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Mgr Jean Kockerols, Auxiliary Bishop of Mechelen-Brussels, who is visiting Rwanda and Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo until June 12, is launching an urgent appeal for help for the displaced people of Goma living in deplorable conditions.
After visiting the Kanyaruchinya camp, one of the largest camps for displaced people in eastern DRC, Mgr. Jean Kockerols testifies to the extremely difficult conditions in which they survive.
School infrastructure is absent, hygiene is almost non-existent and living conditions are extremely precarious.
In the shadow of the great Nyiragongo, a 3,470-meter volcano, spreads out “a gigantic camp which is growing day by day, made up of barracks and tents made from recycled plastics”, described to Vatican Radio Mgr Kockerols, upset.
A camp of 72,000 displaced people
The Kanyaruchinya camp was created following clashes between the army of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) and the armed group M23, which displaced a large number of people fleeing the fighting.
8 kilometers north of Goma, the camp now hosts more than 72,000 refugees, including nearly 6,500 survivors of the Nyiragongo volcanic eruption in 2021. 32 people died in the lava flows from this volcano, l one of the most active in Africa.