Cry in the Wilderness

Bondo Marceline was among targeted beneficiaries invited by UMCOR-SA&D program staff to participate in upcoming agriculture training. Photo: June H. Kim/UMCOR

“Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I cry to you all day long.” Psalm 86:3

Last month, UMCOR SA&D staff in partnership with Child Action Initiative conducted house-to-house surveys of some of the participants who attended a needs assessment meeting and Moringa introduction in Kasumgami, DRC.

Walking from home to home and meeting with individual families, a silent cry seemed to echo throughout the wilderness-like conditions of Kasungami. Most of the people we met had an average of 11 family members, all living in one, small, locally made clay brick house. Most could only afford to eat one meal a day, and though some farmed, they only grew enough produce to barely sustain them. In some of the homes we visited, most, if not all, were visibly malnourished, and some were very ill. From house to house, the stories did not differ much: Not enough adequate food, little or no income, many mouths to feed, and only one, not-so-nutritious meal a day.

During the UMCOR survey, we learned that before the assessment meeting, many people had not heard of Moringa. The meeting turned out to be an opportunity to emphasize the nutritional benefits of Moringa and its role in reducing malnutrition.

One woman, named Bondo Marceline, ended up in Kasungami after fleeing the war in North Katanga. Bondo has five children between the ages of 1 ½ and 11. She sells cassava leaves to earn an income.  On good days she can earn approximately 2,000 francs ($2.00), which helps pay her rent (more than $8.00 per month). But that income is not always reliable and clearly not sufficient to sustain her family. Looking at Bondo, I saw the years of struggle and pain on her face, which have completely weighed down her countenance. Without a husband to support her, Bondo is left to raise her children on her own.

In some way, UMCOR responded to Bondo’s cry by inspiring hope through agricultural training that will help shape and transform her life in years to come, if she commits herself to it. Testimonies of other beneficiaries were shared with families like Bondo’s, who are now successful farmers and homeowners with improved livelihoods.

Upon our departure from Bondo's home, a smile broke through her years of suffering.

On that same day, UMCOR held an impromptu meeting with the DRC food security program manager from World Vision, at his request, to discuss possible future collaborative efforts. He shared that the model of input and fertilizer distribution World Vision had been using for many years did not result in lasting food security. He said UMCOR-SA&D’s model of investing in people’s knowledge through training rather than inputs was the best approach to sustainable food security. He hopes to work with UMCOR to replicate UMCOR SA&D’s methodology.

World Vision and UMCOR also are talking about UMCOR holding a special training on the use of Moringa for World Vision’s community health workers to help them improve nutrition in the communities where they work.

June Kim, UMCOR executive, stated, “This initial meeting with World Vision affirmed that UMCOR-SA&D’s philosophy of investing in people’s knowledge, using an asset-based, community-development approach, results in community ownership that puts the achievement of a more prosperous future for individuals and families in their own hands. This is the first step to ensuring lasting and sustainable improvements in food security and a reduction in malnutrition.”

Judith Santiago is Media Communications Associate for UMCOR

To whom much is given, much is required.

(L to R) Mozart Adevu, Africa regional coordinator for UMCOR-SA&D program, June H. Kim, UMCOR’s Hunger and Poverty executive, and Isaiah Chot of Child Action Initiative, address more than 100 Kasumgami, DRC community members on the importance of growing food for themselves and the nutritional benefits of Moringa. Photo: J. Santiago/UMCOR

October 19, 2011

Traveling with UMCOR’s Sustainable Agriculture and Development (UMCOR-SA&D) staff and local partner Isaiah Chot of Child Action Initiative, to Kasungami, Democratic Republic of Congo, brought to my mind some of Jesus’ words.

In Luke 12:48, Jesus recites a parable about the Master’s return, saying, “Much will be required of everyone who has been given much. And even more will be expected of the one who has been entrusted with more.”

UMCOR staff was traveling to Kasungami to assess the needs of the community. (At the end of the assessment, it was determined that UMCOR would begin agricultural trainings there before the end of the year.)

On our drive to Kasungami, we witnessed escalating poverty from one community to another, including makeshift homes, less-than-quality foods at the markets, and visibly malnourished children. I greatly admired UMCOR for fulfilling its part in this scripture to alleviate suffering, empower communities, and provide sustainable solutions to severe malnutrition and hunger. A lot has been entrusted to UMCOR, and this visit was a reminder that many lives may be waiting to be reached with a piece of good news, as it was with Jesus in spreading the good news of the Kingdom. 

My visit to DR Congo reiterated for me the ongoing responsibility we have for knowledge-sharing. This is also the UMCOR-SA&D model, and it is embraced by UMCOR staff and passionately communicated to rural communities throughout Africa: Share what you have learned with others. The responsibility is required from each one of us.

According to a 2009 census, the population of Kasungami is 42,772. Most of the people residing in the eight villages that make up Kasungami are living in extreme poverty, and they have little or no access to adequate food supplies. Families are forced to take on various small, odd jobs to help put food on the table. Education is another luxury that cannot be afforded. School fees run about 7,000 francs (approximately $9 per child, according to Chot).

In addition, while some of the people grow vegetables like corn and beans, soybean powder is purchased from the local market as the key source of protein in their diets. We learned that most of the large families consumed about one meal a day. All cited bukari, a popular dish made of corn meal, as their main meal of the day.  Unfortunately, bukari is not enough to sustain them nutritionally.

During the assessment and introduction to Moringa, a plant that provides a nutritional supplement and a special component of UMCOR-SA&D’s work, Mozart Adevu, UMCOR-SA&D’ Africa regional coordinator, and June H. Kim, executive for UMCOR’s World Hunger and Poverty unit, charged the community to take action and ownership of agricultural training that will teach them new methods of growing quality food for themselves, with the potential for future income-generating opportunities. The challenge brought upon Kasungami, in my opinion, wasn’t just the new training provided by UMCOR, but rather the challenge to join the fight against malnutrition for themselves, and against the bigger mountain of hunger in their families’ lives that could impact future generations. 

What was required of them? In a similar vein to the Gospel, commitment, action, share what they learn, engage with others, and spread the word about adequate nutrition.

I pray that Kasungami captures the vision of health and well-being for themselves and their future generations, and that the foundation of the root causes of hunger and poverty be violently shaken through shared knowledge, community engagement, vision, and hope for a more viable, prosperous future.

Judith Santiago is the Media Communications Associate for UMCOR.

Music and Nets in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Community health volunteer Madelene Mwainga hangs a mosquito net in the home of Serge Tshibal during a training event in Lubumbashi, DRC.

A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose 

  

With all of the really hard and challenging news we hear about the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), it was a privilege for me to witness signs of hope and joy as a community joined together in the fight against malaria.

The atrocities of war, illness and extreme poverty demand our attention and need to be addressed. In Lubumbashi last week, the Congolese people celebrated a common goal—to significantly reduce the incidence of malaria—and took a step closer to achieving peace and economic stability in a country that faces severe hardship.

Realizing that children of all faiths are dying of malaria, representatives of different religious backgrounds—United Methodist, Jewish, Moslem, Anglican, Roman Catholic—came together for the first time in the DRC, under the banner of CORESA, to provide 30,000 mosquito nets to families in the Bongonga community. The spirit of celebration I witnessed is one I will always remember.

A barely passable dirt road leads into Bongonga, an underserved, unrecognized urban community. But last week, in anticipation of World Malaria Day, Bongonga was the center of attention. Dignitaries and artists joined the thousands of local people who turned out for a launch event designed specifically for Bongonga. The governor was among the speakers, and a musical performance by Yvonne Chaka Chaka, a South African musician often called the “Princess of Africa,” was a highlight of the event.

I felt self conscious of my position in the VIP area as I noted the very strict security that kept the local people far from the stage. When Yvonne started singing and called “her children” to join her, the ground shook as security allowed thousands of young people to dance their way to the stage. I was so moved that she had done that for them. . . The children’s joy surrounded me and was electric.

Watching them I knew that one out of five of these precious, smiling little ones will likely die of malaria, and the significance of the day hit me. Yvonne did not forget either. When she finished singing, she told the crowd how important it is for children under five and pregnant women to use the mosquito bed nets. “Do not sell the nets,” she commanded. “Do not use the nets for fishing.”

After the celebration, I joined one of the local volunteer groups as they hung a mosquito net in the home of a woman who has eight children. I met her two smallest sons and played with them in the front room of her home. I prayed that the net would save these boys’ lives.

I prayed that a day like this, with celebrities and dignitaries, community volunteers and bishops, would leave a lasting impression on this community and that with the partnership and commitment of local volunteers, they would see a decrease in the number of malaria-provoked deaths. I prayed they would begin to advocate for themselves and work with the government to fight against malaria.

And I gave thanks that my church was among the religious communities that today decided to not stand by while every 30 seconds a child dies from a disease that is preventable. I am grateful to be part of the United Methodist Church—a church that continues to bring hope to God’s most vulnerable people.

By Melissa Hinnen, director of UMCOR Communications