Democratic Republic of the Congo

Number of people served: 14,688

Two decades of conflict and instability have left the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) with a weakened infrastructure and poor social services. Armed groups continue to roam eastern DRC, fueled by issues of identity, poverty, land conflict, and corrupt governance. Currently, there are more than 537,000 refugees and more than 2.8 million newly internally displaced people (IDPs) since 2018 in the country, living in a mix of official and unofficial camps, as well as with host families.

Our Work in DRC

JRS DRC supports the national primary and secondary education of the North and South Kivu provinces by assisting with school fees, teacher training, and raising awareness about the importance of education. JRS also provides formal and informal education for IDPs in camps surrounding Goma, Masisi and Mweso. In additional to educational services, JRS DRC offers livelihoods training, emergency aid, and extracurricular activities such as sports, films, and traditional dance to help children from both host and camp communities interact peacefully and find common ground. Due to an increase in sexual and gender based violence (SGBV), JRS has also implemented new projects to support survivors with income generating activities, focused psychological support, and community training.

Education