After the Fighting in Eastern Congo
Welthungerhilfe starts preparing supplies for the refugees.
Welthungerhilfe is preparing supplies for more than 3,000 refugee femilies in the vicinity of Goma. In Muganga III, which is currently the largest refugee camp, conditions are abysmal as there are too few latrines and not enough space for the arriving refugees.
The current fighting between rebel group M23 and the government troops have displaced approcimately 140,000 people in the region. Due to the military conflict and the tense security situation, it is currently very difficult to gain access to the refugees.
The families are given packages with soap, blankets, clothes, cooking utensils and plans, and are using these as provisional arrangements in the refugee camp. In order to create more space for the new refugees and set up new latrines, Welthungerhilfe is using its construction machines, which it has been using up until now for road construction.
“In many cases, the women and children only managed to save the clothes on their backs and are now left without any assistance in a refugee camp or the surrounding forests. Fighting has stopped in Goma, but the people are still extremely afraid of returning to their villages. Without our assistance, they will not be able to cope in the coming months,” Christoph von König, Head of Project for Welthungerhilfe in Goma, explains the refugee situation.
If necessary, we can set up an interview for you with one of our on-site project leaders.
Welthungerhilfe is one of the largest private aid organisations in Germany; politically independent and non-denominational. It is fighting for ‘Zero Hunger by 2030’. Since its establishment, more than 8,500 overseas projects in 70 countries have been supported with 3.27 billion euros. Welthungerhilfe works on the basic principle of empowering people to help themselves: from rapid disaster relief to reconstruction and long-term development cooperation projects with national and international partner organisations.
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