MCC has been helping Congolese churches reach out to the displaced people in their communities. Today, 1,180 households are receiving monthly food distributions.<\/p>\n
Petronie Lusamba, a mother of four whose husband was killed in the violence, said the food has made a big difference.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy health and my children\u2019s health is so good because of the food. I thank MCC a lot,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Bolstering unity<\/strong><\/p>\n Learning to distribute food fairly and to plan for future projects has been beneficial for church relief committee members, said Mulanda Juma. As members worked together to decide where to distribute food, they had to face their own biases against other ethnic groups.<\/p>\n \u201cThe food assistance has created some kind of unity,\u201d Mulanda Juma said.<\/p>\n Back in school <\/strong><\/p>\n All three churches are helping displaced children move on with their lives by making sure they have uniforms and school supplies.<\/p>\n In February 2018, Kanku Ngalamulume told Mulanda Juma that he saw his parents and siblings being beheaded. He escaped to Tshikapa with some neighbours.<\/p>\n \u201cI have no hope for [any[ reason,\u201d he said. (See photo.)<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s healthy and smiling,\u201d says Matthieu Abwe Luhanglea, MCC\u2019s program manager in DR Congo.<\/p>\n Moving forward<\/strong><\/p>\n Small changes encourage Mulanda Juma as he works with the churches to address ongoing needs.<\/p>\n In addition to MCC, organizations supporting the churches\u2019 ministry to displaced people include Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission; Caisse de Secours, International Community of Mennonite Brethren (ICOMB); MB Mission\/Multiply; Mennonite Church Canada Witness; Mennonite Mission Network; Mennonite World Conference; and Konferenz der Mennoniten der Schweiz (Altt\u00e4ufer)\/Conf\u00e9rence Mennonite Suisse (Anabaptiste)<\/em>.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s making a difference,\u201d says Mulanda Juma.<\/p>\n \u2014Linda Espenshade is news coordinator for MCC U.S.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Strengthened by emergency food, 700 families displaced by violence in the Kasai region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) are preparing to plant crops and to raise pigs to support themselves. In partnership with Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) and other partners, three Mennonite World Conference member churches in DR Congo (Communaut\u00e9 des […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10882,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"network":[],"eventcategory":[],"class_list":["post-6790","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\u201cI](\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/rs93158_kanku_composite.jpg\")
Today, Kanku Ngalamulume is living with one of the relief committee members in Tshikapa. He has regular food and goes to school.<\/p>\n