Crisis Response

Fleeing to a New Refugee Camp

At the start of the war, our people from Luhonga fled to a place called Bulengo, where there is a massive refugee camp. This is where our Primary Caregivers and Care Workers are now and where they are feeding the children.

When the war got close to the community of Katembe, the people fled to a place called Sake in late 2023. In February, everyone from the refugee camp in Sake as well as everyone who lived in Sake fled to Goma, but the Bulengo camp had no space for them so they found another open piece of land where a new refugee camp is busy forming. This is new refugee camp is called Sam-Sam. It is smaller but still houses tens of thousands of people. The most vulnerable families that we are serving and the Care Workers are among the large number of people who have fled and formed this new camp due to the M23 invasion and bombings in Sake.

We have tried to keep all of our children, their families and the Care Workers from Katembe together. Within this big piece of land of Sam-Sam, we have found one piece on the edge of the area. This is where everyone is building their temporary home (tent like shacks).

There is a small wooden house here which has been turned into a Care Point. This is where we will build a simple fence made of canvas around the house to demarcate the Care Point as a place of safety and we will dig a toilet here. This is that place where we feed the children. They receive porridge in the morning and lunch at the Care Point.

Katembe Update

We had just run out of food at the Katembe Care Point. By a complete miracle we managed get food through to the village Katembe. We just heard that Mutobe has arrived safely back with food. Mutobe is a hero! He's the man from that village that when armed men stormed the village earlier this month he refused to run so he could guard the childrens food. Today, at huge risk to himself, he travelled down the mountain through armed militia to try to collect food. On his way back he was stopped by armed men who wanted the food but he managed to get through. This was completely impossible two days ago and likely impossible tomorrow as well. An amazing answer to prayer. Thanks for praying.

Aljazeera: The cost of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s war with M23

Aljazeera: The cost of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s war with M23

The DRC’s Minister of Communications, Patrick Muyaya, on the fighting in his country and Rwanda’s role in the conflict.

Continuing fighting in the resource-rich Democratic Republic of the Congo, between the army and the Mouvement du 23 Mars, or M23, has left hundreds dead and millions displaced in the country’s eastern provinces.

The Globe and Mail: Refugees flee as M23 offensive moves closer to key city in eastern Congo

The Globe and Mail: Refugees flee as M23 offensive moves closer to key city in eastern Congo

Thousands of panicking people are fleeing from a strategic town in eastern Congo as a Rwanda-backed militia group pushes closer to sealing off the last road exit from Goma, the provincial capital and biggest city in the region.

Videos on social media showed an exodus of exhausted women and children from the town of Sake, a key crossroads west of Goma. Old people staggered under the weight of mattresses and sacks of belongings, children carried infants on their backs, farmers pulled goats and young men pushed bicycles and wooden scooters overloaded with bags.

Join Us in Prayer

Yesterday, in the mountainous region of Katembe where Hands at Work established a Life Centre in 2021 and where we are caring for 100 orphaned and vulnerable children, violence spread so close to the village that people were forced to flee on foot for their lives. Grandmothers and children are scattered down the mountain and Hands at Work are desperately searching for those who will not survive without support and care.

Please pray for the community of Katembe, for our children and their Care Givers including the very elderly and sick. Pray for our local team on the ground to locate those who had to flee. Pray for peace to reign in and around Katembe.

To learn more about the escalating crisis in Goma, please visit this trusted site:
Al Jazeera: The cost of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s war with M23

Please pray for peace and stability in the region, the protection of the most vulnerable who are caught in the crossfire, and the hearts of those engaged in the conflict to be opened to the saving grace of Jesus. If you are moved to support our ongoing work in the DRC financially, please click on the link at the bottom of this page.

Malawi in the Wake of Cyclone Idai

As a result of Cyclone Idai, many homes were destroyed and many of the communities in Mozambique and Zimbabwe are facing a total loss of their harvest. This will have a devastating impact in the year to come, as many will face a twelve-month-long hunger season.

In Malawi, many homes were destroyed but uniquely, there exists a certain resilience amongst families. All of the families that Hands at Work are serving are currently under shelter, however some of the situations are fragile.

Mildred* and her grandchildren’s house was completely destroyed by Cyclone Idai. Thankfully, she lives on a homestead, typical of families in rural Malawi. While they rebuild, they are able to stay in the home of another family member who lives on their homestead. In communities like Mildred’s, many homes are made with mud bricks which were eroded by the unyielding rains caused by the cyclone. And then, during the night, one of the walls of Mildred’s home fell down. The family scrambled to save what they could before the rest of the home completely collapsed. Today, only the foundation remains.

In Malawi, homesteads are a grouping of small houses on a single property. Extended family live on this property with a communal kitchen shared by everyone. Because the family lives together, the homestead offers some level of resilience. As there are multiple dwellings on one property, families have a place to stay while they come together to rebuild their own homes.

The period between now and October is ideal for building; the rains have ceased and it is currently dry. Families, Care Workers, the local Hands at Work team in Dedza, alongside the Regional Support Team are working to rebuild the houses on homesteads where the worst of the living situations exist. They continue to build resilience, strengthening homesteads and family units.