The second largest country of Africa, full of paradoxes. On one hand, it is rich in natural resources (including cobalt, copper, coltan, crude oil, diamonds, gold); on the other hand, its inhabitants are among the poorest in the world. For decades, the DRC has been suffering from prolonged conflicts that have led to one of the most severe humanitarian crises in the world.
01.02.2025
There is nothing about war that serves humanity. Since Saturday, we’ve been following reports of the M23 rebellion surrounding Goma, which on Sunday morning launched its final assault. Within two days, the capital of North Kivu fell and is now entirely under the control of the armed group. Hospitals are overflowing with patients suffering from head and chest injuries. Bodies lie in the streets, passed by terrified people searching for safety. We don’t know how many lives have been lost — no one is counting them yet. By morning, the intense fighting had ceased. The occasional gunshots are now from looting, not battles over strategic positions. Those are already in M23’s hands.
The city has been cut off from cell service, electricity, and water, pushing it into chaos and to the brink of a humanitarian disaster. Helping its residents will now be the greatest challenge, given the uncertainty surrounding the city’s current status.
“Our driver managed to get out of the city. He’s on his way to the hospital. I told him to go straight home,” reports Sister Agnieszka from Ntamugenga. “I wanted to check on others — everyone has someone in Goma — but I couldn’t reach a single person. We’re waiting in uncertainty to see what happens next.”
Children are always the first victims of war. Joshua came to us a few days ago in a state of severe malnutrition, showing clear signs of starvation. War turns lives upside down — and in this part of the world, life has already long been marked by poverty and suffering. Mined farmland, artillery fire, and unpredictable troop movements are the backdrop to daily life for millions. When we look at our young patients, we sometimes wonder which has the greater impact: a shell crashing to the ground or a mother’s heart breaking as she’s unable to give her beloved child the most basic care. We can do everything for these children: feed them, restore their lives, and give them back their childhoods. What do we need? You.
Support our hospital and nutrition center in Ntamugenga — right in the heart of one of the world’s biggest humanitarian crises. The region is burning once again. We can’t just stand by and watch Joshua suffer. Right here — where war and death have taken hold — we still have the power to do good.
01.07.2025
You can see war and hunger in Amina’s eyes. No child anywhere in the world should have either of those reflected in their gaze. But on the outside, she’s just a small girl whose eyelashes, eyebrows, and hair have taken on the color of rust. Nature brands its children touched by hunger with the color […]
09.06.2025
“When a child is dying, you die with him. You can’t stand by without feeling anything,” says Sister Agnieszka, who has been caring for Barata for over three years. “I first saw him in February 2022, on World Sick Children’s Day. He was barely breathing, so swollen from heart failure.” Barata’s mother sits by his […]
06.06.2025
Yesterday, a mother arrived at our center with her three-year-old son. She had no money for transport, so she walked for several days. The child had been eating only local starchy plants for weeks. The parents have very little, though they once had enough to get by. Their goats—their only possessions—were lost during the worst […]