In the midst of the ongoing conflict in DRC, World Vision continues to provide assistance but the need remains great

“My prayer is that the war will end and I will go home”, says Anita, 25, an internally displaced person and mother of three boys.

Since the beginning of 2023, the conflict has intensified in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. More and more people from Masisi territory are abandoning their villages to take refuge in the city of Goma.

“In our village of KARENGA, my husband was a motorcyclist and I used to sell charcoal and farm to feed my children. But since we fled, we are exposed to the cold and we are very hungry”, declares Anita, mother of six-month-old Jospin, who can no longer find the mother's milk in her hungry mother's breasts.

According to the Human Rights Watch report of 6 February 2023, more than 520,000 people have been displaced to flee the atrocities in the territories of Rutshuru, Nyiragongo and Masisi.

Humanitarian assistance is the only means of survival for these displaced people, but the aid available does not cover their basic needs.

Among them are young children, pregnant women and people with disabilities.

These people are leaving their homes and occupations to live under a leaky roof, exposed to the weather and disease.

World Vision, through its Response Programme, is helping the displaced with WASH kits, cash and food.

Since the beginning of the crisis, 8729 kits and 1712 tons of food have been distributed.

But with the growing number of displaced people, the means available are still insufficient and require immediate action to prevent and combat malnutrition and other diseases.

“I am happy today because World Vision is providing us with household essentials. This is the first assistance I have received since I fled my village a fortnight ago” notes Anita.

I pray to World Vision to bring us food because we are starving," she adds.