Urgent Action: House Approves Funding Cuts
Cunningham, Hugh Kinsella for CRS
Shukuru Tuombe with her daughter, Rosine, in Kibumba village in North Kivu Province in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). In 2022, the now 28-year-old mother of six, was forced to flee her home due to ongoing conflict between armed rebel groups. After three years of living in a camp for displaced persons, she and her family recently returned to their village following a lull in fighting.
Shukuru says: “It was Saturday. It was in the morning. We left around 11am on foot and we arrived at 8pm. I tied them [the children] together with a rope so that I don't lose them. Another one was carrying a little container of drinking water to drink along the way. I carried the other one on my shoulder and took off without carrying anything else.”
At the time, Shukuru’s husband who is a driver, was away for work. She used to sell potatoes that she grew at the market and on the roadside, earning 50,000-60,000 francs per day. She says the family ate well with the profits: meat and vegetables and potatoes.
When she and her children arrived in the nearest city, Goma, they had nothing with them. Someone gave Shukuru empty rice sacks for her and the children to sleep on and use as blankets. Shukuru also uses these sacks to transport goods to a nearby village to sell to earn money. She earns around 700 francs per day.
The family currently lives under a tarp, as their home was destroyed by a bomb. Their land is still there, but they have no seeds to plant. She is grateful for the beans and other food provided by CRS. She says they still need medications for health reasons.
“We got help through God's grace because there are others who are still displaced, and they are dying. By God's grace, we have come back home. We are fine here, there are no gunshots, and there is no harassment. The problem we have is that the house in which we live leaks when it rains. We also have an issue getting food. The other problem is that our children cannot study well. They have no school uniform and are hungry and therefore cannot go to learn.”
As part of the Goma Emergency Response project, which is privately funded by Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and implemented by local partner Caritas Goma, Shukuru and other internally displaced families receive one-month food rations, including 25 kilograms of corn flour, 25 kilograms of rice, 20 kilograms of beans, five liters of oil and one kilogram of salt. During the week of March 24, 2025, more than 2,300 families received this food aid.
Your voice is urgently needed. The House of Representatives recently voted to pass a package of cuts, called rescissions, that were requested by the White House. This is the first of many packages expected to eliminate even more lifesaving international assistance programs.
Over the next several weeks, the Senate will consider the package. Tell your senator to oppose cuts!
Countless lives are at risk. This package proposes cancelling funding, approved by both republicans and democrats in March, for programming focused on supporting pregnant mothers and their children, providing emergency food, preventing infectious diseases and ensuring children, families and communities can move out of poverty over the long-term.
At this very same moment, Congress is also assessing support for lifesaving aid in the fiscal year 2026 federal budget. Approving this new package of cuts would signal approval for shrinking or eliminating funding for international poverty-reducing programs in future budgets.
Urge the Senate to push back and oppose canceling funding for lifesaving international assistance programs!
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