Emergency Evacuation Fund: DRC Peacebuilders

On Friday February 14th, M23 rebels captured and occupied Bukavu, the second-largest city in the eastern DR Congo. This follows M23’s capture of Goma, the largest city in the region just north of Bukavu. Fighting in Goma during M23’s takeover resulted in the death of over 3,000 individuals. Moreover, 70,000 emergency shelters around Goma and Minova were destroyed in the fighting, leaving 350,000 internally displaced people without protection.

Now, the same violence has reached Bukavu, which is suffering from blocked access to aid routes and supplies. We are aiming to provide emergency financial support to our Congolese colleagues to ensure safety for those who remain in the city, and support for those who choose to evacuate. For a recent report on the situation, see these new pieces:

Our Goal:

We are currently seeking $4,000 in emergency, quick release funds, with a longer-term goal of $20,000 to support as many families to evacuate as possible.

We estimate that ground transportation costs approximately $500 per family Air evacuation, when needed, costs up to $1,500 per family

How funds will be used:

Funding will be distributed through our local partner, Research Initiative for Social Development (RISD). RISD has been identified as the organization that is best placed to operate as a local ‘fundermediary’ to identify those in need and disperse funds rapidly, due to their ongoing extensive network of peacebuilders throughout Eastern Congo and the broader country. They are a highly respected local research and peacebuilding organization and have operated in this capacity previously, primarily during USAID’s ‘Facilitating Financial Sustainability’ project.

The donations will be disseminated by Emmanuel on behalf of RISD to the local network of peacebuilders on a needs-based model. The funding is intended to cover expenses incurred as a result of the current M23 takeover of Bukavu, which has produced a humanitarian emergency, particularly in the absence of USAID funding. RISD’s peacebuilders face two particular paths - In cases where Peacebuilders within RISD’s network decide to remain, they face a complex situation of surviving within the city during its occupation. Where peacebuilders decide to evacuate, they face expenditure related to travel. Currently there are two primary forms of expenditure associated with this campaign:

Subsistence needs: This mainly involves funds to cover communication expenses (e.g. minutes and data), water, electricity, food and medicine for those remaining in Bukavu and nearby villages.

Evacuation needs: This involves transportation costs, including bus, train, car and motorbike fares.

Megan Renoir will receive the transfer directly from GoFundMe. Megan is a current doctoral candidate at the University of Cambridge and a Research Analyst for the University of Pennsylvania. Since 2016, Megan has worked with RISD on various research projects, and she maintains a direct relationship with the team at RISD today.

The funds will be sent directly to RISD’s account under Emmanuel’s name as the Managing Director via a Western Union transfer from Megan’s account. Megan has managed transfers to this account since 2016 and has a working financial relationship with RISD. Megan is able to provide financial reports associated with this fundraiser as and when needed.

Upon receipt of the funding, RISD will disburse funds locally via cell-to-cell payments using Airtel and M-Pesa.

Thank you all for your support <3 <3