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DR CONGO: Salesians at Don Bosco Ngangi provide shelter and food for displaced people

More than 28,000 people seeking refuge from violence have arrived at Don Bosco Ngangi since October 2022

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

(MissionNewswire) The conflict and violence in the North Kivu Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo* is still raging. People are caught between war and violence, leaving 5.8 million people displaced across the provinces of Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu and Tanganyika, according to UNHCR – the United Nations Refugee Agency.

Since the beginning of October 2022, more than 28,000 people seeking refuge from violence have arrived at Don Bosco Ngangi, located in Goma. Salesian missionaries, with support of volunteers from the Salesian-run International Volunteering for Development (VIS), are supporting people as best they can.

“This latest wave of violence has prompted tens of thousands of people to leave their homes in search of relative safety in several areas of North Kivu Province, including Goma,” explained Father Piero Gavioli, an Italian missionary in the DR Congo for nearly 50 years. “This has caused the three soccer fields at the Don Bosco Ngangi Center to fill with those displaced. The latest figures speak of some 3,530 households, including more than 19,000 minors. It is an emergency situation that calls all humanitarian workers and members of society to assist a community in distress.”

Salesians report that in January, the rebel military advanced and cut off the second main link that supplied the city of Goma with various products, after the first had been cut off in late 2022. As a result, the situation in North Kivu deteriorated significantly. There have been massacres, sexual abuse, organ trafficking, enlistment of minors in the conflict, kidnappings for ransom and more unspeakable acts of violence.

Already Salesians have improved the physical situation by providing more access to water from the Don Bosco Center to improve sanitation and hygiene, installing lighting at the site, and creating a 12-person security team. Salesians have also distributed soybean and corn gruel to 365 displaced children and 357 adults, provided additional food and cooking utensils to 300 families, and gave tarpaulins to 120 families. Medical care has also been important. So far, 1,844 people have received medical care including 84 hospitalized and 32 transferred to other medical facilities. There have been 14 births.

Given the violence does not seem to be deescalating, Salesians with the help of VIS are working on a more long-term solution 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)

ANS – Democratic Republic of Congo – 26 thousand displaced people need everything at grounds of “Don Bosco Ngangi” work

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.