Monique Meta, who is a leader of displaced people who received food and shelter supplies from the Mennonite Church of Congo, stands with the supply of food she received at the Nov. 29 distribution in the town of Tshikapa. A widow, she and her nine children lost all their belongings because of violence in Kamonya, where she lived. They are living in a church building now with other families. (MCC photo/Fidele Kyanza)
Displaced people who recently received food and shelter supplies distributed by Mennonite churches in the Kasai region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) have seen unimaginable horrors.
Innoncente Ngandu Tshalu’s husband was murdered by the local militia. Majilu Mulembo’s house was burned down by another armed group. Monique Meta was forced to leave behind everything she owns to run with nine children.
About 1.4 million people from the Kasai region in south-central DR Congo fled ethnic and political violence that erupted in August 2016 between a local militia group, Kamuina Nsapu, and national security forces. An estimated 5,000 Mennonites are among those forced from their homes.
Tshalu, Mulembo, Meta and many other displaced people found safety near the town of Tshikapa, Kasai Province. They have been staying with strangers, in churches and anywhere else they can.
Maize and cassava flour, beans, oil, salt and sugar, plus tarps and soap for distribution to displaced families in the Kikwit District, DRC. MCC photo/Fidele Kyanza
Extra information: On Nov. 20, MCCs partner Communauté des Églises de Frères Mennonites au Congo/Mennonite Brethren Church of Congo (CEFMC), distributed the food rations and non-food items, including tarps, to 180 internally displaced families in Kikwit district, Kwilu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Among the recipients is Christine Ndaya, who is displaced from Mbuji-Mayi in the Kasai region and is staying in Kikwit, along with many other internally displaced people. She is pregnant and has three children, who are also benefitting from the food assistance.
On November 28, another partner, Communauté Mennonite au Congo/Mennonite Church of Congo (CMCO), will provide one month of food assistance and non-food items for 280 households of internally displaced people still in the Kasai region.
Armed conflict erupted in the Kasai region in August 2016 in the Kasai Central Province between a local militia group and national security forces and has forced nearly four million people from their homes. MCC photo/Fidele Kyanza
On Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2017, the Mennonite Church of Congo (Communauté Mennonite au Congo or CMCo) distributed one month’s supply of flour, beans, oil, salt and sugar to 280 displaced households staying in Tshikapa. The church’s local relief committee also provided soap and tarps, which serve as shelter from the rain or privacy within cramped, temporary living conditions.
“Many people don’t have shelter, and some of them lost their fields. There are real dire situations, and many have lost everything they own,” says Fidele Kyanza, who on behalf of Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) helped coordinate the distribution.
The week before, on Nov. 20, Kyanza also worked with Mennonite Brethren church of Congo (Communauté des Églises de Frères Mennonites au Congo, CEFMC) to distribute the same supplies to 180 displaced families in the city of Kikwit in Kwilu Province. Food quantities were based on an average seven-member family.
Both distributions were coordinated in partnership with MCC and supported by numerous Mennonite organizations around the world.
Zacharie Mputu Lukadi, a CMCo elder and member of the local relief committee, says the distribution not only helps save lives, it gives people hope. “Now people trust the church to help them.”
MCC and the Congolese Mennonite churches have been working on a response plan for several months. Security and logistical challenges along the way delayed the response until now.
Displaced families in Kikwit wait on Nov. 20, 2017, to receive a month’s supply of food and nonfood emergency assistance. MCC photo/Fidele Kyanza
Extra information: On November 20, MCCs partner Communauté des Églises de Frères Mennonites au Congo/Mennonite Brethren Church of Congo (CEFMC) distributed one month of food rations and non-food items, including tarps, to 180 internally displaced families in Kikwit District in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Among the recipients is Christine Ndaya, who is displaced from Mbuji-Mayi in the Kasai region and is staying in Kikwit, along with many other internally displaced people. She is pregnant and has three children, who are also benefitting from the food assistance.
On November 28, another partner, Communauté Mennonite au Congo/Mennonite Church of Congo (CMCO), will provide one month of food assistance and non-food items for 280 households of internally displaced people still in the Kasai region.
Armed conflict erupted in the Kasai region in August 2016 in the Kasai Central Province between a local militia group and national security forces and has forced nearly four million people from their homes. MCC photo/Fidele Kyanza
Nevertheless, MCC’s representative in DR Congo, Mulanda Jimmy Juma, says the assistance came at a crucial time and met needs that weren’t being addressed by other organizations.
“Most displaced people are in very dire situations,” he says. “Very few organizations are providing assistance, despite the high level of need. In the name of Christ, MCC with other Anabaptist groups want to help meet the needs of these vulnerable people who are suffering because of the crisis in Kasai.”
Kyanza says emergency food assistance also promotes peace between displaced people and host communities because there’s less competition for limited resources. Displaced families can share with their hosts.
“Many times, a very poor family is receiving another very poor family into their home. When you give support and aid to those families, you give harmony and peace,” he says.
Majilu Mulembo says she will share the food that she and her seven children received with their host family. The distribution means that her children will have porridge and she will be able to eat three times a day instead of having a little food once or twice a day, says Mulembo, who is pregnant.
[Rachel Bergen is a writer for MCC.
Mennonite Central Committee: Relief, development and peace in the name of Christ
