Story number 1 for 6 Mar 2003

(Democratic Republic of Congo)–In the aftermath of a fierce civil war, there is a remnant of survivors, ghosts of their former selves, and shadows of what were healthy communities. The Democratic Republic of Congo’s plight called hundreds of aid groups in, but the succession of failed peace accords has been taxing. So much so, that a new approach is warranted. Compassion International’s Mark Yeadon. “While we were doing some valid things in the area of relief, we were not able to accomplish what was really core to our ministry, which was reaching children through this development. So, we made the decision to phase out from our individual child sponsorship programs there.” Yeadon says Compassion found a way to meet the children’s physical and spiritual needs. “We have developed an emergency relief response that has been going on these last six months. So, our Congalese staff have been responding in more a relief type mode to the families, to the church partners and to the children themselves.”