Democratic Republic of Congo:

Three years after the official cessation of civil and neighbouring conflicts in the Democratic Republic of Congo, everyday life for millions in the region remains desperate. The infrastructure of the entire nation is in tatters after nearly half a century of war, famine and corruption. Life expectancy is 49 years, and decreasing.

Following a visit to Kinshasa, the capital of DR Congo, by Epiphany Trust's patron David Alton Child Action International was asked to look at how it could help. Working together with the Jedidiah Foundation we are doing just that. The Executive Director of Jedidiah is a refugee from the Congo and he will be moving back to Kinshasa in 2006. He has identified hospitals and schools which have had their basic equipment stolen or destroyed.

In December 2005 we sent a 20 foot container of desks, chairs, sports equipment and stationary for a school in Kinshasa. This equipment is being collected by St Martha's school for girls in Hadley Wood.

The work in DR Congo is Child Action International's newest project and it is exciting to see it develop. It is hoped that we can build our relationship with the school and support and encourage them in the future.

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Background to Democratic Republic of Congo

Political History

Established as a Belgian colony in 1908, the Republic of the Congo gained its independence in 1960, but its early years were marred by political and social instability. Col. Joseph Mobutu seized power and declared himself president in a November 1965 coup. He subsequently changed his name - to Mobutu Sese Seko - as well as that of the country - to Zaire. Mobutu retained his position for 32 years through several subsequent sham elections as well as through the use of brutal force. Ethnic strife and civil war, touched off by a massive inflow of refugees in 1994 from fighting in Rwanda and Burundi, led in May 1997 to the toppling of the Mobutu regime by a rebellion led by Laurent Kabila.

He renamed the country the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), but in August 1998 his regime was itself challenged by an insurrection backed by Rwanda and Uganda. Troops from Zimbabwe, Angola, Namibia, Chad, and Sudan intervened to support the Kinshasa regime. A cease-fire was signed in July 1999 by the DRC, Zimbabwe, Angola, Uganda, Namibia, Rwanda, and Congolese armed rebel groups, but sporadic fighting continued.

Laurent Kabila was assassinated in January 2001 and his son Joseph Kabila was named head of state. In October 2002, the new president was successful in negotiating the withdrawal of Rwandan forces occupying eastern Congo; two months later, the Pretoria Accord was signed by all remaining warring parties to end the fighting and establish a government of national unity. A transitional government was set up in July 2003; Joseph Kabila remains as president and is joined by four vice presidents representing the former government, former rebel groups, and the political opposition.

The heads of the Great Lakes countries and the UN pledged to end the conflict but unchecked tribal, rebel, and militia fighting continues unabated in the north eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, drawing in the neighbouring states of Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda. The UN Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) has maintained over 14,000 peacekeepers in the region since 1999; thousands of Ituri refugees from the Congo continue to flee the fighting primarily into Uganda.

Economic

The economy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo - a nation endowed with vast potential wealth - has declined drastically since the mid-1980s. The war, which began in August 1998, dramatically reduced national output and government revenue, increased external debt, and resulted in the deaths of perhaps 3.5 million people from war, famine, and disease. Foreign businesses curtailed operations due to uncertainty about the outcome of the conflict, lack of infrastructure, and the difficult operating environment. Conditions improved in late 2002 with the withdrawal of a large portion of the invading foreign troops.

Several IMF and World Bank missions have met with the government to help it develop a coherent economic plan, and President Kabila has begun implementing reforms. Much economic activity lies outside the GDP data. Economic stability, aided by international donors, improved in 2003-04, although an uncertain legal framework, corruption, and a lack of openness in government policy continues to hamper growth. In 2005, renewed activity in the mining sector, the source of most exports, could boost Kinshasa's fiscal position and GDP growth.

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