According to experts, there are over 130 militia groups in eastern Congo. One of these groups, the March 23rd Movement - commonly known as M23, has been operating in North Kivu for over a decade. M23 rose to prominence in eastern Congo when they first took over Goma in 2012. Although the Congolese government and M23 entered into a ceasefire agreement later that year, M23 restarted their operations in late 2021.

Our response focuses on the 3000 staff and beneficiaries already being served by Africa New Day programs in Goma and we are coordinating with other response agencies and partners. We are starting by distributing water and food to the most vulnerable in our group, and are expanding to the rest as resources are available. We need financial support to provide water, food, communication credit, and trauma response support (see the table below for a detailed breakdown).

On Thursday, January 23, 2025 we received reports from the team in Goma, Eastern DRC that M23 rebels had increased their hostilities in the areas surrounding Goma and had captured Minova in South Kivu, a key town on the supply route to Goma. Unfortunately, the fighting continued over the weekend displacing more civilians, and has culminated in M23 claiming to have captured and taken control of Goma.

The stories of Afghan women have deeply moved our team on the ground in the DRC. The women who participate in Women of Congo programming have all endured their own struggles, which has led them to feel a profound connection with their sisters in Afghanistan. They understand what it means to be forced out of school, into early marriages, endure abuse and fight to rise above, seeking opportunities to flourish for themselves and future generations.

We’ve been shining light on the challenges of individuals working in cobalt mines. Today we want to bring light to the women having to participate in survival sex, who have no other option to keep existing from day to day. Africa New Day is working hard to create new options for these precious women. We’re giving women a space to share without judgment, providing counseling services, and then training them in a skill so they have another way to make money. But more on that in a moment.

Impoverished “artisanal miners” in the DRC are being exploited, working for just dollars a day to survive. They’re working in horrifying, subhuman conditions, often experiencing injury and death. Children, trafficked individuals, and mothers with babies on their backs are working side-by-side in artisan mines. Find out what you can do to help end this crisis.

Africa New Day is a non-profit determined to end the cycles of violence, poverty, and inequality fostered by lack of knowledge, bad governance, and the absence of opportunities through sustainable and long-term solutions. The following is a list of our upcoming 2024 networking and fundraising events.

We wanted to share with you a bit about cobalt mining in the DR Congo, the abysmal “modern-day slavery” conditions that exist in these mines, and what we can all do to help. Like with most things in the DRC, the history goes way back, and there are full books devoted to the cobalt crisis.