Campaign for Congo
An estimated 1 million people have been displaced by the militia-driven conflict in the DR Congo. Dorcas and four other Christian NGOs in the Netherlands: Red een Kind, Tear, Woord en Daad and ZOA - have started a campaign in the Netherlands to assist the affected and suffering people in eastern Congo. Immediate relief aid will be rendered (tents and food) as well as long-term assistance (seeds, water and sanitation, peace building e g).
-"The current situation is a symptom of the long-lasting conflict. Now there is media attention, but for years the attention was minimal" says Ewout Suidhoff from ZOA, one of Dorcas' campaign partners in the Netherlands. "In addition to the refugees in Goma, there are thousands more who need immediate assistance - not only in order to ease their direct needs but also to contribute to stability of the region."
· 5.4 million dead since 1998 from war-related violence, hunger and disease
· Congo is the size of western Europe
The country, formerly called Zaire, has a democratic government led by President Joseph Kabila, a former guerrilla. However, insecurity continues in the remote, resource-rich provinces near the eastern border. The world's largest peacekeeping mission - a U.N. force of 17,000 soldiers and police - struggles to prevent violence and protect the population of almost 60 million.
About 5.4 million people in this vast country have died from war-related hunger and disease since 1998, according to the International Rescue Committee, which in 2007 calculated that 45,000 people are dying every month in Congo.
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Photo: "A Congolese Government soldier walks on the road towards Sake holding his daughter's hand, near the city of Goma in eastern Congo, November 4, 2008." (courtesy of REUTERS/Stringer, REF: RTXA8QR)
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