Pisa, March 21, 2025
To all friends and supporters of our association:
Dear friends,
After a long silence, due in part to waiting for the current crisis in North and South Kivu to evolve in some direction, I feel it is time to update you on the local situation, given also the media silence.
First of all, I would like to reassure you that the children of Maison Msaada and the girls who participate in our workshops, as well as all our staff, are well, and that our activities continue, albeit at a somewhat slowed pace. And this despite the fact that insecurity throughout the East of the country is only increasing, and while the war rages not too far from our center. Schools have been closed for some time and the prices of basic goods have almost tripled, transportation from Bukavu now being almost impossible, but our children continue to take classes at the center thanks to the constant efforts of our local staff, especially Angelo, educator and project assistant. Sewing workshops and regular follow up of some epileptic children in the community also continue.
Jakobo,a 10-year-old boy from a nearby village, suffering from severe untreated epilepsy with numerous daily seizures, disfigured by extensive burns including on his face as a result of numerous falls into the fire, now, thanks to the therapy that every
two weeks we take him, he has rare seizures.
.
Unfortunately, it has become more difficult to find some medicines locally, and Mwenga Hospital itself is running out of medicines due to lack of supply from the city.
Agricultural activities continue on the small plots of land that we have for now, in the hope of gaining a minimum of food independence.
Recruitment of some new children from Kamituga (cases had been reported to us by the pastor), which had been planned even before my departure, was not possible because of the insecurity limiting all travel, particularly by motorcycle (many motorcyclists had to surrender their vehicles to the military). All travel was kept to a minimum. With poverty on the rise in this major crisis situation, there will be no shortage of needy children and opportunities to provide more help to the community.
We took in a 14-year-old girl, Rejina, who was living on the road in Bukavu but from Mwenga territory, sent to us by an Italian missionary even before the city was occupied. Rejina is well integrated into the group and, she too, very happy with our small in-house school.
The city of Bukavu was occupied on Feb. 15 by the Rwandan M23/AFC (Alleance Fleuve Congo) army without fighting, following the breakaway of the Congolese army (FARDC), but there was no shortage of inevitable looting and unrest, due in part to the fact that many prisoners were set free.
Insecurity reigns in Bukavu, as well as in Kamituga and Uvira, the main towns of South Kivu, and people leave their homes as little as possible. Route nationale No. 2, the mud road leading to Mwenga and Kamituga, has become a site of confrontation between the M23, which seeks to advance toward Kamituga, and self-defense groups (Wazalendo). Fortunately, the clashes are still far from Mwenga Centre, the headquarters of our small project, where the situation remains relatively quiet compared to the cities. Nonetheless, many people fled into the forest when the FARDC military and the Wazalendo arrived numerous at the site, mindful of the massacres of the late 1990s.
Congolese army soldiers made an appearance at Maison Msaada only once, asking for something to buy a drink, and were easily cleared with 5,000 francs (less than 2 USD).
Banks have been closed in Bukavu as well as Goma for some time now and money circulation is minimal. I have been able to safely send money needed for the continuation of basic activities for at least a month thanks to some contacts in Bukavu via Rwanda (the border at Ruzizi, a few kilometers from Bukavu, has remained open). At least in this time of great crisis, where poverty is only increasing, and where many have lost their jobs or no longer receive a salary, our workers manage to bring something home to feed their families!
Given such an unstable context, it is not yet possible for me to return to the site, but I continue patiently to observe, hoping for a favorable development.
The needs are only increasing, so as soon as the situation becomes a little more stable, the movements more secure, and the sending of money easier, we will have a lot to do and should try to help as much as we can.
I will continue to update you on the background; in the meantime, I would once again like to thank each of you for all your valuable support.
A dear greeting
Ilaria
