been displacing thousands of people, Salesian missionaries continue with their work. The medical center at Don Bosco Ngangi in Goma just delivered triplets for Dorcas Ndibungo, who had a boy and two girls.
Ndibungo, age 36, has been at Don Bosco Ngangi since she was displaced in November 2022. She fled Kibumba village in the Nyiragongo territory north of Goma with her eight children. She has been seeking shelter at the center since then and was fortunate to have the medical center to aid in her pregnancy and delivery.
Initially set up to provide care for youth living at Don Bosco Ngangi, the medical center later began providing maternity, consultation, laboratory, hospitalization, prevention, pharmacy and nutrition services. This has been particularly important with the addition of 28,000 people who have sought shelter on the center’s fields.
The medical center has been transformed into an emergency hospital for thousands who have been displaced. The medical team includes a doctor, a laboratory technician, a physiotherapist, a clinical psychologist, two hygienists and five nurses. The team is providing both preventive and medical care for those who have been injured and have emergencies.
In the first two months of assisting those displaced, the medical center treated 1,702 people, and in the last week of February and the first week of March, care was provided for 766 vulnerable people. A total of 16 women gave birth, nine patients were referred to more specialized facilities and 18 were hospitalized.
Father Jean-Pierre Muhima, director of the Don Bosco Ngangi center, explained where the additional resources have come from to meet the expanded need. He said, “Wherever there is need, misery, violence, suffering, Don Bosco must be there. We started with the means we had at our disposal. We have also been fortunate to have benefactors in the field of health, including Salesian Mission offices around the world, and other organizations such as the International Volunteers for Development (VIS), Save the Children, and the International Committee of the Red Cross, among others.”
Given the violence does not seem to be deescalating, Salesians, with the help of VIS, are working on a more long-term solution for those who have been displaced and are launching a project to provide people with more support. The goal is to provide more provisions and psychological support to the people including education for minors.
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Sources:
ANS Photo (usage permissions and guidelines must be requested from ANS)
Salesian Missions – Democratic Republic of the Congo
UNHCR – Democratic Republic of the Congo
*Any goods, services, or funds provided by Salesian Missions to programs located in this country were administered in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, including sanctions administered by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control.
