The situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) east is getting worse. The major armed force among the hundred rebel groups operating in the area, the March 23 Movement (M23), is moving closer to South Kivu’s capital, Bukavu.
Local Ordinary of Goma Diocese, Bishop Ngumbi discussed the severe humanitarian catastrophe brought on by the violence in an interview with ACI Prensa. “A lot of people have died,” he said. Numerous structures, including hospitals and schools, have been demolished. Food, water, and electricity are all gone, and the situation is dire. Banks are closed, and people lack money. Getting food is a major issue for parents.
Several Catholic Church-run buildings have been damaged by the bombs, including the Charity maternity facility in Goma, which Bishop Ngumbi initially visited after returning from Europe. The bishop told ACIprensa “One of the bombs fell on the neonatology unit. Mothers are traumatized. I told myself that it was a miracle that more newborns didn’t die.”
Bishop Ngumbi has looked for ways to bring about peace amid the ongoing turmoil. He was part of the delegation from the Church of Christ in Congo (ECC) and the National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO) that met with Corneille Nangaa of the Alliance Fleuve Congo party (AFC/M23), a coalition of rebel groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on February 12 to discuss a “social pact for peace and harmonious coexistence in the DRC and the Great Lakes region.”