I hope you’re safe and well.

I’m reaching out with a detailed update on the security situation near our schools in the DRC, as well as urgent news about our fundraising efforts, including an active campaign you can support directly. Please read on for a comprehensive overview of what’s happening, how it affects our work at Congo Restoration, and how together we can continue making a difference.

Background

Between February 5 and 16, 2025, the M23 rebel group from Rwanda violently seized Bukavu, the town where our founder, Mama Gorethy, lives and not far from our two schools. During their push, looting, gunfire, and extreme civil unrest erupted. Many people were killed, and the situation continues to be dangerous.

Human rights crisis

Multiple aid organizations, including MSF and Amnesty International, have documented a surge in human rights abuses — looting, shootings, arbitrary arrests, disappearances, and use of sexual violence as a weapon of war. MSF teams report treating hundreds of cases, and local groups have uncovered mass graves. UNICEF estimates at least 7,000 deaths in the region since January.

These developments have created a humanitarian emergency. Over 1.5 million people have been displaced, and inflation has driven food and commodity prices through the roof.

A peace deal

Rwanda and DRC signed a peace deal in Washington, D.C., on June 27 to end the fighting with promises of millions of dollars of mineral deals given to the United States. While Rwandan troops are supposed to withdrawal within 90 days, there are no signs on the ground of things getting better.

Impact on Congo Restoration

Both of our schools are in the village of Mudaka, which has been relatively safe from the violence in nearby Bukavu. Our primary school girls are in full-day summer sessions, catching up from the disruption in the spring, and our sewing school students are learning about business and being in community until we feel it is safe enough to replace the sewing machines that were looted in the violence in February.

Thank you for your continued support

This situation is both fragile and urgent. The girls and women we serve deserve safety, a path to healing, and the education we promised them. Your support brings them closer to a future where education, not conflict, marks their daily life.

Endless thanks for your continued support.

Dawn McMullan
Chair of the Board of Directors