Earlier this year, Comfort International ran an emergency appeal for two urgent and important causes. We are excited to report on how your donations changed lives in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo in response to this appeal.
The first part of the appeal was to raise funds for those affected by devastating floods in Rwanda in May this year, which took the lives of over 130 people and destroyed the homes and livelihoods of many more. Our partners Good News International (GNI) and Comfort Rwanda requested funds to launch an immediate response to the great need amongst the communities in which they work. GNI have been working amongst communities in the areas affected for decades, and while we were relieved to hear that no one in these communities lost their lives in the flood; houses, fields, crops and livestock had been damaged or washed away in the flooding. Our partners at Comfort Rwanda also reported that Jackson, from the Gasanze Street Kids Rescue Project, had been staying with his mother in Kibuye when their home was destroyed in the disaster.
The second part of the appeal was in relation to a school across the border in Kambize, a very poor area in North Kivu, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Conflict in this area has been on a drastic upward curve as violence between rebel militia and government forces intensifies. Hundreds of thousands of families have been and continue to be displaced, leading to a humanitarian crisis. In the middle of this, many children don’t have the option to go to school, but the opportunity arose to partner with the Bank of Congo to build a brand new school for these children. We know that where there is education there is community, security and hope for a better future, and we are delighted to have begun construction on Kambize school.
Thanks to your generosity, this appeal raised £9,140!
Emergency Food Relief
Our partner Clement from GNI writes: When the floods and landslides hit on the night of May 2nd 2023, it was a big disaster in the northern and western provinces of Rwanda. There were about 136 people who immediately died during that night. About 5000 houses were destroyed and many families were forced to leave their homes because they were in a high risk zone.
Our communities of Mubuga and Gishyita were also affected because many of their fields and crops were washed away by the floods. This has caused a big shortage of food for many families for months following the floods. From the planting season which started in September, they have replanted in some fields which were still there, but there are other fields where everything has gone, which means that it will take some time to be able to plant in these fields. The good news is that this season seems to be better than many last seasons, and they are hopeful that from December they will be able to have enough food. Some weeks ago when we were talking with the community leaders they said that many families are very hungry these days because they haven’t got any harvest after the floods.
According to many people’s testimonies, it was very difficult for them to afford food as prices have also greatly increased at the market. For that reason, we decided to use the funds that were raised by Comfort International to buy food for all these families from Gishyita and Mubuga communities. The good thing was that some people who were not affected were also able to contribute 100kg of beans to give to their colleagues. These families were very happy to receive food and they thank Comfort International very much for supporting them with food. They said that the food they got will be enough until they start to harvest their fields in December. We were able to distribute food, including rice, beans and maize to 63 families from both Mubuga and Gishyita communities.
House Repairs
Many homes were destroyed in the May floods. When Brechin High School visited Mubuga with Comfort International in October this year they wanted to do something to help widow Agatha, whose house was in a terrible state following the disaster. They used money they had raised before their trip to pay for repairs and got stuck right in helping with the work!
Jackson from Gasanze Street Kids Rescue Project was staying with his mother in Kibuye when their home was destroyed by the floods. Below you can see the before (left) and after (right) pictures of their home following the repair. Both Jackson and his mother were unharmed and now living in their repaired home.
Your donations from the Summer appeal have truly changed lives in Rwanda, in both a short and long-term sense. The devastating effects of the floods in May cannot be underestimated, but neither can the impact of gifts given in love which have helped restore hope and security in a time of upheaval.
The other half of the appeal was designated to help build a school in Kambize, DRC. In our next blog, we will update you on the building work and the children and teachers who will benefit from the new building. Thank you again for all your kind donations.