Aid to the Church in Need: Crisis in Kivu – religious superiors seek aid for formation programs

Crisis in Kivu – religious superiors seek aid for formation programs

Posted by Project of the Week on 11/5/2009, 8:31 am
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DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

Crisis in Kivu – 37 religious superiors seek aid for formation programmes

Rape, abduction, murder and trafficking of children – this is the sad reality of life for the ordinary people of the Kivu region in the East of the democratic Republic of Congo. Again and again the region has been visited by the plague of warfare; the people have been left impoverished and in many cases homeless, and their children cannot attend school. In the small town of Goma alone there are no fewer than six refugee camps, and some 1.5 million people have been uprooted by the fighting in the area. Hunger stalks the camps, and the sanitary situation is catastrophic.

The Catholic Church is not prepared to sit by and do nothing in the face of this situation. "We want to save the young people especially, who are threatened with near extinction, and to shout still louder on behalf of those who have no voice, so that our people can understand that there is a way to life, a way out of their misery, instead of only violence", writes Sister Espérance Hamuli, the superior of the Ursuline Sisters and president of USUMA (the Union of Major Superiors – an umbrella organisation for the superiors of the religious congregations in Congo) in the Kivu region. Sister's name is in fact their programme, for "espérance" of course, is French for "hope". She continues, "We cannot simply stand by, impassive and unfeeling".

The superiors of the 37 religious congregations that are working in this region want their sisters to be appropriately trained, so that they can target their aid more precisely towards the actual needs of the suffering population. But in order to achieve this, they themselves must improve their own training, for in the face of such massive need, goodwill alone is not enough and careful planning is essential – while at the same time the superiors of the various different religious communities need to have an opportunity to meet together, exchange ideas and coordinate their activities. So it was that, last November, USUMA launched a dramatic joint peace appeal to the wider world. For they feel that only if they can work with united forces and speak out loudly and with a single voice, can they have a chance of really achieving anything and giving genuine hope to their people.

The Catholic charity Aid the Church in Need (ACN) wants to support these religious superiors in the Kivu region to target their tireless efforts for peace and human rights, so that they can continue to protect the young and support the many women who have been victims of sexual violence. ACN has promised a grant of $4,800 for their planned in-service training course.

To help this cause please contact the Australian office of ACN on (02) 9679-1929. e-mail: info@aidtochurch.org or write to Aid to the Church in Need PO Box 6245 Blacktown DC NSW 2148. Web: www.aidtochurch.org

The refugees in the Kivu region are living in appalling conditions

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Aid to the Church in Need PO Box 6245 Blacktown DC NSW 2148 ABN: 62 418 911 594
Ph/Fax (02) 9679-1929 e-mail: info@aidtochurch.org web: www.aidtochurch.org