24th April 2026

The violence conflict in eastern DRCongo has intensified over the past twelve months.  Hundreds of thousands of people across the region have been displaced. Tens of thousands have fled to one of the world’s poorest countries, Burundi. In Burundi more than 80,000 Congolese refugees are seeking safety in overcrowded camps. This has placed significant additional demands on the country’s limited resources that also need to be constantly disinfected to stop disease. More than half the population of Busuma camp are children, Some families have been separated in the confusion of their fleeing to safety. The ICRC tell the story of Sakina from a village in South Kivu. She arrived at Busuma camp in December 2025. Separated from her husband, she is alone with her children. ‘Some of us have no food, no shelter and no blankets. We sleep on the ground, and the children are dying of cold and hunger,’ she says.  According to the UNHCR, there are just under 120,000 displaced people across the globe. Approximately 7 million people live in refugee camps, over 22% of the global refugee population. 

Loving God, we cry with and for those who have been forced from their homes by violence and death. We place into your care all now living in refugee camps and ask you to surround them with your love.  Grant them your protection, shield them from danger, illness, and despair. Give them strength for each new day.  We thank you for the work of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and similar humanitarian organisations, that ensure no one is forgotten or abandoned. Bless all who provide , food, shelter, safety, kindness and dignity.  May uncertainty be replaced by hope, and violence and war by peace and love.  We look forward to that day when camps for displaced people will no longer be required and the whole world lives in unity. In the name of Jesus we pray.  Amen.

The image of Busuma Camp is from UNICEF.

You can support UNICEF's work in Sudan here.

​International medical humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has highlighted the needs of over 5,000 people who have recently fled their homes and are now living in extremely precarious conditions in Pulka, Gwoza local government area of Borno State in Nigeria.  Many of those displaced, including women, children and older people, arrived with little to no belongings. With no adequate shelter available, families are sleeping in open spaces and along the streets. The good news is that MSF are supporting these people and following a new wave of displacement triggered by armed violence, launched an emergency response, yesterday. The organisation's intervention has provided more than 900 families with non‑food items, including cooking utensils, sleeping mats, mosquito nets, jerrycans and buckets. Additionally,  884 dignity kits, including menstrual hygiene products, soap and oral hygiene items, were provided to people who arrived in highly vulnerable conditions. MSF is calling on humanitarian organisations to urgently scale up assistance in Pulka, particularly regarding food aid and water interventions.

Lord of all being,

it is right to give unceasing thanks and praise to you,

 Holy God,

ruler of the universe and giver of life. 

We give thanks to you for our creation in your image

and for all the blessings of this life. 

We love you with all our hearts and souls and minds. 

We love you because we see your love

in every part of our lives. 

We sense your love woven into all of life,

in joy, in sadness, in relationships,

in achievements and failures.

You are indeed Lord of all we know

and of all that is unknowable. 

We give you praise and thanks

for your immeasurable love

in the redemption of the world

by our Lord Jesus Christ,

for the means of grace and the hope of glory.

All honour, glory and praise be yours

eternal and loving God.