“You wiped away our tears” – 3,000 families receive essential aid in DRC 

Poverty, violence and fear are the norm for many Christian communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Thanks to your support, they have received food, financial provision and livelihood support.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is not an easy place to be a follower of Jesus. At number 29 on the World Watch List, extremist groups like M23 and the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) have long terrorised eastern DRC especially, targeting and displacing more and more families. Such instability and violence are forcing people into deeper poverty, seemingly with no way out. 

But last year, thanks to your support, Open Doors partners were able to deliver life-saving aid to more than 3,000 families in eastern DRC. 

Mariam’s testimony 

Mariam* is a mother of seven who has been forced to live on the move ever since the ADF attacked her community and killed her neighbours in 2017. Even before the onslaught, life was extremely difficult, and Mariam barely made ends meet as a cocoa farmer in Otomaber. The threat of being attacked whilst in the fields was always present. 

“I left Otomaber, then Idohu, I went to Komanda. I left Komanda to return to Mayangose. In Mayangose it didn’t work well, and I went back to Ngadi. I left Ngadi and went to Masiani”, she told partners. 

But then the ADF invaded Masiani in 2020, and Mariam was forced to flee with her family to Goma. Life settled into a fragile peace – until 2025. 

“In 2025, the massacres began in Goma with the M23. They entered and killed people for nothing. It was a war to kill people,” Mariam shares. “The killings of M23 rebels made me fear for my life and that of my children. It brought back memories of people I had seen the ADF kill. I was afraid.” 

Once again, Mariam had to relocate her family, desperately searching for safety.  

Refuge 

After travelling over 280km from Goma to Kasindi, they were welcomed by the 8th CEPAC church Lubiriha-Kasindi, which had itself been victim to a bombing by the ADF in 2023. Mariam and her family were amongst many others seeking refuge from the unrest in the Beni territory. 

The trauma which had been building like an ever-increasing burden on Mariam’s shoulders began to make her ill: “The displacements caused me hypertension, I was sick, and hospitalised. I remembered the dead people, and it came back to me several times. It gave me high blood pressure, but the church paid for medical care.” 

And last year, Mariam and her family were amongst the 3,000 who received relief aid. 

Thank you! 

“Today, Christians far from us have made us happy”, she said. “I thank you very much for the money you have just given me. With the $30, I’m going to force myself to start a business so that it helps me with the children’s medicine and food. I thank you again for giving us rice, beans, oil and clothes.  

“May God bless you so much. May He bless where these gifts have come from. May God multiply,” she continued, with a smile beaming from her face. “Brothers and sisters, thank you very much for this donation – a gesture that reinforces my faith in Christ. I know that there are Christians like us who pray for us and who have just wiped away our tears during this difficult time.” 

Pastor Kambale Kasuki from the 8^th CEPAC church expresses his gratitude: “We fed them with the Word of God, but the need for food and other necessities stared us continually in our faces. Thank God, this relief makes them see the love of God. Now they have some hope and can start income-generating activities”, he said. 

“Thank you to the brothers for this act of generosity and love they have shown towards us. The displaced worshippers sang a lot when they received the donation. They had smiles on their faces, whereas before the interventions, they had come in crying. They have truly testified that they have seen and continue to live in Christ’s love for them. Christ wiped away their tears by giving them food, clothing and activity.” 

*Names changed for security reasons