In brief

Bruno Rotival, who recently returned from the Democratic Republic of Congo where he took part in an evaluation mission, tells us more about this emergency operation.

The launch of Handicap International's mission is imminent. Our project manager is now en route to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where he will join a number of emergency specialists who have been busy preparing the ground for the operation. The association will provide assistance to NGOs present in the region of Beni to help them ensure the distribution of humanitarian aid. “It is important that we do more than distribute aid on a piecemeal basis,” explains Bruno, who has only just returned from DRC. “We need to ensure that aid deliveries are regular and coordinated.” Handicap International will therefore deliver 800 tonnes of humanitarian aid, by lorry, every month for three months from the towns of Beni and Lubero to the distribution sites of the various NGOs present in the field. Handicap International's task is to organise transports and coordinate convoys. The advance base in Lubero, close to the most unstable area, is designed to facilitate these distribution operations, since although the road is in a fairly good state, it crosses a very mountainous region. It takes four hours to cover the distance between Beni and Lubero by car, and a further two and a half hours to reach Kirumba. Furthermore, for security reasons it is not advisable to travel along this road after 3 pm, at the risk of encountering disorderly armed groups. The lorries are therefore forced to perform a return day trip along this dangerous roadway to deliver the aid.

“Meeting basic needs”
“We urgently need to meet people's basic needs, in terms of health and food, and to help them shelter from the cold,” adds Bruno. “Handicap International will provide assistance to NGOs already present in the field, but we are aware that this will not be enough, and we will also need to perform distribution activities ourselves. The second part of the mission, once these basic needs have been met, will be to provide care to vulnerable people, people with disabilities, pregnant women, and unaccompanied children in particular, to ensure they receive specific assistance and are directed towards the humanitarian stakeholders best able to provide them with care.” Handicap International has already undertaken several operations aimed at identifying the most vulnerable groups based on the creation of “Vulnerable Focal Points”, special units designed to provide assistance to those who are most vulnerable, and to help them access the care and assistance they need.

A population all too familiar with periods of tension. 
“It's a recurrent crisis,” confirms Bruno. “The situation in North Kivu is nothing new. There are just more displaced people now than before, with even greater needs.” Just a few days ago, he visited southern Lubero, where many displaced persons are now concentrated. “There are no camps in this area. Instead, there's a ‘host family' culture, meaning that people who have been displaced from their homes seek shelter with friends and members of their family. If not, they take refuge in the bush. This threatens to weaken the whole of society, increasing the vulnerability of the host families themselves.” The current instability is also likely to have an impact in the future, since this region is the breadbasket of North Kivu. “The fields have been plundered and it's the sowing season at the moment,” adds Bruno. “There's a risk that people will no longer be able to plant their seeds.” A food dependency situation is beginning to emerge as a consequence. Certain families have left their homes to hide in the bush, and much of the population has scattered across the region, often settling near the fields they farm out of fear for their safety. This fear is based on the current chaotic situation, where troops - when they are not committing acts of violence or plundering the land - are moving around the region, heightening the sense of uncertainly felt by the population. “The towns of Kirumba, Kayna and Kanyabayonga have been pillaged, along with five nutrition centres, revealing the chaos at large in the area”, says Bruno. “It is also important to realise that Beni and Lubero are located at a high altitude (around 2000 metres), and the nights are very cold. People therefore need covers, because they have nothing to shelter under, or because they have sometimes had their possessions taken from them, or they have had to flee, taking with them whatever they could carry. They need basic utensils (pots, bowls, etc.) for cooking, and jerrycans for transporting water.”
The extent of this task is enormous. More than 47,000 people are set to benefit from the first stage of Handicap International's mission.

Read more