You likely haven’t heard the name Rubaya, but you are probably holding a piece of it right now. Rubaya matters to the world, it matters to Comfort International, and we really want it matter to you. Please read on.
This community produces 15% of the world’s coltan—the mineral that powers our phones and electronics. While we stay connected, Rubaya is being engulfed by a succession of tragedies. Mineral conflict massacres, 30 years of successive wars and now, four massive landslides have devastated the region in just two months.
- January:Â Two landslides claimed 440 lives.
- Early March:Â A third landslide killed around 200 people and a fourth landslide destroyed a village of 1,000 homes.
- The Toll:Â It is difficult to know how many have died in the four disasters but estimates suggest around 700 dead in those disasters, including 67 babies and children but many bodies have not yet been recovered.
In 2018 a mineral conflict dispute led to a massacre and, when our partner Comfort Congo were called to help by treating the survivors at the Central Hospital of Rusayu, God touched our hearts with compassion for a community whose lives were being bought, sold and lost in the mines and wars of Congo. Now, eight years later, we want to stand shoulder to shoulder with a devastated community which urgently needs food, clean water, and shelter for those who have lost everything.
How you can help:Â Please pray! Prayer is our most powerful and effective means of helping anyone. Please also give financially through the link below. There are huge needs in this devastated area, anything that you can donate towards helping will be gratefully received.
Please join us in reaching out to support a community that has given the world so much.
Families have watched their homes, their belongings, and even their basic toilets wash away, leaving them with nowhere safe to sleep. It’s the mothers, children, and elderly who are the most affected. Immediate humanitarian assistance is required to provide shelter, food and safe water and to prevent further health and safety risks. People are living in extreme distress, lacking food, clean water, clothing, and medicine. Waterborne diseases are spreading due to a lack of proper sanitation.Â
The immediate focus of Comfort Congo is:
- Provide emergency shelter and household items to affected families.
- Improve access to food and clean water.
- Support community recovery and resilience.
- Provide psychological, emotional and spiritual support to survivors.
Comfort Congo will especially help 300 households who have lost everything – homes, belongings, and the lives of family members Around 1,800 people from those households will directly benefit from this appeal, with the priorities being female – headed households, children, the elderly and disabled individuals. Another 3000 people will be supported with other help such as clean water and emergency needs.
Sadly, this is not the first emergency situation Comfort Congo have provided support in. This does mean that they have the experience and knowledge to provide this support well. The support will be used for the following immediate needs with further funds being raised later to implement mine stabilisation features.
- Emergency Relief Distribution
- Distribute food packages for 3 months
- Distribute non-food items (blankets, kitchen sets, mats, buckets)
- Emergency Shelter Support
- Provide tarpaulins and shelter kits
- Support temporary shelter construction
- Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)
- Provide clean water containers
- Distribute hygiene kits
- Conduct hygiene awareness sessions
- Psychological and Community Support
- Provide counseling for affected families
- Organize community support groups