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: Stronger UN Role is Needed in the Congo January 28, 2009
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DR Congo: Congo's Hidden Displaced January 27, 2009
Her name is Laurene. She lives in a church. She is 10 years old.
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DR Congo: What is Happening Here? January 25, 2009
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DR Congo: Charlie January 24, 2009
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DR Congo: Inside the Green Rope January 23, 2009
It's firewood distribution day here in Buhimba Camp. Hundreds of women, most of whom are elderly, have lined up to wait their turn. A green rope goes up along the perimeter of the wood yard where the distribution will take place.
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DR Congo: Stoves vs. Guns January 22, 2009
Today is going to be a busy day: I'm visiting four separate displacement camps with our environmental teams. But before that, we have to get out of Goma, and that's not proving easy with heavy traffic, crowds of people and truckloads of soldiers everywhere.
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DR Congo: Patience January 21, 2009
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DR Congo: Plans Change January 20, 2009
I got up at 6:30 a.m., packed my bags, ate breakfast and sent off a flurry of emails this morning in preparation for our impending journey to Nyanzale. Our departure as part of a caravan of Mercy Corps vehicles was scheduled for 10 a.m., but various meetings kept delaying that departure.
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DR Congo: Fallen Leaders and Uncertain Times January 19, 2009
Today is a holiday throughout Congo to commemorate two fallen leaders: Patrice Lumumba and Laurent Kabila. But, in sharp counterpoint to Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the U.S., no one is really talking about this occasion's significance. It seems simply to be a day off.
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DR Congo: Just Below the Surface January 18, 2009
Goma is proof that appearances can be deceiving.