Strife in the Democratic Republic of Congo that began over 10 years ago and continues with no end in sight has created a humanitarian crisis in many parts of the country.

Some 2 million people from the DRC and neighboring countries also plagued by violence have been forced from their homes and into crowded refugee camps, primarily along the northern border with the Central African Republic and Sudan. These people are in desperate need of food and shelter.

In the eastern provinces, farms that once were the major food producers in the country have been looted by armed gangs. A rebel group from Uganda known as the Lord’s Resistance Army began launching attacks to obtain food and supplies. The soldiers burn crops and houses, take slaves, and kill locals.

Samaritan’s Purse is partnering with the World Food Program and working through local churches to meet urgent needs. We have provided food and shelter materials for people in camps and nearby towns, and are delivering tools and seeds to help farmers recover.

In the northeastern part of the country, we have begun delivering aid to thousands of people. In a two-week period, over 24,000 in and around a town called Aba received food.

“As we have begun distributing food to many thousands of people I have thought a lot about Jesus’ feeding of the 5,000,” said Aaron Wolcott, manager of the Samaritan’s Purse feeding program in the DRC. “He started with five loaves and two fish and ended with 12 basketfuls left over. We start with 10 40-ton trucks and end with people who are left out. And yet we do see miracles. We see miracles when thousands of hungry men and women are willing to wait patiently in the scorching sun and pounding rain for their turn to get a sack of flour and some beans. We see miracles when trucks loaded with food make it through the mud-holes we call roads and across bridges that are little more than logs placed together in the hope that they line up with a vehicle’s tires. We see miracles when corrupt officials leave us to do our work in peace.”

In the eastern part of the country, seeds and tools are helping farmers recover. We also are distributing blue plastic tarps that are being used as shelters where churches and schools can meet.

In addition to helping meet urgent needs, our aid is also strengthening the local church.

“There’s a lot of despair and a lot of questioning,” Wolcott said. “It’s an opportunity for the church to stand up and say we have hope. We have a message of hope.”

Our ministry partners are communicating the message of hope through trauma seminars for the refugees. During one session, over 200 people responded to the invitation to receive Christ.

“In our current work we are bringing a small amount of assistance to a needy population,” Wolcott said. “Through that work my prayer is that we will be able to expand the fame of the King and His Kingdom.”

Samaritan's Purse , Democratic Republic of the Congo , Emergency Relief , Crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo