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SITUATIONConflict and exploitation have led to intense suffering in the DRC, a Central African nation roughly one-fourth the size of the United States that is home to nearly 74 million people.

In measures of human development—including life expectancy and deaths of children under age 5—the DRC ranks at the bottom of all the countries in the world. Women in the DRC suffer from the country’s legacy of conflict, corruption, and oppression. Many are desperately poor and subject to exploitation.

Northwestern DRC: Although relatively less violent than the rest of the country, Gemena is plagued by disease that stalks children. Poverty and lack of transportation keep parents from taking their children the long distances to health clinics to seek care. Healthcare providers are few

IN THE MARGINS

Democratic Republic of the Congo: Children Amid Conflict and Food Insecurity

girls in the DRC is literate.3

ONLY ONE

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before the age of 5—the fifth-highest rate in the world.1

ONE CHILD IN 10 IN THE DRC DIES

NEARLY NINE OF EVERY 10 PEOPLE IN THE DRC LIVE ON $1.25 A DAY OR LESS.

2

OF EVERY TWO

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and medicines scarce. Clean water is a rarity. Many—especially women and girls—walk miles daily to collect water in heavy jerry cans for all of their family’s needs. Contaminated water and poor sanitation lead to diarrhea and other waterborne diseases that take a heavy toll in productivity and lives.

Eastern DRC:Starting in April 2012, an upsurge in violence between government forces and M23—a rebel group created by defectors from the military—resulted in significant displacement in eastern DRC, with many fleeing to neighboring Rwanda and Uganda.4 As of mid-2014, more than 430,000 people from the DRC are still refugees in neighboring countries, mainly Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Burundi.5

Southern DRC:A violent rebellion in mid-2014 destroyed an estimated 600 homes and displaced 400,000 people in Katanga, the country’s wealthiest province. Roughly the size of Spain, Katanga has been plagued by secessionist violence since 2012, but its relatively lower levels of violence were previously ignored due to the overwhelming problems in eastern DRC.6

PLEASE PRAY… for peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.Following the outbreak of violence in 2012, hospitals in the city of Goma, eastern DRC, were inundated with patients. Medical facilities reported overwhelming numbers of injuries and rape cases. Refugees fleeing their homes were forced to settle in overcrowded temporary camps plagued with cholera, respiratory issues, and diarrhea resulting from inadequate sanitation.

World Vision continues to work to meet urgent needs for food and clothing and to provide medical facilities with essential equipment. Ask God to bring peace to this strife-filled country so families can focus on essentials like food, healthcare, and children’s education.

Lord, the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo have endured so much. Speak Your truth into the minds of everyone involved in this conflict. Turn their weapons into plowshares so people can return home and their sons and daughters can return to their childhoods.

I know that the Lord secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy.

—Psalm 140:12 (NIV)

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… for plentiful access to clean water.Nearly three-fourths of people in rural DRC have no access to clean water.7

Lord, we pray for our sisters and brothers who struggle to provide clean drinking water to support the health of their families. Pour out Your living water upon them to sustain them spiritually, and give us generous hearts to support them in building and maintaining water systems for their physical needs.

… for improved health in the DRC.Roughly one-third of children in the DRC do not receive all the vaccinations they need to prevent diseases such as measles, polio, and diphtheria.8 More than 40 percent of children suffer moderate or severe stunting, a symptom of chronic undernutrition.9 Others lack simple, low-cost treatments for disease, such as vitamin A supplements and deworming medicine.

Gracious Savior, teach us to care for children in the DRC as You do. We ask Your blessings on those who work to deliver good healthcare so that children there may grow, thrive, and enjoy fullness of life.

… for children’s education.Many children in the DRC go to school in overcrowded classrooms with thatch-roofed huts that lack walls, desks, running water, and toilets. They don’t always have the books, paper, pencils, or skilled teachers they need.

Lord, bless the teachers and the schools of the DRC. May these dedicated educators have everything they need to help children learn and grow “in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:51-52).

… for healing, restoration, and justice in the DRC.Just as children need a stable home, they need a stable community in which to grow. In the DRC, conflict and corruption have created distrust and fed hopelessness. Sadly, women and children are often exploited or deprived of their rights.

In witness to Your saving love, Jesus, knit together the people of the DRC in supportive communities. Through Your Body, the church, empower changed lives and hearts so that Your faithful will see “justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” (Amos 5:24, NIV).

You have been a refuge for the poor,

a refuge for the needy in their distress,

a shelter from the storm

and a shade from the heat.

—Isaiah 25:4 (NIV)

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4 CHM147413_0914 © 2014 World Vision, Inc.

1UNICEF, “Committing to Child Survival: A Promise Renewed,” 2013, pp. 44-45; UNICEF, State of the World’s Children 2014, Statistical Tables, p. 312UNICEF, State of the World’s Children 2014, Statistical Tables, p. 673UNICEF, State of the World’s Children 2014, Statistical Tables, p. 554www.usaid.gov/democratic-republic-congo/working-crises-and-conflict5www.unhcr.org/53e0ac5f9.html6www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/jan/30/drc-democratic-republic-congo-katanga-humanitarian-catastrophe-un7UNICEF, State of the World’s Children 2014, Statistical Tables, p. 438UNICEF, State of the World’s Children 2014, Statistical Tables, p. 439UNICEF, State of the World’s Children 2014, Statistical Tables, p. 37

He will defend the afflicted among the people and save the children of the needy ...

Psalm 72:4

… for women in the DRC.As a brutal consequence of war and lawlessness, violence against women is all too common, even condoned. Perpetrators often go free.

Lord, strengthen and protect women in the DRC. Lift them up when they fall under the weight of their life’s burdens. Unite local churches, community groups, and government leaders in recognizing the dignity and worth of women and actively supporting their development.

… for economic opportunities for the people of the DRC.

Heavenly Father, you put Adam in the garden “to work it and keep it” (Genesis 2:15, ESV). In Your Word we see that You honor honest labor. Give the women and men of the DRC opportunities to develop dependable livelihoods so that they can support their children.

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