Please pray for the staff of Goma-based HEAL Africa who make many perilous journeys into outlying areas to bring much-needed healthcare to remote communities. Seven new local health centres have recently been completed in Maniema, with another two planned. HEAL staff are often caught up in the continuing violence. One team member spent 24 hours recently hiding under her bed whilst rebels attacked an adjacent military base. Thankfully no one came into the HEAL property. (Worldshare - September 2011)

A new law passed in DRC gives children of indigenous populations a legal right to access health, education and protection. Unique in the region, this law is being hailed as a milestone in child rights. Indigenous populations are typically the most marginalised and often lack some of the most basic human needs. Such communities are often found in rural areas, the children having little access to education and healthcare. Praise God for this breakthrough in Congolese law. Pray that the government would be vigilant in putting this law into effect and that other countries would see the example that Congo has set and seek to follow in its footsteps. (Viva - March 2011)

DR Congo has, over the past few years, experienced some of the most horrendous massacres in recent history. Coming out of Uganda, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has moved throughout the Congo as well as neighbouring countries, slaughtering men, raping and murdering women and children, and kidnapping boys to turn them into child soldiers. As a result, thousands of people have been displaced from their destroyed villages, seeking refuge in camps. While their head, Joseph Kony, considers himself a ‘spokesperson of God’ they are often led by a witch doctor. Pray for those working among the refugees and pray against the demonic spirits guiding the LRA. (Aim International - July 2010)

CNDP, RUD, PARECO, FDLR, FPJC, FPRI, ADF/NALU - these acronyms may mean little to us, but they mean misery and death to the people of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Each of these sets of initials represents a dangerous armed group operating in what has been called ‘Africa's World War’. The short-lived ceasefire in January 2008 involved 22 armed factions. Since 1996, the conflict has claimed over 5 million Congolese lives and today it is estimated that over a thousand people are killed every day, many of them young children. Pray for lasting peace in this troubled land. (Worldshare - July 2009)