Rebuilding Lives in Hard Places

Mary is a 60-year-old mother living in Luhwhindja, a beautiful town in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The town was decimated by a war that claimed 4 million Congolese between 1997 and 2007. Many of Mary’s friends and family died in combat. Others succumbed to disease, malnutrition, starvation and dehydration.

Rebel groups ravaged Luhwhindja on many occasions, once paralyzing Mary’s arm. The rebels abducted and brutalized children to turn them into ruthless solders. They also raped women and girls and took or destroyed any semblance of abundance. The land was fertile, but crops only invited a rebel raid.

With so much destroyed and plundered, a fragile peace agreement did little to improve Mary’s situation. She had no livestock, food, seeds or tools and no road on which to go get life’s necessities even if she could afford to buy them.

Food for the Hungry repaired and constructed roads and then distributed seeds and farming tools, as well as helping form several community gardens.

As her children play behind their house, Mary surveys her crops through misty eyes. “God and God alone has given us this gift,” she says simply.

What We Do

Economic Development & Livelihoods: Fish farming, goat, sheep and guinea pig distributions.

Agriculture & Environment: Seed and tool distribution, seed fairs, advanced farming techniques, cassava seed multiplication of disease resistant varieties.

Emergency Relief: Emergency food distribution, emergency feeding centers.

Health & Nutrition: Distribution of vitamin-enriched food for malnourished children, guinea pig distribution for mothers with malnourished children, nutrition education.

Infrastructure: Road and bridge rehabilitation.

Water & Sanitation: Capping water sources, building wells and latrines.

More than a decade of war destroyed the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) infrastructure, and the livelihoods of entire families due to pillaging and theft. The absence of roads and bridges hampers commerce and isolates entire regions from aid. Food availability is a grave challenge for many Congolese. Child mortality is unusually high, due to malnutrition and water-borne diseases. Unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation cause 80 percent of all illness and disease and kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war. Continued armed conflict in eastern DRC regularly forces hundreds of thousands of Congolese to flee their homes, escalates sexual violence against women and children, and forces children as young as 10 years old to fight as soldiers.