In the small, riverside village of Ngabé, in southeastern Republic of the Congo, Issamon Claver sits behind a hand-powered sewing machine. Originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Issamon thought of sewing nothing more than a hobby he enjoyed in his time off from his work at a primary school.  

But when he and his family were forced to flee their home in Kwamouth in western DRC, following an outbreak of armed conflict between ethnic groups in August 2022, sewing became a means of survival.  

Photo by Jennifer Lazuta/CRS

“One morning, I was sewing after my morning class and around 10 a.m. I saw people running,” Issamon recalls. “They [attackers] were setting fire to everything, killing people. Everyone was panicked. People were falling into the river to try and escape.” 

Issamon had some savings and was able to pay a motorized boat to take his family across the river. They were one of the first to arrive in Ngabé.  

“We were among the lucky ones,” he says. “On the other side, homes, schools, the hospital, farms—everything was destroyed. Many people died. There is nothing to go back to.” 

More than 100,000 people are reported to have fled, many taking refuge in Ngabé.  

Most arrived with little more than the clothes they wore. Issamon had used his life savings to pay for the boat ride. They had no food or shelter.  

Photo by Jennifer Lazuta/CRS

As part of the East and Central Africa Rapid Response Fund project, Catholic Relief Services, via its local partner Caritas Congo, initially supported 350 families with the distribution of buckets, soap, cooking pots and utensils, sleeping mats and blankets. They provided 445 women and girls with feminine hygiene kits.  Local community members donated food and clothes. Other international organizations provided temporary homes and medical care. 

“It was such a help,” Issamon says. “So many of us had nothing.”  

In Ngabé, he says he is grateful for the peace, security, and support, but life has not been easy for Issamon and his family since they arrived. 

Issamon was, and still is, eager to find work, but most people from Kwamouth and in Ngabé are farmers by trade. Issamon, who was born and raised in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital city Kinshasa, had decided to move to Kwamouth just a year before the attacks. Despite holding two master’s degrees, he struggled to find work in the city. It was easier to find a job in smaller towns, as many schools lacked teachers. And the cost of living was lower than in Kinshasa. He could save up money for his two young daughters’ future education.  

Photo by Jennifer Lazuta/CRS

He admittedly knows nothing about farming or foraging or hunting. And despite being welcomed into the community, teaching jobs are not available to foreigners. And so, he rents a sewing machine and now spends his time sewing. He still struggles to find clients but is able to earn the bare minimum to meet his family’s basic needs, such as food and clothing. But, unable to afford preschool fees for his young daughters, he teaches them from home each day.  

Issamon also now advocates on behalf of the refugee families living in Ngabé. Their needs, he says, remain high even a year later.  

Still, he remains optimistic. Each day, Issamon saves a small amount of money and is happy to have his family safe.  

“My dream would be to go outside [to another country] so that my children can have the best education and find good work,” he says.  

In consortium with the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development, Catholic Relief Services jointly implemented the Rapid Response Fund project for East and Central Africa in seven countries: Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Tanzani, and Uganda. The project mechanism was designed to respond to immediate needs as they emerge, guaranteeing rapid and vital assistance in the short term through activities in water, hygiene, and sanitation, multi-purpose cash assistance, and shelter and habitat. Through the strengthening of organizational and emergency capacities, the project relies on local partner networks to reinforce sustainability and post-crisis transition. 

Give to Rebuild After Emergencies

Violence in the Sahel Region

Mali Conflict

Since the uprising in Northern Mali in 2012, the security situation has gone from bad to worse as the country has been rocked by continued violence, poor implementation of a peace accord and 2 coup d'etats. Communities face multiple threats, including climate change, violent extremism, political unrest, and COVID-19 This contributes to a worsening humanitarian situation with more people being forced from their homes than ever before, and a worrying impact on vital social services, like schools and health facilities. Complicating factors, the democratically elected government was recently upended in a coup d'etat that has further imperiled the country's response to violent actors and social unrest within its borders.

Today there are more than 402,000 displaced people in Mali – overwhelmingly women and children – and 5.9 million people in need of life-saving assistance. More than 400,000 children have been affected by the closure of schools, primarily due to insecurity.

Burkina Faso Conflict

Burkina Faso has been known for its peaceful coexistence of religious groups and over 60 different ethnic groups for decades. More recently, armed groups have been trying to force division between them in an attempt to stoke violence and gain influence. The resulting conflict between communities destabilizes the region and has led to the formation of many local militias which complicate the security landscape. Deadly attacks are a near-daily occurrence in the north and east of Burkina Faso and its human toll is surging at a dramatic rate.

The number of displaced people in Burkina Faso rose ten-fold in 2019 alone, reaching a total of 1.4 million in 2021.

Impact on Children

As with most conflicts, children across the region are being affected to the greatest extent. It is estimated that they account for more than 50% of displaced people in the region. Teachers are fleeing. Classrooms are empty. Over 4,000 schools were closed because of the violence in early 2020 but all schools in the region were closed in response to COVID-19 precautions. Some schools in secure areas have reopened. Students in insecure areas are the most affected; they do not have access to virtual lessons or donor-provided lunches that are usually given out at schools. In the absence of schools or livelihoods, adolescents increasingly turn to organized crime and seek to join violent groups in exchange for payment.

Niger Conflict

Niger continues to struggle with responding to two separate humanitarian disasters, one along the border with Nigeria and the other in the Tillabéri region. The people living in Tillabéri region, a border area with Mali and Burkina Faso, include more than 234,000 refugees from Mali and over 300,000 displaced people.  

Many people have been forced to leave their homes, some multiple times, to escape violence by armed groups and other opportunists. Most of the people who fled the violence are women, children and the elderly. Approximately 70 health centers have been closed due to insecurity in the region. Humanitarian and development workers have been targets and killed indiscriminately in Niger.

Root Causes of Violence

• Unemployment
• Inequitable Access to Resources
• Climate Change
• Land Degradation
• Disenfranchised Youth
• Low Levels of Education
• Limited Availability of Social Services

Ways to Stop the Sahel Crisis​

Scale Long-Term Development Programming

At a time when peace and stability are at increased risk, working with our partners on sustainable development programs is key to building people's self-reliance, thus empowering West Africans to live dignified lives without violence. This includes:

• Integrate social cohesion and peacebuilding into humanitarian and development programs: Promoting dialogue between communities and supporting local Church and traditional leaders to work together are essential for establishing a more cohesive society that will decrease the chances of more conflict in the future.
• Support economic inclusion of youth: Youth make up more than half of the Sahel population and many feel socially and politically marginalized. Empowering youth through economic and political inclusion is key to creating a peaceful and prosperous society in the Sahel.
• Strengthen the legitimacy and role of local government and local civil society to increase sustainability and accountability: It is essential to work with local governments and civil society, including religious authorities, to rebuild trust in local and national state institutions and reignite civic participation. According to the 2016 Afrobarometer survey, 72% of Africans trust their religious leaders more than any other form of authority. Because of these strong ties to the faith community, faith-based organizations are in a unique position to provide humanitarian and development aid to even the hardest-to-reach people in need.

Increase Humanitarian Assistance

Given the large number of displaced persons in the Sahel and the ongoing threat of violence and instability, a bigger humanitarian response is needed to provide life-saving assistance to those who are most vulnerable. To stop future violence, we must also help people in the region provide for themselves and their families. This includes:

• Cash transfers using mobile money,
• Building and repairing water systems and,
• Constructing transitional shelter

Engage Government Institutions

The Sahel Peace Initiative will also engage policymakers at national, regional and international levels, including advocacy for robust funding that prioritizes a holistic response and allows for a coherent transition between humanitarian and development programming.

For more detailed background and policy recommendations to address the situation, you can read Peace in the Sahel: Policy Recommendations for the U.S. Government.
Increase Humanitarian Assistance.

CRS Response

The Catholic Church of West Africa expressed an urgent need to explore how CRS and the Church can help West African communities overcome obstacles and build lasting peace.

Together, we launched the Sahel Peace Initiative to raise awareness of the crisis, advocate for change, and mobilize humanitarian and development actions to save lives in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Cote d'Ivoire, and Ghana. We have also completed a conflict assessment of the Liptako-Gourma region, which borders Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger to help us better understand one part of this complex issue. This report, called Steps Towards Peace, is available for all governmental partners, private partners, donors and members of the public to review.

CRS and local partners have provided more than 320,000 people in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger - both those displaced as well as families hosting them - with cash distributions, water, food, and shelter since 2019. We are also continuing our work to provide healthcare, education, and agricultural assistance like introducing new technologies, crop varieties, and techniques, as well as carrying out peacebuilding activities, all with the goal of preventing and de-escalating the humanitarian and security crises.

We want people to have productive lives, set up work and send their kids to school. But that won’t happen if all we see is more chaos and crisis, with more people needing help. It’s in everyone’s best interest to stop this violence before it gets worse.

Jennifer Overton
West Africa regional director
via Catholic News Service