Africa Appeal
St. Bride of Kildare V3Y 2B6 Pitt Meadows, BC, Canada

This from Bishop Steven Ayule-Milenge: translation: The photo showing cattle grazing, is of the 'high plateaux' around Fizi, Uvira and Itombwe, where Congolese armed groups are fighting with foreign militias to gain control of the grazing rights by trying to develop an ethnic conflict: the Congolese Tutsi Banyamulenge 'ranchers', supported by the foreign militias, so that they can take over the land. The local people and the Banyamulenge farmers are now under the protection of the Congolese army and the United Nations forces: they wonder who has profited from this violence: they have lived together peacefully, but now have lost families around this region. There is a great need for the teaching and encouragement of peaceful cohabitation. Our church is active in each of these areas.

This from Bishop Steven Ayule-Milenge: translation: The photo showing cattle grazing, is of the 'high plateaux' around Fizi, Uvira and Itombwe, where Congolese armed groups are fighting with foreign militias to gain control of the grazing rights by trying to develop an ethnic conflict: the Congolese Tutsi Banyamulenge 'ranchers', supported by the foreign militias, so that they can take over the land. The local people and the Banyamulenge farmers are now under the protection of the Congolese army and the United Nations forces: they wonder who has profited from this violence: they have lived together peacefully, but now have lost families around this region. There is a great need for the teaching and encouragement of peaceful cohabitation. Our church is active in each of these areas.

This just in from Bishop Wilsoj Garang, Diocese of Aweil, South Sudan: 'We thank God that the Corona Virus is not very serious in South Sudan but starvation and other diseases are still claiming many lives. This year the rains delayed and started raining in July and we are unsure about this year’s harvest. We pray that the Lord will help the population who are starving and dying from treatable diseases. We also want to make these needs known to the people who could be of assi...stance and pray for God’s provision. We are praying for God’s protection over you and our donors during this trying period of COVID 19. We have an urgent need for 10 orphans who came to our church in Aweil this week to seek for assistance and we could not send them away because they may lose their lives and one of them is severely malnourished. The plan is to accommodate and feed them within our church compound. I am appealing and requesting on behalf of the orphans to make their needs known to people who can assist and also you to assist with what you can. It is my prayer and hope that the Lord will help you to get donors to assist the orphans and the starving population so that many lives can be saved from diseases and starvation. May God give you favour and touch the hearts of the people you will be talking to give generously for the affected population. Attached is the information about the orphans.

The Trinity Issue (June) of the Africa Appeal is now online at

Such sad news when we consider the coronavirus pandemic at this time....

Recent rains have caused a massive flood to occur in Uvira, Su-Kivu, destroying many homes and other buildings, including the secondary school which was built by the Anglican Catholic church in Sud-Kivu. We are thankful that Fr. Mamba Itongwa and his family were not affected by this flood, but will need support so that the students might be able to continue their education!

This report from the UNHCR deals with the devastating floods which have affected the town of Uvira, Sud Kivu, where the ACC has a parish whose rector is Fr. Mamba Itongwa Ifela. ttps://reliefweb.int/report/democratic-republic-congo/massive-floods-drc-s-south-kivu-impact-80000-people-kill-dozens

Rwanda: this comes from Fr. Chadrack Niyibizi, just after I had sent the link for the Lenten Africa Appeal: at that time, we had no awareness of the war that we should have to fight , a global struggle with an enemy which we are unable to see! Within days, Rwanda was one of the first countries in Central Africa to impose restrictions on groups and churches. 'We hope you are safe and we are praying for your safety. Life here like any other part of the world has changed drasti...cally. For now all public places has been closed. Our clergy are affected greatly as most of the activities that would put bread at their table has been brought to a hold. We are short of words. Any support is needed at this times to keep their families alive. Yours in Christ, Fr. Chadrack.'

Cameroon: At the same time as the Journal du Cameroun published the previous post, Bishop Alphonse writes that his children have had a recurrence of malaria: I cannot imagine how difficult it must be, living in Yaoundé, and having to cope with the coronavirus restrictions, which include the closing of churches, as well as serious challenges for his family's health. All help will be very gratefully received!!

This is news from the Journal du Cameroun: In less than twenty-four hours, twenty-four people tested positive with the COVID-19 pandemic in Cameroon, taking the total number of confirmed cases to two hundred and thirty-three. In a tweet late last night, the Minister of Public Health Dr Malachie Manaouda called for more vigilance on the part of Cameroonians and advised everyone to put on a face mask when stepping out of the house or otherwise stay at home. At this stage, eve...ryone must protect his/herself and others by covering your mouth and nose when leaving your homes, especially if you have to take public transport or go to the market. Otherwise the recommended option is to stay at home as much as possible. Dr Manaouda said. As at yesterday before midnight, the number of confirmed cases was at two hundred and twenty-three, with two hundred and seven active cases. Early this morning, the number rose to two hundred and thirty-three after ten other persons, three in Yaounde and seven in Douala tested positive from a series of eighty-one samples screened. Cameroonians have been told the fight against this pandemic involves everybody and that it is only through a collective action that the country will contain the virus. Our determination to overcome this pandemic is unwavering, but it necessarily involves all of us. Our awareness, our sense of responsibility and our personal discipline are all additives for a collective fight against COVID-19. Together? Dr Manaouda enjoined them in a tweet.

The coronavirus has arrived in Bukavu, DRC. This a note to Bishop Steven Ayule-Milenge: 'Cependant, ce que vous m'avez écrit ce matin, avec l'arrivée de ce virus à Bukavu, vous êtes bien conscient des risques qui nous entourent ici à l'ouest, et l'effet de cette guerre envers une ennemi invisible sur la population! Je viens d'écrire ceci vers une paroissienne (avec une erreur - je l'ai dit qu'il y avait eu un mort à Bukavu, pas qu'il y avait eu deux cas)' The main problem for... the people of Bukavu is critical: in a city where there are no major supermarkets, where the bulk of the food sold each day is brought into the city by people from the villages in the area, where they set up market stalls. If you try and set in place a 'lockdown' and close the markets, so as to establish the 'social distancing' with which so many of us have become familiar, there will be major problems with food distribution. Th border with Rwanda, at the city limits of Bukavu, is closed, as Rwanda itself attempts to fight this virus - but Rwanda is also the major a source of food supplies for Bukavu and the province, Sud-Kivu, exacerbating the challenge.... See more

For those who do receive assistance from the Appeal, 6his note is a copy of a message sent this past week: 'Il faut que je vous explique ce qui nous est arrivé. L'économie de notre pays est en arrêt: tous les restaurants et bars sont fermés, les hôtels sont vides: quand je sors de chez moi, faire une promenade, quand j'aurais vu les avions qui s'approchent l'aéroport de Vancouver, le ciel est maintenant presque vide, en silence! Surtout, now comptes bancaires sont tous en ba...isse: les bourses ont perdu à peu près de 30%: donc, les gens sont effrayés, ce qui veut dire que leurs appuis pour notre Appel soient aussi, en perte! Nous espérons maintenir les fonds chaque mois pour l'instant'... Here in British Columbia: 'Today I have to go to the store for my weekly food visit. And then, I hope, to get a walk: I hope that we shall be able to continue that for our health, both mental and physical!! I also have to try and explain the impact of all this to our friends in Africa: today a message from Bishop Steven in Congo, where they now have had the first cases of coronavirus, and the first death in Bukavu (there is a college of medicine there - where the Nobel prize winning doctor works as well): but the consequences in a city where there are no major supermarkets, where people from the villages come to the city to see the produce they have grown in city markets: how on earth can you have 'social distancing' when in a crowded outdoor market? Of course, the other request is for or help: but this at a time when most have to be concerned about their own financial state: and how long the whole thing might last, with perhaps even more damage done!' Nous chercherons encore des fonds pour vous: gardez nous dans vos prières, s.v.p.!