All across the world we are seeing communities displaced by war, turmoil and violence. These families leave everything they have and all that they know behind and to live as refugees, oftentimes far from home. Many find themselves in crowded displacement camps with no possessions and no idea what might come next for their families. In these camps Lutheran World Relief shows up with the aim to provide safety and care to heartbroken families- providing them with basic necessities, saving and investment programs, and various symbols of love (such as quilts and care kits) from Lutheran communities all across the globe. This support can help families to regroup and start working towards a new future for them and their loved ones. This year our campaign is to help support the work of LWR in these displacement camps, in places such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Ecuador and Lebanon. LEARN MORE
After five years of inactivity, the infamous M23 rebels became active again in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2022. Since then, millions of people in the country’s eastern region have had to flee their homes for safety. Many end up in crowded displacement camps, empty-handed after fleeing on a moment’s notice. Fela Mbahibwe’s husband was killed when her village was attacked last year. She tied her children together and ran, eventually ending up at a camp near Goma. Here, families have to pick up the pieces with few resources, and diseases like cholera spread quickly due to a lack of clean water and poor sanitation facilities.
“When we arrived here, we didn’t have anything,” Fela recalled. “We slept outside. We got rained on. We started building temporary shelters from shrubs that we collected, just to get a place to lie down.”
Lutheran World Relief has a long history of working in eastern Congo. For displaced families like Fela’s, LWR has provided LWR Quilts & Kits, food, kitchen supplies, wash basins, soap and other essential items to help meet their basic needs. LWR also built sanitary latrines and handwashing stations to support healthy hygiene in the camps, as well as launched and supported Village Savings and Loan Associations to help families save money and invest in launching small businesses.
“Thank you for all the work you did for us,” Fela said. “We don’t have any other help. We only have you.”
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A member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America.