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Ebola is now a threat in eastern Congo.  It is a serious virus disease spread through direct contact with bodily fluids with an average mortality rate of 50% of those infected.

Ebola was first identified in 1996 with a simultaneous outbreak in South Sudan and in the northern DRC town of Yambuku, a village without electricity or running water.  The decision was made to name the disease after the Ebola River, 100 kilometers from Yambuku.  Apparently, they didn’t want to taint the name of Yambuku so the unfortunate small river is now tainted with the name.

The first line of defense against ebola is to ensure proper hygiene conditions that includes washing with soap and water.  Unfortunately, most public spaces don’t provide any access to these basic requirements.

We have provided funds for Saasita that will enable her to install eight water tanks and an initial supply of soap for various key locations including a hospital in Katwa (just east of Butembo), a primary school and the villages of Vushyani and Vuhenia.  She has been delivering the materials and providing training on the importance of hand washing.

The sign reads: All fight the disease Ebola.

Saasita delivers a water tank and some soap to health officials.

She passes by a quarantine area.

During our visits, staying at locations which were considered luxurious by local standards, hand washing was communal and almost ceremonial. Soap and water was provided by an attendant before a meal would begin.

Nancy Wood will receive the Rev. Bob Rumball Humanitarian Award of Excellence on Tuesday October 2, 2018 at the King’s Garden Banquet Hall in Toronto.   Congratulations to Nancy!  If you can attend, it would be a pleasure to see you there.  Tickets are available at this link.

Finally.  Ending years of speculation, DRC President Joseph Kabila has confirmed that he will not run in the presidential election scheduled for December 23, 2018.

Joseph Kabila

It would have been huge news and lots of turmoil if he did run, as the Congo constitution limits him to only two terms.  He overstayed and delayed his resignation for a variety of reasons but has claimed that the constitution allowed him to stay on as a caretaker.  He won the presidency in 2006 and 2011.  We were in Congo for both those elections.  He likely would not win in a fair election now.

Kabila’s party, the People’s Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD), will put forward Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary.  Many see the 57-year-old former interior minister as a potential puppet of Mr Kabila.

Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary

The current favourite is now Jean-Pierre Bemba, a former vice-president and, before that, a rebel leader.  Mr Bemba’s conviction for war crimes was overturned on June 8th after he had served ten years in prison in The Hague.  He had previously been held responsible for an epidemic of murder, rape and pillage committed by fighters under his command.  I have to admit that I don’t understand the basis for his apparent popularity.

Jean Pierre Bemba

Another candidate is Vital Kamerhe, leader of opposition party Union for the Congolese Nation and former national assembly president, who came third in the 2011 election.

Felix Tshisekedi, leader of the largest opposition party Union for Democracy and Social Progress, who is the son of late opposition activist Etienne Tshisekedi, also filed his candidacy.

Opposition candidate Moise Katumbi was, however, refused entry to the country last week, after spending two years in exile in Belgium.  The former governor of the wealthy Katanga province and former Kabila ally was convicted in absentia for real-estate fraud in 2016. He has denied the charges, saying they were used to obstruct his political career.

Until now, ebola in Congo has been limited to the north west portion of the country where ebola has killed 33 but the outbreak was recently declared over.  Ebola has now been reported in multiple locations in North Kivu province and one in the further north Ituri province.  Three cases are known within the city of Beni.  The broader impacted area includes the transportation routes to nearby Uganda.  Much of the impacted area is controlled or threatened by rebel groups.

Recently Merck developed vaccinations have been proven useful, but they require proper refrigeration.  With a notoriously unreliable electricity grid and ebola being reported in a quasi-war zone region, this could prove to be a very dangerous situation.

For the latest updates in the Beni area, a platform based on WikiRumors called Kijiji Cha Amani is a great place to look.

https://www.kijijichaamani.org/rumour/V7trAJ/mangina–beni-north-kivu-it-is-confirmed-that-the

We had the honour of meeting with Bishop Isesomo in 2011.   We have since had several e-mail exchanges as he has been very supportive of the work of Dorcas, as her husband is an ordained Anglican priest under Isesomo.

Isesomo is a truly remarkable person.  Raised in the poverty of Zaire, his story is about his realization that God wanted something better for him personally.  Once a Christian, Isesomo dedicated himself to evangelizing the good news that made such a difference in his life.  Evangelizing became his life purpose, leading him to the risky business of evangelizing DRC troops who were the worst offenders with their raping and looting.  Thousands of soldiers became Christians through his direct preaching.  Today he is the Anglican bishop for the eastern Congo province of North Kivu, a position he didn’t apply for but clearly was called for.

The book by Joshua Maule is a very quick read and provides a descriptive glimpse into the tragic eastern Congo situation that developed after the Rwandan genocide.  The support of multiple Australia missionaries through this time is well documented although likely understated with the focus being on Isesomo.

Amazon U.S.A.  Amazon U.K.  Amazon Canada  Amazon Australia

The village of Mayi Moya, near Beni, has suffered from unreported violence of unknown severity.  In 2016, Newsweek reported 700 deaths in the area but acknowledged that local sources were claiming much higher numbers.

Today Dorcas messaged that she has accepted 8 orphans from Mayi Moya.  I’m not sure how recently they became orphans, but eastern Congo problems won’t be immediately solved with the end of violence.  It will be just be the start of the recovery.

Dorcas Mbambu Kiharami has been a local Mother Theresa in Butembo for hundreds, likely thousands of orphans.  A trained nurse, she has overseen an orphanage and school for orphans representing the neediest of the needy.  The continuous wars and violence in North Kivu province have delivered an unending stream of orphans in an environment where a supportive government is strained, limited or non-existent.  When the government is unable to provide basic services, it is up to good people to step into the breach.

Dorcas has cared for children with desperate needs, and frequently asks for help with urgent hospital bills.  She understands that it is far better to be as self-sustaining as possible (currently impossible), so she has been an eager supporter of the sewing project which provides long training skills and badly needed funds through the sale of school uniforms.  CMS Ireland (Anglican) and Semiliki Trust have been great partners with her as well.

Childless herself, she does what she does due to her passionate love for the orphans and her strong Christian faith.

Dorcas was recently involved with a Christian outreach program with multiple local churches and a nearby orphanage, the Malaika Orphanage.  Dorcas provided the following itinerary for an uplifting event:

TIME ACTIVITY DIRECTOR
13h30-14H00 Welcome of the participants Mom Dorcas
14h00- 14h10 Opening Prayer Pastor of the Pentecostal Church
14h10- 14h 30 Presentation of the participants
14h30- 15h30 Songs:
-Anglican Church
-Baptist Church
-Catholic Church
-Orphanage Malaika
-Orphanage CED The singers of these groupings
15.30-16.15 Preaching Pastor of the Baptist Church
16h15- 16h30 Word of circumstance Mom Dorcas
16h30- 16h45 Closing ceremony All

LES ORPHELINS MALAIKA

James Kataliko has been supporting our efforts in eastern Congo since we first met James at the Healing Streams seminars in 2006. He was recently asked to disburse some funds as he best saw fit.  This resulted in:

• Providing two mattresses, a battery and accessories for the Kalondo Health Clinic
• Paying the hospital bill for a young widow who had just spent three months in the hospital after giving birth.  When she was four months pregnant, her husband, a builder, had been captured by MaiMai rebels and burned alive as he was travelling to a remote village to help build a health centre.
• Support for Samiela, the handicapped girl
• Additional funds for the local church which in turn can respond to needs

Asante sana, James!

The heart and dedication of so many in eastern Congo are a tremendous example for us all.  Saasita is an example of a selfless person committed to serving the neediest.  We first met Saasita in 2006 in Beni during our Healing Streams trauma and rape counselling sessions.  She has been a stalwart ever since.  See her prior work  here and here and here and here and here and here.

We have provided Saasita funding for her training related to female entrepreneurship and general hygiene.  She has travelled to remote parts in order to help us implement microfinance programs, deliver medical equipment and transfer her knowledge to others.  She is truly a blessing.

Saasita with elder woman

Is this a short cut or the main road?

Saasita with local leadership

Inspecting latrines

Providing training on proper hygiene

Saasita working with others on a water project

We seeded a microfinance program last summer with James Kataliko overseeing the applications and financial management.

The take up has been modest but successful and worthwhile.  The first two loans have already been repaid in full with interest.

Masika is selling soap and she used her loan to increase her purchases and inventory.  This stimulated her sales and she tells us that the loan enabled her to buy a motorcycle which facilitates the transfer of soap to the markets.  School fees for her children have been paid up (a big deal!) and she handled an unexpected medical bill.  When James followed up with her, she indicated that she would like to have another loan.  With her track record, absolutely!

Kavugho produces and sells colourful hats, as noted in an earlier blog post.  This post was noticed by a reader in Canada who noticed that Kavugho was wearing a hat with the same colours as their university football team (the Guelph Gryphons).  After a flurry of messages, we found someone willing to bring a box of hats back with them to their home in Montreal, Quebec.  Still 600 kilometers to go, but shipping within Canada is vastly cheaper than from Congo!  Kavugho’s husband is unemployed after rebels looted the property of his employer, so the successful sale of hats is critical for her family.  She is now maintaining higher inventory levels and has also been able to pay the school fees for her two daughters.

It’s not a co-incidence that these stories both involve women as microfinance projects typically are predominantly female throughout Africa.  Visit a market and you’ll notice that a large majority in the stalls are women.