At the Don Bosco Ngangi mission in Goma, more than 3,500 families were already being cared for in a refugee camp that was set up in the football fields of the Salesian centre a year ago. ‘There are more than 30,000 people, mostly women and children. And these have been joined by more than 2,000 people looking for a safe place in these uncertain times,’ adds the Salesian missionary. In Don Bosco Ngangi, more spaces had already been prepared for the possible arrival of displaced people and ‘thousands of people have entered and occupied spaces in the football fields and also inside the building,’ he explains.
The country has already suffered more than 30 years of fighting involving more than 122 rebel groups fighting for control of minerals. The DR Congo has 80% of the world's reserves of coltan, which is so necessary for the batteries of electronic devices and electric cars. The population is suffering a continuous humanitarian disaster that worsened at the end of 2022 and that today leaves almost seven million people displaced and more than 25.4 million in need of aid to survive.
‘Goma is closed. There are no schools and the shops are not open... everyone is waiting to see what might happen,’ explain the missionaries from the city.
Among the many Salesian organisations and organisations that support the Salesian mission in Goma is the Salesian Mission Office MISIONES SALESIANAS in Madrid, which is committed to helping the Salesian missionaries so that they can attend to the needs of the displaced and also so that children and young people can continue with their education. ‘We have sent €170,000 to distribute food among the most vulnerable, especially many mothers with children in their care. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a country where more than 2.8 million children suffer from acute malnutrition,’ explains Luis Manuel Moral, director of MISIONES SALESIANAS.
Furthermore, with the support of MISIONES SALESIANAS, Salesian missionaries are attending to the Kanyaruchinya settlement for displaced people, with more than 75,000 displaced persons.
More information at: www.misionessalesianas.org
