Nigeria surprised me!

Kiwis in Germany | THE HUB, Far from Home (first part)

DJI RONIN PICKUP(RAPSEED TV SPECIAL 1)

2017 New Year Celebration With My African Brothers!!!I love it.

The Beauty of My Africa!!!

Africa!!!Kigali to Congo

Hello from Germany

It is just few hours in the airplane and I seem to have entered a totally different world to the one I just left behind in the DRC. It is good to be a bridge builder!

Praise God for a smooth journey without any problems! I have arrived safe and sound

Even though far away, our hearts and prayer are with the people in the DRC and the work continues. 

Here is another picture from our time in the Congo. It was taken just few days ago.

Goodbye from the DRC!

Dear friends, 

this will be my last update from the beautiful Democratic Republic of Congo

We are reflecting back on...

... four weeks of God on our side guiding our every step...

... four weeks of learning and teaching...

... four weeks of trusting and rejoicing...

... for weeks of giving and taking...

and four weeks of so much more!

Matt was invited to speak at Chai Church in Bukavu every day throughout the past week. The message that God put on Matt's heart for the people here was about receiving forgiveness from and through God, who has saved us by grace so that we can rejoice in our salvation forever. In his teaching series "The Power of God for salvation" Matt focussed on "The power of God", "The debts of men and the payment of God", "Gather the wheat", "The burden of men and the offer of God". Through the teaching the Holy Spirit has inspired some pastors and people from church to form groups, like homegroups, to continue with what has been tought and live and spread the true word of God. So far these groups are lead by our translator Michel and a friend of ours, Baba Eli.

We were also invited to join a kids/teenage prayer meeting, also led by our friend Baba Eli, in a less privileged area of town. We did not expect what we then experienced that evening: a tiny room for 60 young people who were singing, praying, dancing and kneeling before the cross. We also experienced and intimate time together and shared the story of David and Goliath with them. A question Matt asked the kids is valid to all of us and also to you, who is reading the blog right now: What or who are the giants in your life? Do we put our trust in God for Him to take care of them? Among these beloved kids was a young man, who used to be involved in witchcraft, and his sister, who used to be a prostitute. God has changed both of their lives completely after they had encountered him. Matt and I praised God for a generation of Congolese who are dedicated to life a life for God. 

Interestingly we also had the opportunity to interview and talk to a guy, who has written his final paper at university on how the UN workers with muslim faith use their work and presence in the DRC as a channel to spread Islam within the region. As for now, we do not have any other concrete evidence, but as the regional minister of justice as well as Dr. Mukwege confirmed during an interview with us the past week, at least 14 mosques have been built within 5 years only in the area of Walungu (the traditional kingdom of my tribe), apparently through some dodgy food-money trade with local people and MUNESCO funds. Let us pray for the Word of God and the Works of God, the Three in One, to be manifested and lead to peace in the DRC!

On friday, we were invited to speak at ULPG, the Free University of the Region of Great Lakes, here in Bukavu. Again we were surprised by how many people came to listen to us - the auditorium was packed with people - professors, students, lawyer, community developers, nurses and many more. Again Matthew shared the Good News and with god-given authority proclaimed that God is in control of all spheres of society, whether it is the sphere of government, economy, science, health and so on. To our surprise many professors were willing to partner with us and invited us teach for a full week at a university in Goma next year!

The other day we traveled the road down to Ngomo. The purpose for that was for Matt to record and give an interview from inside the DRC along a road that a lot of rebels have traveled on. This interview will be shown at Liberty University in the US and is supposed to encourage Christians to discover the call God has for us to be involved around the world as a church and as christians not just in our own location where we are.

Now we are in Goma. The picture above was taken on the boat on our way there. We are staying at my cousins, Claude and his beloved wife's house. Today we met our friends from Focus:Congo, who continue with the work we are doing once I am not there. Skilled and ambitious young men who dedicate much of their time to take videos where soldiers fight in front lines, collect stories of hope and organize youth events. Only God can reward their work.

Tomorrow morning at 6am Matt and I will cross the border to Rwanda and our flights will leave in the afternoon. 

As I have said before, we have been immensely blessed. It was sad to leave my family but when I said goodbye on saturday evening I was touched to see the joy in their faces to have had me there for a short while.

Full of trust of hope, Matt and I, will leave the beautiful DRC and its vibrant people in God's hands until we meet again. 

Stay in touch with us - I am looking forward to be connected with you.

My thankfulness goes to all of you who have faithfully supported us throughout this time.

God bless, 

your friend Pappy Orion

Our journey continues...

Dear friends from all around the world, 

I am personally touched and amazed by your interest in the DRC, its people and the work that is being done here by so many, who are willing to invest into a radiant future of this nation and its people. Thank you for all your comments, like and shares.

To be honest, there is no better place to be where you are called to - even if it takes a lot of energy, compassion, patience, discernment and strength. In return though, it is a blessing to share love, smiles and moments of forgiveness and truth with people whom we encounter on the streets, in taxis, at the border, in churches, hospitals, in remote villages and the many more places we travel to.

It has been a week since I last updated you on what keeps us busy.

First of all, Matthew and I are blessed to have this time together and bond in our friendship. He is of a great blessing to me personally and a friend I treasure.

Last weekend, we travelled to Uvira to visit a good friend of mine in Uvira, Fahamu and wife Jonni. Even though Uvira is just about two hours down south of Bukavu, where we are at the moment, there is no direct road we could take within the Congo, so we had to cross into Rwanda and take bus a from there. We then again had to cross into Congo. As many may figure, it is not always easy to cross borders in Africa. With the history we share with Rwanda it is not easy for us Congolese to travel there - personally I always have to struggle with fear once I am on Rwanda. Also, crossing borders with a "muzungu" (white person) often happens to be another challenge. However, despite some interrogation by some border controls and after some time them asking us to pray for them - it happened to be and experience to love on our neighbours and live out reconciliation while uniting in spirit.

Our friends, Jonni (an American) and Fahamu, are pioneering Youth With A Mission Congo and have started their own ministries. We were blessed to have had the opportunity to join them on their trip to a remote village and be part of what is God is doing through them in the DRC. Together we travelled to Lemera and visited a pygmie village. The pygmies are small in size, usually do not interact with "mainstream" society and have experienced unspeakable cruelties during the war due to their otherness. It was an impressive experience to gain a deeper insight into their way of life, their daily challenges but also their resilience and capability of organising themselves and their community.

I think the most amazing encounter we had was when I approached a man and started talking to him. While talking to him we figured out he was the pastor of the local pygmie church. A humble man with a passionate heart for the Lord - it was a shock to all of us when we figured out he did not even have a bible. What a man to live out a calling using the little he has in his hands, leading a church and sunday services without an own bible! We invited him to join a local pastors meeting, where we were invited to speak and preach the next day. To have a pygmie pastor join a pastor gathering was a miracle on its own. God spirit was moving and touched many hearts - the many stories I could keep on telling are testimonies of what we experienced there.

My prayer is for God to continue his works also through the ministry of Jonni and Fahamu and continue with His plan to draw His people closer to Him and unite them in unity.

We are now back in Bukavu. Matthew has received many invitations to preach and speak at local youth groups and churches. The place where we are living has turned into a place where many people come visit us, share their stories, talk about life, eat together and share life with one another.

If I am not accompanying Matthew I am busy collecting footage for our documentary "Congo-The Place I Call Home". Together with Prince, another faithful and dedicated friend of mine, we travel places around town and collect precious insights into life in the DRC.

The next week we are planning to visit Goma - friends, family and build up connections with associations.

Thank you for again for your interest, your friendship and support. When life is overwhelming, the thought that so many are backing us up here in prayer and are behind us keeps us going. 

We are together - "Nous sommes ensemble" - this is the way Congolese people say good by to manifest togetherness.

Greetings to all of you, 

your friend Pappy

Join us on our journey to the DRC from July-August 2014

Greetings from the beautiful Democratic Republic of Congo!

I, Pappy Orion, hope this message finds you well. First of all I would like to apologize for not communicating earlier. The good news is that this is due to the fact that me and the team are very busy with ministries during our 4 weeks journey here in the DRC!

To start from the beginning: My journey started on Monday, the 26^th of July 2014 from Frankfurt (Germany) to Doha (Qatar) to Entebbe (Uganda) and finally to Kigali (Rwanda). In Kigali I spent a night at YWAM Kigali where I was joined by Ryan Carter, a photographer friend of mine from Australia currently working with YWAM Restenas (Sweden). The next day we started our journey to the DR Congo by bus from Kigali through the rain forest to Bukavu. There three other friends of ours from the US, Renee, Jonathan and Matthew, joined us. It has been a week since we arrived here in the DRC and it has really been a busy one.

On Thursday, the 24^th, we visited a local NGO called LAV (L’aissez l’Afrique Vivre), which is helping former child soldiers, raped women and vulnerable children. This was a great opener for us because here we learned about the value of forgiveness. We talked to a young lady who was raped by militia. We can see and hear from her story first hand that God has touched her heart and has given her the courage to work along side former child soldiers who might have been from the militia group that abused her. The DRC is full of such stories, but also stories of redemption, forgiveness and love. People slowly understand that the only medicine to healing their wounds is giving everything to Jesus Christ and believing in the power of the cross. This the message that we have been preaching throughout our time here in Congo. 

Apart from that we were invited at a wedding, invited to preach at three different churches and made to daytrips to remote and rural areas, Kalehe and Walungu, where we ministered to many living in the bushes and deep forests of the DRC where a lot of fighting is still taking place.

Having Ryan Carter here has also been of a great blessing. He has dedicated his time, finances, passion and skills to helping us with footage for our documentary and project “Focus:Congo”. Through the eyes of a lens and his pictures, I have again discovered and seen the beauty of my nation. Congo is surely one of the most beautiful countries on earth. Ryan has captured breathtaking moments and experiences during our journey. I can remember war him saying: “The people of Congo are beautiful and photogenic!”

This for me is what God has given us, the Congolese people, despite all the struggles, the war and desperation. There is joy and there are smiles on people’s faces, there is hope and there is brightness covering darkness. No matter how long the night, the day and sunrise is sure to follow. I believe it is time for the people of the Congo to walk in the light - the light that is leading to greater pasture. Transformation will happen in the DRC if those who believe in God’s power get touched by it and become actively involved!

Renee, was here for one week and was mostly working with “Chahi Hospital”, a hospital working in the outskirts of the city Bukavu, mainly focused on the treatment of malnourished children and pregnant women. It was a great blessing to have someone like her, who is experienced in this area and has a heart for people, become part of us for a week. On monday she was called to the hospital when a kid was brought there and was about to die. Renee rushed to the hospital and when she got there she realised that the child was given wrong medicine before he got to the hospital. She quickly intervened and miraculously the kid recovered. It gave us joy to see that God is using us here in Congo in different ways and spheres. We are six people on the team and each one of us with a different expertise. We have seen how much this dynamic is working out very well. We are all contributing to the team and making sure we are using our gifting to help the advance God’s kingdom.

Jonathan and Ryan have had lots of chances to preach the word of God in churches, Taxis and on the street. We are seeing people recommitting their lives to Christ by preaching the gospel, repenting from their sins and acknowledging the greatness of Christ. 

We have had lots of challenges as well. I came here with very little finance so I am only trusting God at the moment that He will provide for me to be able to accomplish what He has called me here at such time as this. We have had some challenges with the Police trying to bribe us, which we could not agree to but God nevertheless paved the way for us. We know that in all of this Jesus is still God and He is guiding us, providing for us and protecting us in all situations. We give glory to Him and keep on trusting that He will use us here in great and mighty ways. 

We have been travelling to places occupied by rebels and it went all well. We have seen the gospel being spread in these places. Today we are travelling to Uvira, a little town close to the border of Burundi. For some of you who have been watching the news the last month, there was a massacre in this town where the rebels came and slaughtered women, men and children. We have been invited by a couple, who is pioneering YWAM Congo at the moment, to do a pastor training and of course we will be there to encourage the people and help them realise that God cares for them and wants to have a relationship with them.

Please pray for us that God will be with us, protect today as we preach the Gospel and we would be tools for the Holy Spirit to do His works of redemption, healing and truth!

Thank you for all your friendship, support and love towards me and the people of Congo.

Blessings,

Pappy Orion 

Congo counter-insurgency commander killed in ambush

The colonel in charge of military operations against rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has been killed in an ambush along with three other soldiers.

Colonel Mamadou Ndala, who helped to secure the military defeat of the M23 rebel group in November, died of his injuries after a rocket attack on his vehicle near the village of Mazizi in North Kivu province, government spokesman Lambert Mende said.

His killing indicated the challenge facing DRC's government and the country's 21,000-strong UN peacekeeping mission in their efforts to pacify dozens of armed groups operating in the east of the vast central African nation.

"Colonel Mamadou Ndala has just passed away," Mende said. "We have not yet identified the attackers."

Ndala was in charge of tackling the ADF-Nalu rebels, a Ugandan group which has stepped up its attacks in eastern Congo this year and has been identified by a UN peacekeeping mission as one of the main obstacles to peace in the mineral-rich region.

ADF-Nalu has been blamed for a spate of recent attacks and kidnappings around the town of Beni in North Kivu, including the deaths of at least 60 civilians in two attacks last month.

Ndala was returming from Beni airport without a military escort, sources said.

Congo: The place I call Home teaser

Fighting for 3rd day between army and M23 rebels in eastern Congo

GOMA, Congo - Congo's army says its helicopter gunships have bombarded rebel positions during a third straight day of fighting between government forces and M23 rebels.

Congo's army said Tuesday rebels could be seen fleeing the bombardment.

Congolese Col. Mustapha Mamadou said the army was reacting to attacks while still complying with a February peace agreement. However a statement Tuesday by the South African army, which has a battalion with the U.N. mission in Congo, said Congolese army attacks on rebel positions Sunday and Monday were "predetermined."

Government forces say they have advanced some three kilometres.

Peace talks between the Congolese government and the M23 stalled again last week as the head of the M23 delegation complained that the head of the government delegation left the talks.

 

 

 

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Why President Obama Called Out Congo's Neighbors Without Mentioning Names?

President Barack Obama concluded his trip to Africa on Tuesday, July 2, 2013. After visiting Senegal and South Africa, President Obama's last stop on his African tour was in Tanzania where he visited President Jakaya Kikwete. Both President Obama and Kikwete have made auspicious statements regarding the crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Last week, President Kikwete called on both Rwanda and Uganda to enter into dialogue with their respective rebel militia who are present in the Congo instead of continuously utilizing rebel presence as a rationale for repeated interventions in the Congo.

On Monday, July 1, 2013 during his state visit to Tanzania, responding to a question from a Congolese journalist, President Obama said "The countries surrounding the Congo, they've got to make a commitment to stop funding armed groups that are encroaching on the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Congo."

President Obama's response is fascinating in two respects. First, in spite, of sixteen years of intervention in the DRC by U.S. allies Rwanda and Uganda, which has triggered the deaths of millions of Congolese, President Obama still did not mention either country by name; he merely uttered the phrase "Congo's neighbors." Secondly, while the U.S. has repeatedly acknowledged that its allies, Rwanda and Uganda are funding armed groups in the Congo, it continues to arm, train, finance and provide diplomatic and political cover for both countries.

Philippe Bolopion of Human Rights Watch says it best when he observed in a New York Times commentary: "So how do you get away with arming a rebel force that attacks U.N. peacekeepers, rapes women and recruits children? You need powerful friends, and Rwanda has had one. Born from the guilt of the Clinton administration's inaction in the face of the Rwandan genocide, and a recognition of Rwanda's relatively efficient use of development aid, the United States has proven to be one of Kigali's staunchest allies."

It would stand to reason that as the U.S. calls on its allies to cease funding of armed groups in the Congo, the U.S. itself would cease funding of Rwanda and Uganda as long as they continue fueling the conflict in the DRC. In fact, U.S. law calls on the Obama Administration to do as much.  Section 105 of Public Law 109-456, the law that President Obama sponsored as senator and co-sponsored by Hillary Clinton and John Kerry, authorizes the Secretary of State to withhold aid from Congo's neighbors, should they destabilize the country. The Obama Administration has yet to fully implement this law.

Pressure has been mounting around Rwanda and Uganda's support of militia gangs in the Congo. In light of the two UN Group of experts reports published in 2012, the United States government has said that "there is a credible body of evidence that corroborates key findings of the Group of Experts' reports - including evidence of significant military and logistical support, as well as operational and political guidance, from the Rwandan government to the M23." The administration response to the report has been a suspension of $200,000 of Foreign Military Financing provided to a Rwandan military academy and a phone call from President Barack Obama to Paul Kagame to discuss Rwanda's role in the destabilization of the Congo. Unfortunately, these small steps have not been enough to stop Congo's neighbors from intervening in the Congo, nor are they commensurate with the level of suffering the people of the Congo face daily due to the brutal killings perpetrated by militia gangs.

One of the key changes needed in U.S. policy in the Great Lakes Region of Africa is to cease its support of U.S. allies who are fueling conflict in the DRC. As he did in his 2009 trip to Ghana, President Obama repeated again during his Cape Town speech that "we are interested in investing not in strongmen but in strong institutions." However, the US government's continued support of strongmen in Rwanda, Uganda and DRC, stands in stark contrast to President Obama's declaration in Cape Town.

A second key change required in US policy is for the U.S. to in fact support strong institutions and democracy both in the Congo and the region.  The lack of democracy and democratic institutions and the militarization of the political spacein the region have been a major driver of the instability in the DRC, Uganda and Rwanda. These structural changes in U.S. Foreign Policy are vital steps needed to advancing peace and stability in the Congo and the Great Lakes region of Africa.

Despite the millions of Congolese who have perished in the past 16 years in what the United Nations says is the deadliest conflict in the world since World War II, the response from the United States in particular and other global leaders has been lackluster at best in the face of what is arguably the greatest human tragedy at the dawn of the 21st century. The recently initiated "Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Region," is one such example; as it fails to hold Rwanda and Uganda accountable, lacks a serious justice component, did not include the Congolese people in its development and mistakenly argues that legitimizing Rwanda and Uganda's looting of the Congo under the guise of trade and economic integration will bring stability.

The degree to which action has been taken, to hold aggressor countries like Rwanda and Uganda accountable has been a result of global pressure on world leaders by ordinary people.  We have repeatedly seen the constructive role that global pressure can play in advancing peace in the Congo. Recently, the UN Group of Experts on the DRC leaked a report documenting reduced support for Rwandan and Ugandan militias in the Congo. This is a clear sign that the pressure on the U.S. and its allies Rwanda and Uganda needs to be sustained and 

MINOVA: A place of beauty and treasures

Hello to all of you around the world who are following us on our journey... Here we go with another update.

Read our experience in Minova:

A beautiful landscape on the way to Minova

Driving to Minova took us about 6 hours. 

This journey truly made me aware of the unspeakable beauty of this place I call home. Driving along lake Kivu, through beautiful valleys and mountains full of palm trees, coffee plantations, tropical fruit trees... truly we could see how fertile this land is. If someone didn't know about what was happening out there deep in the bush, you would feel like being in a land somewhere close to paradise.
My brother Dejoie and I were in the humanitarian car of an organization AFEDEM, "Appui aux Femmes Démunies et Enfants Marginalisés",  together with four of its staff - a lawyer, a magistrate, the coordinator of the workshop and the head of the office at AFEDEM in Minova.

Getting to know the place  

We arrived on a wednesday afternoon. Before checking in at the place we stayed, we had a meeting at the MONUSCO office, who is in charge of the security within the region around Minova and furthermore was the sponsor of the event. Together we set the frame of the workshop and prepared the venue where the workshop would take place the next day. 

In the evening, my brother and I took a walk through city and we could both feel the heaviness upon this town which was reflected in the people's faces we saw on the street. On the road we randomly started talking to a citizen and who was willing to share his experiences of what life in Minova is like. Ever since the M23 invaded the town in December 2012 and committed a mass rape with more than 250 women, the people are constantly aware of the fact that the same thing could happen at any given time again. He didn't hide the tough reality of the place we were in and we started getting a glimpse of what we were about to encounter the next day

Unexpected surprise 

The next morning started off with a negative surprise for me.

 Broken Sony Z1 camera 

As we were getting ready for the day preparing to take some footage during the workshop, I opened my camera bag to double check my tools and found my big camera broken into pieces. It truly was a shock and so devastating for me, that I couldn't leave for the camp with the other workers, but had to stay back to get myself together and calm down for a bit. Until now we all have no idea of how it could have possibly happened, but as I was sitting in my room wondering and pondering of what to do about the camera, another thought came to my mind: I was reminded that I was there not just there to collect the stories with the eye of a lens but more importantly I came to listen to the cries of those affected, share with them the love they deserve and hope they need in order for their lives can be restored. My focus is on the people who are far more important in the eyes of God than my camera. It is legitimate to make a good film, but I am not supposed loose my focus on what really matters. This is when I could finally stand up with refreshed joy and head to the place where the workshop took place.

Educating and creating awareness 

the workshop at the catholic parish in Minova

As I arrived, the participants had already arrived and the traditional chief and chief of police of were welcoming the people. The first interactive session was led by the lawyer of AFEDEM who asked questions like: 

What is rape? Who can be raped and who can commit rape? How can one prevent him/herself of getting raped? 

The answers given by the women of Minova were collected and together we worked out a common understanding of how sexual abuse is to be perceived and treated. 

The second session was held by a representative of MONUSCO who explained the mandat of MONUSCO in the protection and reinforcement of the rights of women in the DR Congo. Together we elaborated on what are the rights of women, their position and value in society and where they can seek help from if their rights are violated. While the focus of the workshop was mainly supposed to be on the rights of women, throughout the discussion several men shared their testimony of how they got raped by different armed groups. Again this made everyone aware that the problem is much more complex and from then on the focus was equally on men and women affected by sexualized violence.

 working on solution to fight sexual violence

The last session was dedicated to give the participants a platform to ask individual questions that had not been answered throughout the course of the workshop. Also the group was divided into four sections were they were asked to give recommendation of how they think the UN and other international NGOs could intervene better on their behalf.

The workshop was closed by the commander of the MONUSCO, who again explained the role of MONUSCO and how they can be approached to seek help from.

  Refugee camp 

kids at the refugee camp outside Minova

In the evening we visited a smaller refugee camp outside of Minova, where we just talked to the people and spend time with them. Surprisingly the people were very open with us and shared their desperation and stories. When the children saw us coming they ran towards us shouting with joy to receive visitors. These people have lost almost everything, lost their homes, some of them lost their family members, they have no sufficient food and clothes, no access to education or a clean environment, yet they have not given up the hope to one day find themselves back where they belong.

Precious treasure 

The next day early morning before leaving Minova, we went to the market to buy food to take home with us to Bukavu. As Minova is one of the most fertile areas in the whole region, the market is full of women who are busy selling their goods. In my mind I was thinking: Africa, Congo, wake up. Don't you see the important role women are playing in our society? African, Congolese women are the cornerstones of our society. Day in day out they are giving their everything, doing hard work to sustain their families and children back home. Women have suffered enough, for how long do we want to ruin our own society?

This were the impression me and my brother took home to Bukavu.

Side road market 

Soon our stay in the Congo is coming to an end and we are really busy following up cases and get our research done. As we have successfully established a network and contacts with different people and organizations, we are now ready to start doing our first round of interviews. Unfortunately we are a bit handicapped since we have no sufficient tools to capture footage for the documentary, as our big camera is broken. If you feel called to support us towards a new camera, please do contact us as soon as possible.

Much Love from Congo

Congo losing a generation to war, says bishops’ conference president - June 19th, 2013 By Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON – Congo is losing a generation to war over diamonds and other minerals in the country’s eastern regions, said the president of the nation’s bishops’ conference.

 “We are losing a generation. That’s true,” Bishop Nicolas Djomo Lola of Tshumbe, Congo, told Catholic News Service June 4. “A lot of children have not gone to school because of that. It’s terrible.” 

However, while peace is being sought for eastern Congo, Bishop Djomo said he prefers a nontraditional approach.

 “We don’t think that negotiating directly with the rebels right now is something which is useful,” he said. “We are asking to negotiate also with the neighboring countries. Some of them are backing the rebels. It’s very important. The rebels are instrumented (supplied) by some countries.

” The bishop did not name those countries, but Rwanda and Uganda have denied international charges that they supported the rebels in eastern Congo. In the past, Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe have backed the government.

 Bishop Djomo was in Washington as part of a tour of Western nations, during which he hoped to generate support for a peaceful resolution to the conflict, which began in 1996. 

He told Catholic News Service the effects of the war are readily visible.

 “We have 2 million displaced people. Two million people fled the villages without any possibility to cultivate (land). And the international community is not able to feed all of them. People in camps don’t have (enough) food,” he said.

 “At the same time, the education system doesn’t work,” Bishop Djomo added. “Imagine the children in this area. They are not able to go to school. That’s terrible for us. For the last 15 years, women are raped and they are not able to be in security.” 

Issues of human rights and poverty are connected to the war.

 “The Catholic Church is questioning the government so that human rights will be respected, and we spoke to the government ... asking to making to make things more transparent,” Bishop Djomo said. “We have even met with the (Congolese) president over that. So we know that without respecting human rights, it’s very difficult to end the war, the instability.”

 He added: “We need our military to be more respectful of human rights and the justice against the corruption. That is a very, very important issue for the church and we are working hard.”

 Poverty, according to Bishop Djomo, is “a huge challenge. Fighting the armed groups, it’s absolutely necessary to work for development – to support development in that area, because poverty is dangerous. And it’s engendering the violence.”  

 From June 21, 2013 issue of Catholic San Francisco. - See more at: http://www.catholic-sf.org/ns.php?newsid=2&id=61536#sthash.GAwBnx2n.dpuf

The Trouble With Congo Is Deep and Widespread by Obadiah ndiaba ( huffingtonpost)

Conventional wisdom about the Democratic Republic of Congo make us believe that the trouble with Congo lie in the east of the country alone. That is wrong and dangerous. Like a wrong diagnosis of a disease, it leads to wrong prescription and medicine. In many ways, the newly touted United Nations (UN) intervention brigade is based on this kind of wrong diagnosis and bad prescription. The UN, with its unmatched clout in Congo, should focus in curbing the predatory Congolese state, rather than promote it, and provide help in developing better institutions for the country to stand on its own feet - instead of going to war with Congolese people, most of whom have legitimate demands and rights to be enraged with the current situation.

In Eastern Congo, the media narrative has focused on the M23, merely the tip of an iceberg, considering the number of rebel groups that continue to cause untold human suffering to the people of Congo. A recent Oxfam report depicts a map of major rebel groups in Eastern Congo that the BBC dubbed "D.R Congo's Kaleidoscope." Tragically, media watchers seldom hear news coverage of these armed groups causing havoc to civilians. The lone exception is the rape narrative, and makes no mistake; rape is a common weapon of war in Congo.

Conservative estimates say there are over thirty active armed groups in the East, such as The Patriotic Front for Change (FPC), Raïa Mutomboki (Which literally means: People Get Angry!), Ecumenical Force for the Liberation of Congo (FOLC), Allied Democratic Forces, more than a dozen of Maï-Maï armed militias, another half a dozen of regional armed groups such as the Rwandan FDLR, the Burundian FNL and the Ugandan LRA of Joseph Kony, and countless others. Maï-Maï groups might soon face a shortage of names (Maï-Maï Asani, Maï-Maï Mayele, Maï-Maï Zabuloni, Maï-Maï Kifuafua, etc.).

Armed groups and militias in Congo are like a cluster of businesses in a special tax-free economic zone. That should not surprise anyone since the government is nonexistent, except its untidy army constantly accused of rape, harassment and rampant corruption within its ranks. The other exception of government presence seems to be in the shoddy mining deals by government officials, costing the country billions of dollars according to the latest Kofi Anan's Africa Progress Panel.

A white paper produced by the Enough Project explains how the Congo wars of 1996 and 2003 opened the door for armed groups to take advantage of the absence of a functioning security system in the east. There is no army or police, so armed renegade commanders are mushrooming in the country in the name of providing protection to people and turf control.

The Oxfam report puts Congo's ragtag army and rebel groups in the same scandalous category, since both are "mercilessly exploiting local communities to help fund their war."

Security and humanitarian issues are not exclusive to the East of the country; they are now widespread in a number of other provinces as a result of complete lawlessness in the country and lack of government presence.

In the resource-rich province of Katanga, the mining hub of copper, cobalt and home to the biggest mining operations in the country, a separatist movement called Kata Katanga (Meaning 'Cut Katanga' in Swahili) battled government soldiers near the city of Lubumbashi over the past weekend and left scores of people dead. Last March, the same group had mounted an attack in the city before surrendering to the UN peace-keeping mission in an apparent suicide of a group of people with no hope for a future. At least 35 people were reported to have died and the government declared a curfew in the city and its surrounding areas for a number of days. Local officials and some provincial parliamentarians are blaming the attacks on 'misery' and the 'absence of state authority.'

An inquiry of the National Assembly produced a report in which it warned the government that Katanga is a 'sleeping volcano' whose eruption will cause damage. Well, it is already causing untold damage to civilians, 23,000 of whom fled their homes and 16 burnt alive over the past weekend alone .

The United Nations (UN) has declared a humanitarian crisis in Katanga province, noting, "Katanga is turning into a province that requires the same amount of attention as the Kivus." The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimates that there have been over 316,000 displaced people since January 2012 in the southeastern part of Katanga province alone. The insecurity in Katanga seems to be worsening, fueled by disenfranchised youths who accuse the government of cronyism and rampant corruption in managing resources. They want to take matters in their own hand. Maï-Maï 'Tigers,' another armed group in Katanga province, has been attacking army posts and causing havoc to local populations.

In the Province Orientale, recurrence of clashes between the army and militias continues, albeit, off the radar of media coverage. The territory of Ituri is now literally under the control of armed bandits, not even structured armed groups.

Pole Institute, an intercultural center for peace in the Great Region of Africa, recentlyconcluded that the problems of insecurity in Congo are a consequence of "bad governance" and the "absence of the state." Unless Congo acts as a functioning country with institutions, such as a serious army, to provide security to its own people, Congo is proving that, in fact, it does not exist as a coherent state. The United Nations presence in Congo shouldn't shield such a government, rather it should work to address the deep governance issues facing the country -- it is only the way to end the conflict if Congo is to survive as a functioning and coherent state.