Goma, Monday November 10, 2008

After the bewilderment of the end of October, the AVSI team in Goma has regrouped is and up and running even if fighting has continued in the field and has worsened on all sites (Nyanzale, Kikuku, Rutshuru, and Ngungu). All NGOs have withdrawn staff from the field. MONUC patrols are working properly during the night and night pillages have been reduced due to the improvement of security.

Activities: 1) Distribution of non-food items up to November 1st: 300 blankets, 1,050 bars of soap, 200 sheets of plastic, 300 jerrycans, intravenous solutions and other medicines for those affected by cholera, among the displaced persons welcomed on the premises of the Don Bosco Youth Center in Ngangi, Goma. Procurement of other essentials like clothes, cooking pots and protein biscuits are underway.

2) Last week AVSI, as the head of the education cluster for North Kivu, in association with UNICEF, called for an emergency meeting of the organizations involved in education to map the current situation and needs in the Rutshuru and Masisi area schools. A set of interventions is planned to start in one month focused on psychosocial recovery, recreational activities, and remedial courses along with basic rehabilitation of school facilities.

3) Regarding Distance Support Program: AVSI is continuing to trace the children and their families in the area around Goma and the displaced camp of Kibati, out of the 1,400 children sponsored in the DSP program in the country; it is estimated that the tracing will be finalized within 2 days.

4) AVSI-UNICEF protection program. The recreational activities, organized for children not enrolled in school, will be resumed today in the IDP camp Kibati (6 Km from Goma); this IDP camp is now hosting refugees coming from the IDP camp Kibumba (about 30,000 persons). The infrastructure, built to host children for protection activities, is now occupied by the new displaced persons. We have planned to run outdoor activities including simple games and using limited materials. Our deposit had been looted and now the space is being used for shelter by the new IDP families. As far it concerns the other IDP camps in which we were operating along the Kibirizie-Kikuku route, we are not able to access them at this time because of continuing attacks in this area. We plan to wait until next week. Along the Sake-Mweso route, AVSI has organized a mission that most probably will leave on Wednesday to assess the situation, pay the salaries of the staff and hopefully restart the activities.

5) Food Security Program with ECHO. AVSI mission has left Goma today to reach Nyamilima (beyond the front fighting line in Rutshuru because it is not possible to reach this location from Goma) passing through Rwanda and Uganda. She should arrive there within today or at least tomorrow morning. Because of the urgency to continue the activities, due to the agricultural season, we have decided to reach Nyamilima using a longer but more secure route. On Mweso-Pinga route and Kitchanga, our agriculturalists finalized the sowing before the beginning of the war (Birambizo and Kalembe). They now returned to Goma and they will leave the town to reach the field on Wednesday, if the security situation permits.

6) AVSI-UNICEF, Emergency Training: the training based on AVSI psychosocial module is planned to start this Wednesday. The beginning of the field activities (teacher training and school assistance in order to facilitate school enrolment) will start most probably next Monday in the front fighting territories (Kibati, Kibumba if possible and surroundings of Sake). UNICEF has expressed its intention to expand the intervention zone already foreseen for this project and we have provided our availability to double our team and the number of beneficiaries in case there will be funds immediately availability.

7) In the areas not affected by the conflict in South Kivu where AVSI is the implementing agency for the province of the Program of Expanded Assistance to Returns (PEAR) and of other educational and livelihood interventions supported by EU, all the activities are continuing and the situation is rather calm. The activities are being implemented as foreseen, including distribution of school kits for approximately 700 schools and 150,000 children. Access to some areas of South Kivu is restricted but alternate routes can be found. As far as it concerns the "Little" North (Rutshuru and Masisi), we are waiting and studying the situation. Tomorrow morning we will move the didactic materials from UNICEF deposit to our store in order to be ready and to organize the distribution quickly when the security situation improves.

"Close" Future: 1) Education in emergency activities are being planned in conjunction with UNICEF within primary schools.

2) The Protection Project in the IDP camps will continue with responsiveness to the specific needs of the field.

3) Secondary schools: this situation is very bad and financing is limited since donors such as UNICEF are restricted to funding primary schools. Additional fundraising is needed.

WE CALL FOR DONATIONS TO SUPPORT EDUCATION ACTIVITIES INCLUDING HIGH-SCHOOL STUDENTS AND STRUCTURES

Contact: Edoardo Tagliani AVSI RDC - Goma +243 997670075 +250 08874756