Samaritan's Purse specializes in meeting critical needs for victims of war, disaster, famine, and epidemics in the world's most troubled regions. We match resources to needs, personnel to situations, capabilities to opportunities. We often work through ministry partners already on the scene of a crisis.

The following story describes our ministry to provide emergency supplies in Jesus' Name.

Listen to Dr. Cooper's latest report from Goma, where he helped save the life of a five-year-old boy who was shot during a gun battle between rival militias.
A 5-year-old boy was nearly killed when he was caught in the crossfire in a gun battle between rival factions in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It was the latest incident in an escalating civil conflict that has claimed thousands of lives and driven more than 250,000 people from their homes.

Samaritan’s Purse is rushing emergency aid to thousands of refugees who have fled to camps near Goma, the provisional capital of North Kivu.

Our DC-3 cargo plane is flying loads of food, blankets, medical supplies, and shelter materials into Goma. Camps around the city continue to expand as hundreds of new refugees arrive daily.

“People are just flooding in and the camps are being overwhelmed,” said Dr. Warren Cooper, who is leading the Samaritan’s Purse disaster relief team in Goma. “There are people living in squalor, many of them without any shelter at all. This afternoon there was a downpour. People had nowhere to go and they were just standing in the rain. It was heartbreaking.”

Samaritan’s Purse has started relief efforts in Bugunga, a camp of about 7,000 people located southwest of Goma. Clean water and general sanitation are critical as cases of cholera, measles, and whooping cough are on the rise. Water purification systems, showers, and latrines are being provided.

Dr. Cooper is also helping physicians in local hospitals deal with a huge increase in war-related injuries, including gunshot and shrapnel wounds.

“I saw between 20 and 30 gunshot related extremity fractures, presenting very, very difficult orthopedic problems,” Dr. Cooper said.

Some civilians also have been hit, including 5-year-old Jean-Paul who was shot through the neck. He was injured in the town of Masisi during fighting between rival militia groups. He was standing near the doorway and caught a stray bullet. The bullet came out the other side.

“I operated on him to explore the wound and make sure that nothing critical was injured,” Dr. Cooper said. “He survived the operation and is now doing very well.”

Samaritan’s Purse is supplying local hospitals with medical supplies to help meet the increasing influx of injured patients seeking treatment. Two other physicians are joining Dr. Cooper to help meet medical needs in the hospitals and refugee camps.

The 10-year struggle in the Democratic Republic of Congo has claimed more than five million lives. The conflict has also driven thousands across borders into Uganda and Rwanda.

The United Nations has 17,000 peacekeepers in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, with another 3,000 on the way. An uneasy truce between the Congolese army and rebel commander Laurent Nkunda has made Goma a safe haven for refugees, but the situation is tense.

Nkunda sent a message to the United Nations offering to allow “humanitarian organizations access to those in need who are behind our lines.” However, fighting in rebel-held areas is preventing aid from reaching northern refugee camps.

Samaritan’s Purse is focusing its efforts on refugee camps near Goma.

WAYS YOU CAN HELP

PRAY:

GIVE: