Congo
In 2008 ZOA decided to launch a programme in the Democratic Republic of Congo in East Africa.
Since the 1990s, over three million people have fled conflicts, primarily in East Congo. Although large parts of the country are somewhat more stable since the 2006 elections, violence regularly flares up in the East of Congo between government soldiers and rebel factions. In the second half of 2008 this happened again in North Kivu Province. About 250,000 people fled. This led ZOA to team up with Tear, Woord en Daad, Red een Kind and Dorcas to launch an emergency relief campaign in the Netherlands. In Congo Tear carried out emergency relief projects in North Kivu.
Since the 1990s, over three million people have fled conflicts, primarily in East Congo. Although large parts of the country are somewhat more stable since the 2006 elections, violence regularly flares up in the East of Congo between government soldiers and rebel factions. In the second half of 2008 this happened again in North Kivu Province. About 250,000 people fled. This led ZOA to team up with Tear, Woord en Daad, Red een Kind and Dorcas to launch an emergency relief campaign in the Netherlands. In Congo Tear carried out emergency relief projects in North Kivu.
ZOA’s activities are focused on South Kivu, where the situation is relatively stable, although the consequences of the war continue to affect people’s lives. Farmland has been destroyed, and little remains of the social and economic infrastructure
Scarcity
Refugees are returning to South Kivu in droves, in part from Tanzania and Burundi. These returning refugees arrive at Lake Tanganyika, where several relief organisations have arrived to provide them with food, healthcare and education. These facilities and reports of scarcity in their own villages deter refugees from moving on. Sustainable development will not be feasible over the long term in a fairly small area, where increasing numbers depend on very few resources.ZOA is active in the Fizi region in South Kivu Province, where 85,000 returning refugees and displaced persons live. Over the next two years, their number will increase to 175,000. Approximately 90,000 refugees remain at camps in Tanzania. They will probably return in 2010. Virtually no support and few facilities are available for these returning refugees
Restoration of food security
Ninety percent of the Congolese subsist from agriculture, but the farmland is insufficient for the vast population. The most vulnerable groups among the returning refugees, such as women, children and the disabled, have a particularly difficult time supporting themselves. Virtually no international organisations help the population restore food security. Accordingly, ZOA has launched agriculture and food security projects to help these people.Directly to
Giro 550
Apeldoorn
Apeldoorn
