Close-up action medeor

“At first, we only heard the rattling of the guns. Then everyone started running. I grabbed my three children and ran. My husband was shot.” That’s what a mother from Bukavu, a city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo now under the control of the M23 militia, tells us.

Stories like this help us understand why people leave everything behind and walk for days towards the border. Why they board overcrowded boats to cross Lake Tanganyika – not knowing if they will make it to the other side alive. Why they flee to a desperately poor neighboring country from which many had recently fled themselves in large numbers due to poverty and injustice.

Escaping violence only to die of cholera?

“People have heard what happened in Goma and other cities taken by the M23 militia: looting, executions, rape. That makes even an overcrowded camp in Burundi seem like the lesser evil,” says action medeor staff member Emmanuel Limi. He recently visited the camps in Burundi and saw firsthand what is most urgently needed.

Up to 15 people share a six-square-meter tent; there’s not even enough water for handwashing. Infections such as cholera are spreading – life-threatening especially for malnourished toddlers and weakened infants.

“Everything is lacking!”

Together with our local partner SFBSP, we have implemented various relief measures to provide people with what they need most urgently. In Camp Makombe, a makeshift clinic was set up where a doctor, two nurses, and two health workers treat injuries, malaria, diarrhea, and respiratory infections around the clock.

“We must do everything we can to ensure that the experience of insecurity and need doesn’t continue in the camps.”

Emmanuel Limi
Program Management Team, action medeor

The situation is even more serious in the larger Camp Rutana: the camp is expanding and taking in more and more refugees. However, there is still no permanent health facility planned. That’s why we are working at full speed to set up a makeshift clinic here as well – because people urgently need medical care.

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No one should have to die just because a medicine is missing. This goal must apply even when people's health is particularly threatened by conflict and displacement. Please support us with your donation! Your contribution ensures that medical aid reaches those who otherwise have no chance. Thank you very much!