"And late on May 22, local time, things abruptly escalated: Fractures opened up in the volcano’s rocky sides, spilling fast-moving lava down its slopes. Some of it headed toward the city of Goma, a metropolis just six miles away that’s home to around 1.5 million people. The night sky shimmered with a crimson hue as lava, sometimes pilling up to three stories high, speedily invaded the streets of several villages surrounding Goma and swallowed any buildings it encountered, setting them ablaze. As of this writing, there have been 15 confirmed casualties, a number expected to rise in the coming days. Source: National Geographic News
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| People Flee Goma as Volcano Erupts. Source: The Washington Post |
The village of Mudja, north of the City of Goma, where howFar has a church and clinic, was at the epicenter of the eruption of Mount Nyiragongo.
Several people died, nearly every home was destroyed and hundreds of people were displaced.
Our How Far Foundation of Congo team has been working hard to care for our friends in the aftermath of the eruption.
Last week we received this report from Pastor John, howFar's Director for Democratic Republic of the Congo. "We told Mudja [Batwa Pygmy Village] that today we could supply them with medecines and water and they were too excited. They prayed God to bless you more and more. This time as it is not raining here in Goma and the volcano has burned down the springs that helped to supply Water in Goma and in Mudja the situation is complexe. Many cases of diseases have been noticed day by day,"
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| The howFar Team Prepares to Treat Volcano Victims |
Our team also reported, "Mudja pygmies were too excited to get the medicines and praised Lord for they will get once more free of charge treatment. They prayed God to bless How Far and its team."
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| howFar Food Distribution to the Mudja Community. |
Thank you to everyone who quickly and generously donated to the How Far Foundation Congo Volcano Relief Fund. Your gifts made it possible for us to respond to the crisis by providing food, water, clothing and shelter to people who have no way to help themselves. And now...your donations have provided much needed medicines to treat illnesses caused by thick ash in the air, poor sanitation, and unclean water.
Your help is still needed. To donate to the How Far Foundation Congo Volcano Relief Fund go to www.howFar.org.
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