Living conditions are still difficult in Congo after Mount Nyiragongo erupted May 22, 2021, says Safari Munyakazi, president of the Community of Free Baptist Churches in Congo. Members of one his association’s churches have been living in tents since the eruption, but conditions are “very deplorable,” he says.

Food, water, and extra clothing are scarce, and many tents serving as shelters are worn out. “There are even people sleeping on the ground,” he adds. “Soon we will be in the rainy season.”

When he visited the tent city, one mother told him, “We suffer a lot, especially us women and children. It has been five months since we have had anymore drinking water and food. We women are catching infections and other illnesses, and we have no medicine. Others even risk starving to death.”

These victims are a “distraught population,” Safari says. “They claim to have received no assistance from the government for almost six months, except for a few interventions from people in good faith. In addition, the camp is no longer supplied with drinking water.” Currently 187 families live in this tent city.

“Continue to pray for us so that we can have the means to meet [these people’s] needs,” Safari says.

Donate online, by phone, or by check to help Pastor Safari Munyakazi purchase food and necessities for their church members. Mark your gift “compassion fund.”