The setting for Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has suffered merciless exploitation since Belgium’s King Leopold made it his personal property.
Potentially Africa’s richest country, DRC has vast resources of timber, minerals, oil and gas. Such riches – as well as ethnic rivalries – lie at the heart of the conflict that has blighted DRC since independence in 1965.
In 1997, DRC plunged into a many-sided war, at one point involving armies of six African nations. By 2002, more than 4 million people had died: the deadliest conflict since the Second World War.
Since then, a peace plan and a UN peacekeeping force have held all-out conflict at bay. But sporadic violence continues. Women are most vulnerable, especially to rape.
Mass displacement has put millions of children at risk of illiteracy, child labour and sex trafficking.
Lack of access to safe water, sanitation and healthcare is compounded by humidity and high rainfall – an ideal breeding ground for epidemics – while barely useable roads cause food surpluses to rot and push up imported food costs.
Amid these huge challenges, the church has been recognised by DRC’s government as a major ‘institutional body’ able to reach marginalised communities with aid.