Children at a new water fountain, Kivu. Photo: © UNICEF.
Action for change: Catherine Putz on peacebuilding in Democratic Republic of Congo
‘Working for peace brings positive change.’
Since the wars of 1996, violence in the east of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has become normalised. But there are people working for peace, now, amid the military conflict.
In the summer of 2024, I spent nearly a week in DRC with my husband Mark, en route to the Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC) world plenary in South Africa. As a trustee of Quaker Congo Partnership (QCP UK) I had been three times before to meet with our partners in the Quaker church in DRC (The Community of Evangelical Friends’ Churches in Congo (CEEACO)), and to see first-hand the projects they run.
One of the most inspiring moments of our visit was a meeting with members of the Youth Peace Council. They presented us with a message: ‘On behalf of all the volunteers around the world dedicated to restoring peace,’ they saluted the courage of all working on various peace initiatives, as well as on the prevention of sexual violence towards adolescent girls in school. They are proud of the work they are doing. They said that ‘young people have awakened from their slumber and are taking on peace work’.
The young man who spoke was Emmanuel Makongola, from a village in the high plateau – an area now ravaged with violence. The members of the Youth Peace Council are sending witness statements, photos, and videos of the impact. Recently they interviewed women who had fled a village with their children; the men from the village have been taken to fight in the militia, and there is nothing to eat. They had heard that the ‘population of the highlands have moved to the forest of Itombwe, the forest of the medium-plateaux. People have no humanitarian assistance, spend nights in the open without shelter. All activities are paused’.
Earlier this month, 19 March, I received a message from Luke, the secretary of the executive committee of CEEACO. He is a pastor in Abeka, a nurse at Nundu Hospital, and very reliable driver of a motorbike, with me as passenger! He wrote (in French) that ‘At 3:00 a.m. on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, the Wazalendo of General Kakobanya’s FDCC attacked AFC/Twitwaneho, M23 in the town of Mikenge, Tuwtuwe, Ngezi, Itombwe sector, Mwenga territory. The enemy is in disarray, with nowhere to go. Mikenge is surrounded, with no exit or entrance. All roads leading to Bijabo and Kalingi are blocked by the Wazalendo. The population is urged to remain calm, the Wazalendo are working; nothing will infiltrate.’
As readers of the Friend will know (see ‘Real risks’, 9 January), the M23 has advanced from Goma to Bukavu. Mikenge is on the way to Bukavu. There is a civil war and our friends, Quakers, and many other civilians are caught up in it. There are thousands of internally displaced people, and many have fled to neighbouring countries of Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania.
At the FWCC plenary, Mark and I ran a workshop bringing stories from the DRC into the light. It seemed that at that time there was little visibility of the terrible situation resulting from the legacy of colonialism, illicit exploitation of minerals, impact of climate change, and interference from Rwanda. Although there are many Quakers in DRC, in different groups, there was no one from DRC at the plenary. For the wrong reasons there is now more reporting from DRC in the media, and Quakers in and from DRC have a higher profile.
This is what I want to tell you: in the east of DRC there are many small voluntary groups working for peace, one of which is the Centre for Education Peace and Psychological assistance (CEPAP), supported by QCP UK. CEPAP is an enthusiastic and committed team of fourteen people. These are volunteers, now including Emmanuel, the young man from the high plateau. Each receives a small stipend, and they are led by a project leader, Isaac Saidi. When the project began in 2010, its focus was mainly trauma and healing. Some members of the team still do trauma counselling, especially in the hospital in Abeka, which is partially supported by funds from QCP. They are supporting women who have experienced rape and sexual violence. Now they are giving support and listening to those who are fearful – those who are panicking, fleeing from violence. They will be distributing humanitarian aid.
‘Young people have awakened from their slumber and are taking on peace work.’
The CEPAP team is building peace, working with young people, and preventing sexual violence. Volunteers support twenty Youth Peace Committees and twelve Clubs Amis des Filles (school-based clubs working to prevent sexual violence). In the context of inter-community conflicts, which result in inhuman practices (such as the killings of people supposed to be witches, revenge and murderous reprisals), and a considerable lack of employment, they promote the practice of peace, the protection of the environment, and raise awareness of issues of climate change, physical and mental health, and schooling. Five young women have started their teacher training (there are very few women teachers in secondary schools).
In 2024, Quaker Peace & Social Witness funded a major piece of Turning The Tide (TTT) training. TTT is an approach that links peacebuilding with nonviolent campaigning. It seeks to equip and support people to address root causes of violence with nonviolent tools.
Two groups of young people (one in Fizi and the other in Uvira) are responsible for developing the TTT approach in their respective areas. The participants are inspired and challenged to take action for change, and above all empowered to speak out for justice in their communities. They are now a group of peace actors willing to challenge injustices, and ready to take time to identify, and analyse, issues affecting them. The training has enabled the team to apply and share the skills and knowledge of nonviolence with others in their communities. A third round of training has now been put on hold, however: at the moment, young people are being captured to serve in different militia groups.
When the violence escalated in January, Isaac Saidi wrote an appeal for peace, mercy and solidarity: ‘The sounds of weapons sting hard at the ear and give a message of instability, violence’ but working for peace brings positive change and survival is also possible.
QCP is funding projects in South Kivu and Fizi, including an extension of clean water to Mukwezi. As well as CEPAP there is support for small businesses, often female-led, in agriculture, soapmaking and tailoring, and funding towards costs of hospital in Abeka.
There is also much good work taking place elsewhere. Some of this is supported by the African Great Lakes Consortium and Quaker Peace Network Africa. They are working together with CEEACO to organise the distribution of humanitarian aid to displaced people with no food or shelter. QCP is working with Conflict Minerals Campaign in the UK to raise funds, and with Quaker Africa Interest Group and FWCC to hold a fortnightly Meeting for Worship to uphold those affected by violence in DRC. Please see details elsewhere in this issue, and support us however you are able.
Catherine is co-clerk to Quaker Congo Partnership.
