While we had hopped that we would see the end of the conflicts by now, quite the opposite has happened.

Eastern DR Congo is under attack by differents armed groups, and we call on our community to once again mobilize and support those in desperate need.

(Please scroll to the end for the latest updates on Aid distribution.)

In 2022, Uthabiti, our international community, and the provincial Ministry of Agriculture came together and raised 35,000 Euros for marginalized communities in North and South Kivu. Together, we supported hundreds of local people in dozens of communities with seeds and farming tools, food parcels, hygiene kits, school kits for vulnerable children, etc.

Now a war is spreading rapidly and displacing thousands of people. DR Congo currently has more than 5.7 million internally displaced people with more than 2.8 million malnourished children. The World Food Programme predicts that 26.4 million people will be acutely malnourished between January and June 2023.

More than 900,000 Congolese nationals are refugees in neighboring countries, while the DRC, already struggling with internal conflict, hosts more than half a million people, including refugees from Burundi, the Central African Republic and South Sudan.

Over the past week, since returning from the field after visiting some of the IDP camps, I have been in touch with our partner community leaders on a daily basis. Together, we decided that it was time to call our international supporters into action to provide vital resources as soon as possible.

This is a community-based fundraiser organized in partnership with communities in eastern DR Congo. While much of the international aid sent to DR Congo is concentrated in the cities, we channel aid directly to neglected communities outside the cities, primarily in rural areas.

We have lost just and innocent souls in these wars.

With tears in my eyes I recall the history of our people, a hospitable people.
We were at peace, all was well, we had enough to eat, we offered food everywhere to the poor, and gave food and shelter to refugees in our country. Our country took in refugees from neighboring countries who lived easily with us. Since the beginning of the conflicts in 1994, everything has changed; massive displacement of populations, uncontrolled killings, rapes, etc.
In only 25 years of repeated armed conflicts, the crisis has remained complex in the country.

Various armed groups have been active, resulting in the looting of citizens' property, massive destruction of social infrastructure and community livelihoods, with a great impact on children and women.
Since the beginning of 2022, more than one million people have been internally displaced. See: https://reliefweb.int/report/democratic-republic-congo/republique-democratique-du-congo-personnes-deplacees-internes-et-retournees-juillet-2022#:~:text=Since%20the%20d %C3%A9start%20of%20l,%20attacks%20and%20clashes%20arm%C3%A9s

Testimonies of victims of violence in Eastern DR Congo, during the visit of the Pope to DR Congo. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXKZYnHBAYQ

Why Uthabiti?

Uthabiti is a non-profit organization registered with the Congolese Ministry of Justice under N°JUST/SG/20/25.077/2021.

Uthabiti has supported locally initiated development projects by beneficiaries and promoted peace between different ethnic groups since 2018 in the provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu and Tanganyika.

Uthabiti is founded on a philosophy that aims to stabilize thousands of Congolese deprived of their basic rights, yet the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that "All humans are born free and equal in dignity and rights".
To support Uthabiti is to contribute to the stabilization of at least one household in Eastern DR Congo.

A new beginning for family resilience, peace and the fight against malnutrition in Kivu:

With the gradual return of displaced persons, we have benefited over the past year from the support of the South Kivu Provincial Ministry of Agriculture and have supported the stabilization of 235 smallholder households. Thanks to this funding, the accompanied families have access to a diversified diet thanks to various sources of income (agriculture, livestock, fish farming, beekeeping and income generating activities).
Read more: https://uthabiti.com/lutter-contre-la-malnutrition-des-enfants/
This has been an eye-opening experience for us.
The same association team that accompanied this project last year is now leading the community resilience program and we have a new and exciting idea: nutrition and peace sensitive agriculture, using our local approaches, in our country, to help our community. In 2023, we plan to accompany 700 of the most vulnerable smallholder households in the community with a comprehensive package contributing to nutrition, economic reintegration and peace promotion, in our area of operation, to help our people.

https://uthabiti.com/notre-equipe/

Our plan

We will be in constant communication with our partner communities and you, our donors and the East Congolese community. We will update you daily and in detail, sharing the real stories behind the headlines and health statistics.

We will focus our support on rural and marginalized communities. The priority groups are:

Single mothers and their children
Daily wage earners
Returned and displaced communities
Host families
Youth at risk of recruitment by armed groups
Girl mothers and survivors of sexual violence
Disabled and vulnerable people
Homeless people
Victims of gender-based violence
Communities marginalized by systematic societal

All distributions will be delivered in accordance with local lockdown regulations and with appropriate approvals from municipalities, local ward offices, police and local governments. Community leaders will coordinate the distribution with the assistance of press, media personnel and volunteers.

Why we need to raise more than €250,000 and what we will do with your contribution.

It costs money to bring anything to our long-standing conflict-affected communities.
We have already raised €5,000 this year in voluntary contributions from association members, but we need at least another €250,000 to complete this project with the 700 households we need to help.

We need your donations

We have a target fundraising goal of €250,000 - we know that with your support, we can reach and exceed this goal.

100% of funds will go directly to rural and marginalized communities in eastern DR Congo most affected by armed conflict.

Below are details of the expenses your donation will help cover:

- 84,000 € : Seeds for agriculture, fish farming and livestock for 500 beneficiaries.
- 45,000 € : Training and reintegration of 200 vulnerable girls and boys in non-agricultural trades (sewing, soap making, masonry, small trade, etc.).
- 25,000 € : Various capacity building workshops on agricultural, fish farming, livestock breeding, processing, conservation and marketing techniques, and nutrition.
- 15,000 € : Farming tools and seeds for school garden activities.
- 15,000 € : Farm equipment and tools.
- 10,000 € : Phytosanitary and veterinary products.
- 20,000 € : Building of a store of agricultural inputs.
- 15,000 € : Training, structuring and installation of 10 peace nuclei.
- 22,000 € : Salaries and charges for local workers.
- 3,500 € : Stationery, printer and computer.
- 5,000 € : Support for the operation of the office.

TOTAL COST: 259,500.00 €.

If we raise more funds, it will allow us to cover other needs such as educating children, providing a source of clean water to a community, etc., etc.

If you can't donate at this time, we understand, so please share this fundraiser because shares make such a difference.

Please contact us if you have any questions, requests or resources to share. If you have fundraising ideas you would like to work on with us, please contact us - we are looking for creative and innovative ways to bring global attention to the crisis so that together, solutions can be found.

For more information, visit: https://uthabiti.com/nos-projets/

Find out what your donation will do here: https://uthabiti.com/que-representent-vos-dons/

Please contact us if you have any questions, requests or resources to share. If you have fundraising ideas you would like to work on with us, please contact us - we are looking for creative and innovative ways to bring global attention to the crisis so that together, solutions can be found.

If you would like to make a donation by direct bank transfer, please send to
Bank: Trust Merchant Bank
Account name: RAVPSDI-UTHABITI
Account number: 00017-22000-21225570001-46; Swift code: TRMSCD3L; address: 1223, Av.Lumumba, Lubumbashi, DR Congo.

Direct PayPal can be sent to: info@uthabiti.com

Direct paypal link: https://lnkd.in/dpwjauJc

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