What you can do to help

ACT.

Download our petition and gather signatures.

This petition will eventually be handed to the UK government and to the United Nations as an expression of our desire for them to act to bring the fighting in Congo to an end. Many MPs and other politicians are feeling vulnerable right now - this is a good time to impress them with what we think is important.

We can also send you blank petition forms through the post on request.

Please send completed forms to:
  WorldShare, FREEPOST DC829, Bawtry, Doncaster, DN10 6BR.

Follow these guidelines to write letters to the UK's…

Government / MP's *

…and…

companies with links to D.R. Congo *

*Both these links open a Microsoft Word document which you can adapt.

PRAY. Pray for peace in Congo, and for a just end to the overlapping conflicts. Pray for the work of HEAL Africa, and for their patients, especially the women victims of abuse. Only God can truly change this situation. You may find the following prayer helpful:

A Prayer for the Democratic Republic of Congo,

    O God,
    loving parent of all,
    comfort your children
    displaced, wounded or orphaned
    by conflict in Congo;
    and give the people of that country
    courage to seek enduring peace with justice and freedom,
    that their children might grow up without fear;
    for the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Adapted by Canon Ian Tarrant from a prayer in the 1998 Congo Swahili Prayer Book, written after the 1996-97 war. Please ask your church also to include this in their prayers.

LEARN. Wikipedia and other websites have a great deal of information on DR Congo. HEAL Africa's website www.healafrica.org will give you much more information about this ministry.

WATCH THE FILM. LUMO is a film which focuses on the life of one victim of rape, as she is treated and rehabilitated at HEAL Africa. It "tells the story of thousands through the profile of one" (New York Times).

After a successful nation-wide tour, LUMO is now available to show at your church. One of our representatives will be glad to bring the film, and projection equipment. Please contact our office to make a booking, via email or telephone (01302) 710273. Please note that the film is 72 minutes long, and has a '15' certificate.

GIVE. WorldShare seeks gifts for any part of HEAL Africa's ministries, particularly:

• Quality of Care project - training nurses and improving facilities in Goma and elsewhere
• Orthopaedic Officers and Medical Equipment engineers training courses
• Heal My People project - caring for the victims of sexual violence

Gifts are welcome from individuals, churches and other groups and will be carefully used to bring care to those in need. Your help is vital to continue and extend these services.

SPEAK UP. HEAL Africa have noticed quite clearly the importance of the world's attention being on Congo. When Congo is in the news and the attention of governments and ordinary people are focussed there, the fighting is held down. When attention moves elsewhere, the violence gets worse. In a biblical sense, the men of violence prefer to do their work in the darkness rather than in the light!

Help us to keep attention focused on Congo.

• Tell your friends about the situation and the work of HEAL Africa. Show them this article - we can supply extra copies.
• Our representatives are willing to come and speak about Congo at any church, fellowship, school or other group.