Piecing Life Back Together After the Goma Volcano: CARE Assists Now and for the Long Term

CARE
Monday, 28 January 2002

As the volcano has quieted, the international aid machine has swung into full gear. The roads of Goma are crowded with aid vehicles and 20-ton trucks bringing in food, water containers, blankets, plastic sheets and soap. The warehouse bustles with men unloading trucks, piles of boxes stacked high. Schools and churches serve as staging grounds for a somewhat chaotic, but critical, distribution.

Yet, the enormity of what lies ahead -- how to rebuild the city, restore the economy and give people back their lives -- looms large. Riding on a blackened gravel and dirt road, you suddenly realize you are driving on what once were roofs. It is an enormous junkyard that stretches for acres. Scrap metal and twisted blobs caught in a hardened, black swirling morass. Just last week, here families slept, children went to school, people attended church, and merchants sold services and goods. It's an eerie landscape, where the lava locks fragmented buildings into place, still marked "pharmacy" and "telephone publique." A modern-day ghost town without the luxury of years having passed.

An acrid smell hangs heavy and debris stings the eyes. Despite this, a steady stream of traffic crosses the lava, people on motorcycles and foot going about their routines as best they can.

On a smaller scale, Goma faces challenges similar to those of New York City. The eruption of the Nyiragongo volcano destroyed the town's commercial center. Goma is the economic hub in the eastern part of the country, bordering Rwanda. More than 400,000 people live in the town and surrounding villages. An estimated 100,000 people are without shelter; 50,000 students lost their schools and countless numbers of people lost their livelihoods.

But, unlike the tragedy in New York, there is no cash compensation. There is no insurance. Lost homes and destroyed businesses are worth nothing. A large percentage of the population was extremely vulnerable even before disaster struck. The challenge now is starting over when friends and family on whom one might normally rely are in the same situation.

"We don't know how we shall recover the life. We don't know. That is our one main question," said Sally Muhindo.

During the first week of the emergency, CARE provided critical supplies, such as water containers, firewood, plates and cups. It brought in thousands of blankets and sheets. The agency continues to coordinate distribution of non-food items. However, its more lasting contribution may well lie in what it does next: helping the people of Goma to rebuild their lives.

This could make the difference for people like Sylvain Buhendwa, his wife Ruffine Nsimire and their three children, the oldest of whom is six. The couple, a nurse and a nutritionist, ran a small health clinic and pharmacy. They invested $4,000 and eight years of savings in their clinic. It's now buried under lava.

"I am just looking for a job. Nowadays, I haven't got any money," said Buhendwa.

CARE last year began efforts to start operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the agency worked previously. From 1994-1997, CARE managed a camp in Goma for Rwandan refugees, survivors of the genocide.

The country has suffered from four years of civil year, which has left between 1.6 and 1.8 million persons displaced. About one million of those displaced are located in North and South Kivu Provinces, which includes Goma. These people had difficulty meeting their basic needs even before the eruption. In the Goma area last November, unemployment was estimated at 80 percent.

"There was a huge humanitarian need here even before the crisis," said Eirik Trondsen, one of CARE's emergency coordinators in Goma. "The country is regularly in an emergency state, but it's possible to make long-term improvements. People are innovative and the land is resource-rich and fertile."

CARE's planned activities in Congo include projects to improve health services, roads and agricultural productivity, as well as to help address the impact of HIV/AIDS. As CARE moves toward beginning these projects, the agency will continue to respond to the crisis in Goma.

About CARE

CARE, one of the world's largest international humanitarian organizations, helps people and communities achieve lasting solutions to poverty. Projects include agriculture and natural resources, economic development, education, food, health, water and sanitation, and emergency response. In 2000, CARE programs benefited more than 27 million people in more than 60 countries.

For more information, or to contact CARE, see their website at: www.care.org