Humanitarian Aid in Goma

Topics: Fighting poverty | Humanitarian crises

Where:

Goma, R.D. Congo

Target audience:

The most fragile families in the Goma refugee camps.

Who is following the project?

The friars of the OFM Province of St. Benedict the African.

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Background

The Democratic Republic of Congo, the second largest nation on the African continent, has suffered for decades from a condition of political and social instability that undermines the survival of the population itself. Thirty years of conflict have produced millions of casualties and hundreds of thousands of displaced people. The latter crowd vast and vulnerable refugee camps: attacks by forces vying for control of the country and its mineral resources do not stop even in the face of the misery of those who have lost everything.

The friars in the R.D. Congo

The Friars Minor, rooted in Congolese territory for more than a century, are now present in Congo with the provinces of St. Benedict the African and St. Mary of the Angels.

In 2023, friars from the Province of St. Benedict the African initiated a presence in Goma, a populous and troubled center on the border with Rwanda, for the purpose of assisting refugees housed in the 14 refugee camps established in the city. In 2024 the OFM Minister General, Friar Massimo Fusarelli, personally visited one of these refugee camps, where he was able to see firsthand the suffering of the people who were victims of one of the many forgotten wars.

The commitment of the friars

The friars in Goma offer constant support to a population exhausted by conflict and the insecurity of their refugee status in a borderland.

In particular, the friars distribute food to support families, especially those who also have to provide child nutrition. Rice, flour, corn, beans, sugar, and oil are basic elements to ensure the survival of hundreds of families without everything.

Enough food distribution is organized each month to feed 460 families for a month. Each shipment costs 30,500 euros, which is why the brothers are asking us for concrete help.