Update from BHW DR Congo Partnership Facilitator

Recent Events

Family and Personal 

Jacqueline and George have been very busy the last six months. They have not moved outside Bunia and this has provided them time to concentrate more on the family and ministries.

The situation in Bunia and surrounding areas has been very tense with militia activities in and around the town. Many people from surrounding areas have been displaced because of rebel activity and come into Bunia which has resulted in an increase of trauma in the community. 

There have also been several riots including that of the students in the university they are leading and the citizens of the town of Bunia because of the government corruption and inactivity in suppressing rebel activity. There is a great deal of social and psychological trauma. 

Their children, Divine, Deborah, David, Daniel, and Dora, are fine. They also have another David (in university) and Sarah in primary school whom they have taken into their family and are supporting in their schooling. Sarah’s mother brought Sarah with her when she got married. However her new husband disliked Sarah and mistreated her as he felt he could not take care of a child who does not belong to him, especially as life had become very hard. One day he chased Sarah out of the house around midnight for a small mistake. Sarah then ran to her grandmother, a displaced lady they used to support. George and Jacqueline decided to take Sarah into their family. She needed to catch up with extra classes in order to enrol in a good school where their children were going. She is now doing well in school.

Daniel recently experienced an internal complication. He had to be rushed to hospital at night when travel was not permitted, except for medical personnel. A nurse with a medical outfit had to escort them in the car to the hospital to convince the army that it was a medical emergency. They arrived just in time. It was appendicitis. He was quickly rushed to the surgery ward and had a successful operation from which he is recovering.

Jacqueline and George are doing well but feel very exhausted. They have responsibilities in several ministries at University, in the church, the prison and to the parents at this particularly hard time. They were planning to have a 10 days off in Bunia for rest and restoration but the situation in Bunia remains tense and it is not advisable to leave the family presently. 

Broader Context 

On Friday September 4, 2020 a militia group known as Codeco that has been killing people in the province and fighting with the army succeeded to enter the town of Bunia in the morning. This created panic and multiple reactions from the police and the population. Gunshots were heard all over. They were very concerned about the chaos and death this could lead to as the population started to organize themselves for self-defense in addition to the army's response.

Some confrontations took place in front of the university campus. Tear gas to disperse the angry population went into some of the university staff housing. The militia group was finally contained and the population went back to calm, but fear is still present as many are expecting their possible return.

Several other armed groups are still active around Bunia. On October 31, another militia group known as FRPI took control of the Gety, a village south of Bunia. As insecurity is rampant all around Bunia from where they normally get their food supply, they are anticipating a food shortage in the near future. 

On 17th of April 2021 the mission station at Nyankunde (45 kms away) which was the base for Missionary Aviation Fellowship was attacked and many people from that area have fled to Bunia. The missionaries are staying at the Shalom campus while a plan is developed to get them out or chase the rebels out.

The road to Uganda is blocked by rebels and vehicles cannot pass. This is especially an issue for fuel and foodstuffs. Prices are sky rocketing. For three days this week the whole town is striking to draw attention to their plight and to attempt to force the hand of the government to intervene on their behalf. Unfortunately, the local political leaders have been impeached and there is no-one in control. This vacuum could have dire circumstances. 

Education Programme

George is assisted in the education programme by three volunteers serving the children in the three primary school pools (Ngezi, Shalom and Cite). Gideon has just joined this year for the Shalom pool as Moses graduated from Universtity and left for ministry. 

The last six moths were very challenging with the closure of schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As children needed to catch up with their studies, most parents organized tutorial classes for children in small groups with some teachers. Rehema assisted children in it's programme with tutors who provided them with teaching in the area of their weakness but mostly in mathematics and languages. As the schools have resumed, they are happy that the children are all back to classes.

Personal stories 

This is in George's words:
"A few weeks ago Jacqueline’s heartbeat and fever went very high for three consecutive days. Jacqueline became very weak. Doctors were concerned that her heart could get tired and stop. The children were confused and very sad. I was troubled. We prayed day and night with Jacqueline, reading Psalm 23 before each prayer. I abundantly thank God for her recovery. 

It was in the midst of this storm that Angeline showed up at our house on a Sunday early morning. She arrived in tears. I called Jacqueline for assistance. The following thing she did was to pronounce a loud prayer of thanksgiving and blessings. After we all said “amen”, she added saying: “The son has won!”  This was followed by a time of great joy for Jacqueline without having an accurate understanding of the real issue. Angeline went on recalling her story from the day her village was attacked by a group of rebels, the time she lost her husband, then ran to Bunia, followed by the time we met her and decided to help with the schooling of her son who has now completed his training and received his certificate in education.

We had met Angeline in 2010 in a church in the town of Bunia. As she came to Bunia, she remained very much attached to God and the church community. Angeline was dress making. This work was however not providing sufficient funds to cover the needs of her three children. We decided to provide some support to them for some years and by December 2018, the eldest child by the name “Asimwe” successfully completed his training in education. Angeline visited us to share that good news and giving thanks to God.

Recently again, my assistant called me to introduce me to a boy who was very much looking for me. It was Asimwe. He enrolled in Shalom University to undertake medical studies! I was very happy to learn that his performance attracted a family member to cater for his university studies.

Such encouraging news coming from Angeline and Asimwe renewed our spiritual energy and gave us joy to continue serving the Lord despite the storm. We feel encouraged that our presence and ministries are a blessing to the community."  

The Influence of COVID-19 

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Congolese government closed all schools, churches and other gatherings of more than 20 people from March 19 until August 10th 2020, then from December 18th 2020 to February 22 2021. Local medical facilities reported up to 40% of “COVID-like” cases but insufficient testing makes it impossible to confirm these probable cases. The community is threatened by the likelihood of numerous cases occurring among the population. About 228 confirmed cases, 8 deaths, and 205 recovered in Ituri Province have been reported recently. 

DRC is among the countries to have received the COVID-19 vaccine. About 20% of the population of the DRC are targeted for vaccines and the four worst affected provinces of the country have been selected with health care workers and individuals aged 55+ as the first beneficiaries of the vaccines. Sadly, Ituri Province is not included in the first vaccine distribution.

They are at present faced with the possible continued disruption of operations due to the Corona virus. Higher education is learning about how to move teaching online and how that could work in the Congo environment where bandwidth for students is expensive.

COVID-19 brought very big economic constraints. Many people lost their jobs or their workplaces have closed. This concerned mainly those working in schools, churches, restaurants, bars, etc. Life had became so hard for many people. Most people who were dependent on imported medication have died. This became much more complicated with security issues all around Bunia and most of Eastern Congo.

The insecurity has seriously affected the production of food so that food prices have increased a lot for everyone. Then with the COVID-19 response, economic activity was greatly curtailed and inflation, which had been very low for some years, has returned with local currency significantly devalued.

Many students constantly come to their house to beg for food as life has become very difficult for them. Several parents are no longer in a position to pay school fees for their children.  

Influence in the Community 

It is very importatnt that they keep a low profile in the community. They are not able to be overt as this will cause many issues. The number of people asking for help will become intolerable. They will become a target for politicians and also from gangs and militia groups. So, they go about their business in a secretive way, often having to visit at night. This is also an issue of safety. 

Ideas for the Future 

The number of students in trouble has increased hugely. They would like to help more students and to increase the budget if possible. 

A whole new partnership is currently being proposed and explored. The basis for this is some of the alumni of Shalom University who have gone out and are working in remote areas. Discussions about supporting some of them in what they are doing began some time ago and we are exploring this.

George is struggling to keep his head above water and it would be good to give him some administrative support for the Rehema work.  

Current Issues and Challenges

1) Ongoing instability and uncertainty is causing a great deal of stress in the community. This has both personal trauma and community impact and unrest. It is very volatile presently.  

2) George and Jacqueline are under severe pressure at the moment. Keeping the University open is virtually impossible with all the demands but the government will not allow them to close as they do not want young people with nothing to do. They are under constant scrutiny and pressure. They would love to have a short break but cannot find even minutes to get away by themselves. 

3) George writes, "We are living in a wartorn zone. This has caused an attitude of revolt. We recently had our students riot. The local parliament have impeached our governor this week for reasons we still don’t understand. This is affecting good running of several services. Jacqueline was not allowed to enter the prison for some time as the police were anticipating a riot and escapes in the prison. At that time she had to hand over food that she was unsure would reach the needy prisoners. In the recent past we had the water supply to Bunia cut by rebels. We are now experiencing food cuts as they made a big hole and are not allowing vehicles to come to Bunia with food. These are exasperating the situation which is already hard for many."

4) He continues, "According to several psychologists, many people have been affected by our unsafe environment full of crimes and atrocities. We need to find ways to help people to be restored in mental health. I called this week a specialist in trauma healing to come to minister to our students so that they may get to understand themselves and their behavior and control their behavior. Such a need is increasing in churches, prisons, schools, families, etc. This Sunday my church has also invited the psychologist to preach on trauma and propose a Christian response to it."

5) Again, "The province of Ituri, of which Bunia is the capital, has 1.6 million displaced people across the territory. The displaced live in organized or improvised refugee camps. A large part are also taken care of by host families. And not only among them, but also among the rest of the population, malnutrition is taking on dramatic proportions. Up to 11% of the population suffers from severe malnutrition according to official records. And all this because people can no longer go to their fields. In all our ministries, we are faced with an incease of people who need help: food, clothes, medical, education support, trauma healing, etc." 

Prayer and Praise Points

1) Please pray for wisdom and provision as they live amidst such chaos and violence. 
2) Unless there is divine help, many more people will suffer and die.
3) All students have had their education severely disrupted. Pray that these children will eventually catch up on their studies and be able to become useful citizens in their communities.
4) Pray for teachers who are not being paid and their families are suffering. 

Comments 

George is struggling to keep his head above water and they are living in trying times. He feels like he is walking on egg shells with demands from students and rioting when they increased the fees at the University, the employees and staff demanding increases in wages as food prices skyrocket, the government who insist that they remain open and who are constantly scrutinising them, and the constant stream of students and families who are not able to pay fees and who come to their home asking for assistance.  

At the same time he sees many opportunities for more impact, would love to see new things commencing and is proposing that we start to support some of the alumni in their remote locations. 

I have recommended to the BHW Executive that we send an additional US$1,000 for him to find some administrative support and would also like to add another US$2,000 to the annual budget here.