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DR Congo

DRC: Economic crisis in Goma remains

GOMA. The eruption of Mt Nyiragongo on January 17th sent rivers of lava through the central business district of Goma, a crucial economic hub in the war-torn east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Five months later, small stalls selling sweets, cigarettes, and vehicle fuel are popping up across the lava, and business owners are raising their buildings of twisted metal and concrete to begin again.

Esther, an immaculately attired businesswoman, shakes her head as she oversees the laying of new foundations to replace the five two-storey shops she owned with her husband that are now reduced to rubble.

"It will take us 10 years of good business to recover what we lost," she says. "We have lost the rent and profits from all these months, as well as our home because we lived above one of the shops."

Significant losses for Goma's business community have had a serious ripple affect among the poorer population, many of whom were already displaced from their villages by the brutal civil war.

Unemployment has escalated, producing a massive drop in wages and non-essential business. Before the eruption, a labourer in town could earn the equivalent of $10 for one day's work. Now those men are accepting $1.5 pay for the same work.

A concerted response by international non-governmental organisations followed the eruption, with World Vision a leading agency in the critical areas of food, water, emergency relief supplies, and the construction of schools and housing.

In the four months following the eruption, World Vision distributed food rations (maize, oil, and beans) to more than 87,000 families or 439,000 people in partnership with the UN World Food Program. (value $592,473).

Emergency relief supplies were also distributed to 16,360 displaced families, or 81,800 people. (plastic sheeting 10,521, blankets 30,652, jerry cans 18,896, soap bars 122,401, kitchen sets 16,360, family kits 577)

At least 16,000 homes were destroyed, leaving 100,000 people homeless. In coordination with other agencies, World Vision is providing materials and technical advice to 1,000 households to construct houses on approved land.

Churches and schools were also badly hit by the eruption, with 24,000 children left without schools. Students resumed their schooling in 6 World Vision constructed schools (with 6 classrooms each) in early March, and a further 11 schools are currently under construction.

In total, World Vision has reached more than 530,000 people in four months through a relief response valued at $2.6 million dollars.

However, the Congolese people are still suffering from a brutal, complex civil war, and World Vision eastern DRC is now focussing on addressing other urgent needs through North and South Kivu provinces, including child malnutrition, malaria morbidity and mortality, and children's rights.