On 14 February, the ICRC finished distributing
food and high-quality seed to 10,000 families in Kindu. These people had
been short of food because of fighting in the eastern part of the country.
Kindu is currently home to between 140,000
and 190,000 people, some residents and some displaced by the fighting.
Recent clashes in Maniema province had led to the creation of a security
cordon around Kindu, isolating the town from farming land and hampering
both food deliveries and trade.
As the food situation was worsening, particularly for children, the ICRC decided to distribute food and seed to 6,000 families in Mikelenge and Kasuku and 4,000 in Alunguli.
Each household received 13 kg of improved groundnut, maize and bean seed, together with a hoe. They will now be able to work the fields that lie within the security cordon. The ICRC also supplied these families with food (15 kg of rice and beans), so they would not have to eat the seed.
In just five days, the ICRC flew in 300 tonnes of aid, making 21 trips with a leased Hercules C 130 and two more with its own DC3. Close cooperation with Kindu Red Cross personnel was an important factor in the success of the operation.
Further information:
Elizabeth Twinch, ICRC Goma, tel.: ++250
083 004 61,
Reto Stocker, ICRC Goma, tel.: ++250 083 004 51