Kinshasa, May 2nd, 2025 (CPA) – Six hundred and twelve (612) tonnes of food and essential products have been handed over to Congolese refugees in Bujumbura, in the Republic of Burundi, by the First Lady of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), an official source told us on Wednesday in Kinshasa. ‘This donation was given to site managers to support the urgent needs of displaced people, 38% of whom are women at risk, 31% unaccompanied children, and 4% survivors of conflict-related sexual violence, supported by UN agencies including the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),’ said Denise Nyakeru Tshisekedi, First Lady of the DRC. ‘With the support of the Fonds national de réparation des victimes des violences sexuelles liés aux conflits et des crimes contre la paix et la sécurité de l’humanité (FONAREV), this donation consists of flour, cornmeal, beans, sugar, oil, soya, soap, hygiene kits, clothes, loincloths, babouches and other goods. These donations will not erase the wounds, but they bear witness to our promise never to abandon those who are suffering’, she added, before hailing the exemplary solidarity of the Burundian people, while stressing that history will remember the difference between those who destroy and those who protect. ‘Burundi has shown its love for the thousands of Congolese who have lost everything. This gesture strengthens the bonds of friendship that exist between the two countries’, said Ms Nyakeru Tshisekedi.
A moment of compassion and meditation
Accompanied by Mrs Angeline Ndayishimiye, First Lady of Burundi, the two First Ladies paid a field visit to the Musenyi site, in the commune of Giharo, in the province of Rutana, Burundi. They also visited the mobile clinic set up on the site to provide care for the refugees. At the site, the First Ladies were greeted by children singing in Swahili and Kirundi, in an atmosphere of fraternity and hope, despite the precarious conditions. They also observed a minute’s silence in tribute to a child barely a year old who died on the site a few hours before the visit. This tragedy is a reminder of the urgency and seriousness of the situation faced by the displaced people. The visit by the First Ladies to the Musenyi site was an important cross-border event. Leaving Bujumbura at dawn by land, the Congolese delegation travelled more than 150 km in the rain, on tarmac and dusty roads, to show their closeness to the 17,853 Congolese settled in Musenyi. These families come from Uvira, Walungu, Bukavu, Sake, Kamanyola, Minova and Goma, all regions hard hit by the conflicts.