DR Congo
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Photo: Miguel Samper for Mercy Corps
Our strategy
Respond to the immediate needs of displaced families in eastern Congo. Help them lessen the impact of the current crisis and set the stage for recovery.
The context
Fighting between the government and various rebel groups continues in eastern Congo, this after a 1998-2003 war that killed five million people. One in ten people is displaced in the province where Mercy Corps works. Congo ranks last on the 2011 UN Human Development Index, a measure of countries’ social and economic well-being. More than 70 percent of its population lives below the poverty line.
Our work
- Emergency response: Provided temporary shelter and emergency food to displaced families during spikes in rebel fighting
- Water: Rebuilding Goma’s municipal water system to serve 400,000 people and improving sanitation in overcrowded displacement camps
- Agriculture & Food: Helping farmers grow more with new production and disease prevention techniques
- Environment: Teaching women to build and use fuel-efficient stoves
- Economic opportunity: Creating jobs to build classrooms, health centers and community farms
All stories about DR Congo
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DR Congo: Lives spent on the run February 12, 2013
Many children like this little girl in the Democratic Republic of Congo have never known a permanent home.
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DR Congo: Chaos in Congo: After the rebel invasion January 10, 2013
When rebels invaded Goma, eastern Congo's largest city, our teams rushed to help tens of thousands who were forced to flee as the battle approached their homes.
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DR Congo: Congo needs a long-term solution January 3, 2013
For years, families have lived under the threat of violence, frequently forced to flee their homes for safety. Lately, things have worsened, with renewed fighting between rebels and government troops sparking a new wave of displacement.
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DR Congo: New wave of displacement strains water supply December 19, 2012
Mercy Corps is ramping up efforts to get more water to families who continue fleeing the volatile situation in Goma. Teams are focused on maintaining sanitation and increasing the water capacity at Mugunga 3 camp, where the population has ballooned to more than 15,000 people.
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DR Congo: Distributing food to overwhelmed camps December 3, 2012
Mercy Corps has distributed food to more than 11,000 families who were displaced after Goma was captured by M23 rebels two weeks ago.
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DR Congo: Supplying water to the newly displaced November 27, 2012
Mercy Corps is supplying emergency water services and sanitation supplies to meet the needs of newly displaced families in the beleaguered city of Goma — and to stem the outbreak of waterborne disease.
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DR Congo: Monitoring needs as Goma falls November 21, 2012
Mercy Corps is monitoring humanitarian needs as the situation unfolds in eastern Congo, where rebel forces have taken control of Goma, the capital of Congo's war-torn North Kivu province.
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DR Congo: Fighting the cholera epidemic in emergency camps February 6, 2012
Cholera is raging across the Democratic Republic of Congo. In the last year, more than 22,000 people have been infected – 1,600 of those in the last four weeks alone.
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DR Congo: Patience and Promise September 14, 2011
These two girls live in a displacement camp in eastern Congo.
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DR Congo: Boy in Buhimba IDP camp, Congo January 13, 2011
A boy living in the Buhimba camp for families displaced by war, outside the city of Goma, DR Congo.