Innovative medical technologies (vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics) are not enough to prevent and contain epidemics. What’s needed is the inclusion of social science as an important component of outbreak management. What I mean by this is that communities need to be engaged and empowered as primary partners in preparing and responding to an outbreak. But…
In their collective statement, the Bishops in DRC have expressed concerns over corruption in the government saying, “we are witnessing the unjustifiable and scandalous enrichment of a handful of political actors at the expense of the vast majority of the population.” “To make matters worse, these misappropriations are the work of the very people who…
In 2010, Margot Wallstrom, the UN’s special representative on sexual violence in conflict, called the DR Congo the “rape capital of the world.” This Lent, Catholics in Scotland are being asked to help the victims of sexual violence in the Congo through the Wee Box campaign sponsored by the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund (SCIAF). …………………..
Two to five out of ten children, or 20 to 50%, from zero to five years suffer from chronic malnutrition, said experts from the National Nutrition Program (PRONANUT). These figures were released Tuesday, February 18, after a two-day workshop on the Revitalized Pre-School Consultation (PSC), which is being held in Mbandaka, Equator Province. According to…
You describe scenes in which a mother and her daughter have to trek for several days through the forest, fleeing fighting. Is this something you have lived and what are the threats to their existence as they run for their lives? I have not lived through this. My own experience of growing up orphaned at…
Staff Benda Bilili are a group of Congolese street musicians. They live around the grounds of the zoo in Kinshasa, and play music which is rooted in rumba, with elements of old-school rhythm’n’blues and reggae. The core of the band consists of four senior singers/guitarist, who are all disabled (they suffered from poliomyelitis when they…
“The church bell rings at 5 a.m.” Mama Mimi explained. “I’ll be at your house by half past.” In Basankusu, dentistry is normally do-it-yourself. The conservation group for bonobos, (which are like chimpanzees, only better), had invited a dentist to come along. The conservation village is about half an hour upriver. Although the dentist would…
“With this agreement, we have a legal framework that will henceforth regulate relations between the Catholic Church and the Congolese State, because a legal framework gives rise to the recognition of reciprocal rights and reciprocal obligations and it is in this spirit that we will work to promote the well-being of the Congolese people and…
“I witnessed a traumatised population” the Cardinal said, adding that “it’s impossible to comprehend how human beings can behave like this towards their own brothers and sisters. As a pastor, this affected me profoundly.” Flashpoint of military conflict The region has been one of the more politically unstable parts of the country, with ongoing conflicts…
In his address to journalists at the press conference, Cardinal Ambongo revealed, “There is a balkanization plan that is already underway.” According to the Congolese Church leader, the balkanization plan “concerns the eastern part of the country. There is even a mode of operation in Ituri-Bunia, Butembo-Beni and Rutshuru-Minembwe.” As a way forward, the Archbishop…
MILL HILL MISSIONARIES
6, Colby Gardens
Maidenhead
Berkshire
SL6 7GZ T: 01628 673178
E: office@millhillmissionaries.com