Missionary in DRC's North Kivu: 'We don’t know what will happen tomorrow'

By Beata Zajączkowska

Sister Agnieszka travelled to Africa 20 years ago. She recalled that she already felt her missionary vocation when she was in high school.

“You could say that it was the missions that led me to the Congregation of the Sisters of the Angels,” she confessed. The first years of her religious life, she taught catechism in schools and took care of children and young people. She received permission to go to Africa after professing perpetual vows.

First, she went to Rwanda, then she moved to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. For a decade, she has been running a hospital and nutrition centre for children in the village of Ntamugenga.

She jokingly refers to herself as the man of the house: her occupations include buying taps for sinks, soap, and medicines, paying staff, repairing the roof, finding pots and mattresses for  refugees, and making dangerous trips to Goma, the only town in the region where she can get the necessary medicines, food, and milk for children who have lost their mother.

During her trips, Sr Agnieszka has to pass several checkpoints that are controlled by rebels. At almost all of them, she has to negotiate in order to continue providing aid.

Blood-stained raw materials

Sister Agnieszka’s years of working in North Kivu are marked by repeated conflicts, which, although sometimes more subdued, never end. “As long as the children witness crimes and have to interrupt their studies, there will be no peace in this country”, said the missionary, who cares about the future of the younger generation.

The region is destabilized by more than 100 different groups trying to take control of deposits of cobalt, coltan and niobium, needed to manufacture mobile phones. These minerals are more valuable than gold and diamonds, which the rebels are also looting. It is the civilians who suffer the most, and who do not even see the crumbs of the land’s riches. The people are forced to leave their homes and land due to the upsurge in violence. There are more than 5.6 million internally displaced people in Congo.

The UN peacekeeping mission, whose costs for one year exceeds the national income of the entire Congo, is unable to change the situation. The missionaries do not interfere in politics, but they try to address the powerful humanitarian crisis that is destroying North Kivu.

“Every day, people are dying of hunger and of the most common diseases. Our presence gives people hope and ensures their safety. They call us ‘our sisters’, which means we are very close to them”, said Sister Agnieszka.

Although frail in appearance, she is the point of reference for thousands of people in need living in war conditions. Two sisters, from Rwanda and Congo, courageously support her.

She recalled one of the conflicts in the region. “We are alive only thanks to God’s Providence. Bombs were falling close to our monastery; just a few meters closer and we would have died. The people brought us the wounded, the walls were covered in blood.”

“More refugees arrived at the mission, and the hospital run by the Sisters was struggling to accommodate 5,000 patients, including many wounded. At the moment, the front has moved away from the mission, but the situation is still very difficult.”

The monastery as a place of refuge

The missionary sisters are a point of reference, especially for women with children who, at the first signs of danger, take refuge in their monastery.

During tranquil moments, Sr Agnieszka buys fuel and tries to get as much assistance as possible from abroad. Her foresight has often saved lives.

“Under normal conditions, getting medical assistance is already a miracle, but when the situation worsens, it becomes impossible,” she said. Despite the conflict, the Sisters of the Angels continue to distribute food.

“In this part of the region, almost half the number of children under the age of five suffer from acute malnutrition. Tuberculosis and malaria remain a major challenge. The latter is the disease that still kills the most,” Sr Agnieszka confided.

When asked about the missionaries’ dream, like many inhabitants of the region, she said: “lasting peace. This land is fertile and people could live here in safety and dignity,” she said.

However, as if this region has not suffered enough, from neighbouring Uganda, jihadists linked to the so-called Islamic State are starting to make their presence felt in the region. Reports of defenceless people being massacred and women and children being raped are increasing.

The missionary recalled Pope Francis’ appeal to take our “hands off Africa”. She emphasised that the Pope’s visit to the Congo was an opportunity to shed light on this forgotten corner of the world and to provide it with the humanitarian aid it needs.

Together with other Sisters of the Angels, she asks for prayers that they will have strength and health to continue on their mission.