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Salesians in DR Congo Providing Shelter, Nutrition to “displaced families” at Shasha

Credit: Salesian Missions

Members of the Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are reaching out to members of “displaced families” with shelter and nutrition amid violence in the country’s North Kivu Province that is covered by the Catholic Diocese of Goma.

In a report published Wednesday, September 6, SDB officials say, “Since Feb. 10, 2023, Don Bosco Shasha has been sheltering people who fled to safety in the field of the primary school. Currently, displaced families are using the classrooms for shelter.”

They note that SDB members are “providing porridge for the children who are facing malnutrition and for the sick in the hopes that food will make them strong enough to fight their illness. Salesians are also trying to get youth back into school.”

“We intend to give all the children the chance to go back to school with the other students at the Don Bosco Shasha primary school,” Fr. Kizito Tembo, a Salesian Priest at Don Bosco Shasha has been quoted as saying.

He adds, “We are also offering skill training for older youth who want to learn a skill for employment. But this recovery is slow, because our forces are too limited.”

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Fr. Tembo urges the international community to “remember the plight of those impacted by the ongoing violence and the many who have had to flee with nothing more than the clothes on their backs.”

In the September 6 report, the SDB member laments the fact that “in the camp, life seems to have stopped.”

“They wake up in the morning not knowing what they are going to eat or how the day will end. Worse still is when it was raining. Families huddle around the fire to keep warm. The most vulnerable are pregnant women, the elderly, the sick and children,” Fr. Tembo explains.

He continues, “After a long road of exile, those who had caught diseases along the way began to succumb. Children have become victims of cholera, measles and malnourishment.”

“Pregnant women have miscarriages and others have stillbirths. Misery upon misery. Breastfeeding women do not have enough breast milk, which is a disaster for babies,” Fr. Tembo has been quoted as saying in the September 6 report.

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Jude Atemanke is a Cameroonian journalist with a passion for Catholic Church communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Buea in Cameroon. Currently, Jude serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.