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Congo Project

NOTE: A Google map has been created by Keith Gustafson, PCP part-time staffer and ECC missionary. This map shows all the principal sites where the PCP is working with the CEUM. Zoom and Satellite features are available. Follow this link to the map:

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=106113482486755048743.0004544c69207f4991f4c

A similar map is available in PDF format, scanned from a portion of a DRC map published by Cartographia (2nd ed.), with CEUM/PCP sites added by PCP staff. Access this PDF map here: Ubangi Region Map

Congo has made the news during the past few years -- but you have to watch for it. The broadcast news networks have looked at Congo occasionally, such as a series of on-site reports by Ann Curry for the NBC Nightly News in Feb. of this year. In June 2006 a cover story in Time magazine was "Con-

go: The Hidden Toll of the World's Dead-

liest War." Shortly before that, CNN reported on a study published in the British medical journal Lancet, documenting that hidden toll. Four million people died in or as a result of the civil strife in the Democratic Republic of Congo between 1998 and 2004, making it the deadliest war the world has seen since World War II.

And the dying continues. A peace agreement signed in 2002 reduced the violence but did not end it. According to a report released by the International Rescue Committee in January 2008 (reported in our News section), the death toll now stands at 5.4 million. Each month 45,000 Congolese die from war-related causes--1,500 people every day. Some meet violent deaths; many die of disease and starvation that are among the war's legacies. Nearly half of them are children. The diseases are "preventable and easily treatable," according to the IRC--but there are few resources to treat them. The death rate is 40 percent higher than the average for sub-Sarahan Africa. In the words of the Time article, "Some wars go on killing long after they end."

As reported by Foreign Policy magazine, in the 2007 Failed States Index Congo now stands at number 7 out of 177 countries ranked--an improvement over its previous number 2 spot, but still above such countries as Afghanistan and Bangladesh. (Sudan remains the number-one failed state.)

And yet, despite these periodic reports, most of the world is not paying attention. Time calls Congo "a forgotten nation." In response to the tsunami in south Asia, the United Nations' appeal for donations raised $550 for every person in need. The response to their appeal for Congo was $9 per person. Darfur, Katrina and Rita, the cyclone in Myanmar and earthquakes in China--there are so many needs that appeal to our hearts and our faith commitments as Christians. In the midst of it all, Congo has fallen through the cracks in the world's compassion.

In June 2004 the Paul Carlson Partnership launched its Congo Project. Drawing on seven decades of experience in Congo, the PCP formed partnerships with leaders of the Communauté Évangélique de l’Ubangi-Mongala (the Congolese Covenant church, known as the CEUM) and with individuals in the U.S. who have spent many years living and working in Congo. Together we identified extensive needs health, poverty, and education.

We have seen generous gifts and real successes. Here are just a few of them:

Over a quarter-million patients have been cared for at 4 hospitals and 80 village clinics.
Roofs and furnishings are being rebuilt at schools.
Women have received machetes and hoes that now enable them to grow food.
Portable sawmills are producing lumber for construction and income to their operators.
Bridges on critical routes have been rebuilt.
A self-sustaining soap-making business now serves 5,000 people.
Essential medical equipment is arriving at the hospitals to replace equipment destroyed in the war.
Young girls whose families cannot afford to pay their school fees are receiving scholarships and advancing their education.
A revolving fund has provided machetes (essential for agriculture) to 1,500 people, and continues self-funding more machetes.
Five foundations and a corporation have made major grants to the PCP for the Congo Project. Individuals and churches have given gifts from $5 to six-figure amounts.

HOW YOU CAN PARTICIPATE

Make a contribution to the Paul Carlson Partnership. Send your check to the address given below, and designate an area of ministry if you wish. If you prefer to give online, click here. If you would like to use automatic transfer of funds, contact Sally Johnson for the authorization form.
See our 2008 Project Catalog for specific needs, or order printed copies at no charge from the online Covenant Bookstore.
Share our 2008 children’s catalog, Kids Helping Kids! with your own family or children’s groups at your church. Order printed copies at no charge from the online Covenant Bookstore.
Purchase Paul Carlson items from Covenant Bookstore: the book Monganga Paul, the DVD Monganga, and a coffee mug with art by a Congolese artist. Net proceeds go to support the Congo Project.
Request a speaker to come to your church or organization by e-mailing Byron Miller or the PCP office.
Include the Paul Carlson Partnership in your estate planning. Contact Elliott Johnson at the PCP or Covenant Estate Planning Services for more information.
Follow what's happening with the work of the Paul Carlson Partnership in Congo. Send a short e-mail to the PCP office to sign up for the e-mailed PCP Updates .