[Anglican Alliance] Thousands of people of the Democratic Republic of Congo are on the move following widespread conflict. The Anglican Bishop Bahati Bali-Busane Sylvestre from the Diocese of Bukavu, Anglican Church of Congo has appealed for prays and support for the internal displaced people who are arriving to his diocese and are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance: “The diocese of Bukavu recognizing the holistic mission of the Church is humbly requesting prayers and any kind of support so that the vulnerable victims can get relief through the Church”.

Simultaneous humanitarian crisis are present in different parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Confrontations between different armed groups continue in various regions including Nord and South Kivu and the border with South Sudan and the Central African Republic. The consequences on civil population are devastating, in particular on children and women: killings, massacres, rapes, mutilations and hundreds of internal displaced people.

Poverty, lack of basic services, regular epidemics such as cholera and measles, food insecurity, poor infrastructure, limited access to remote areas, attacks to aid workers and on top of it lack of attention from the international community result in this very precarious situation for Congolese people. You can read more about this situation in the Humanitarian Report of the European commission (English) and the Bulletin hebdomadaire (French) of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Episcopal Relief and Development has made a donation to the Dioceses of Bukavu to respond to this emergency.

Bishop Sylvestre is asking for help for communities in the Bukavu area, within the South and North Kivu provinces where the security situation has dramatically worsened. (Map of the humanitarian crisis). He is planning to implement a response as outlined on the Anglican Communion website here.

Objective of the response: to assist displaced communities by providing both food and basic hygiene supplies.

Targeted area: villages of Bukavu, Rutshuru, Masisi, Bunyakiri, and Kalonge

Targeted community: families displaced hosted by other families

Number of beneficiaries: 517 families which include 702 children and 89 pregnant women or new mothers

Time frame: July – August 2012

Who is responsible for implementing the response: Diocesan Emergency Committee

If you would like to contribute to this appeal, please send your donations to the following account of the Province of the Anglican Church of Congo:
Account Name:     PROVINCE DE L’EGLISE ANGLICANE DU CONGO
Bank Name:          RAWBANK
Account Number:  01000114503-41
Currency:               $US
Swift Code:            RAWBCDKI
Address:                 BP 2499; KINSHASA 1
REPUBIQUE DEMOCRATIQUE DU CONGO

The Diocese of Bukavu will provide updates about the evolution of the situation and how resources have been used to respond to this emergency. The Anglican Alliance will post the report back on this appeal.

This is a pilot for the relief guidelines and online forms which are being developed by the Anglican Alliance.

If you wish to make a comment on the guidelines or on this appeal, please contact: tania.nino@aco.org