Current Situation

We are 39 brothers, including the young people in formation; recruitment has slowed because of insecurity. People displaced from the war, which continues to multiply displaced people and deaths, knock on our door every day. In addition, the Ebola epidemic has recently appeared in our eastern part of the DRC. 

Epidemics

For the time being in the city of Goma, the city closest to our Abbey, there are isolated cases reported, but they are still rare. The Ministry of Health is working to counter the epidemic and prevent it from spreading among the population, very impoverished by repeated endless wars. Since we receive a lot of guests from Goma, we have taken preventive measures: Mandatory hand washing for us and our guests before any contact. In the absence of a vaccine, we are in the process of manufacturing the anti-Ebola drug from medicinal plants as a preventive measure. This new variant of Ebola Bundibugyo kills quickly - once you are infected with its virus, if you don't treat it quickly, you will die two days later. The most affected province is the province of Ituri, where this epidemic began. 

Apart from humans, cow epidemics are making a comeback again. The cause is also linked to the war, which causes the circulation of cows in disarray. Breeders often hide them in our pasture. As a result, we are regularly confronted with epidemics that come from these movements of cows fleeing, fighting, and looting.

On the Border With Rwanda

The consequences of this epidemic are the aggravation of poverty in the provinces affected by it. Many people in the East live off cross-border trade with our neighboring countries (Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, South Sudan and Uganda), and unfortunately, most of these countries have closed their borders to protect themselves. 

We who live close to the border with Rwanda, life is becoming complicated. We have been under the occupation of the Rwandan-backed M23 rebellion, which has led to the closure of the airport and banks in Goma, so it is mandatory to go through Rwanda to travel. In addition, to have money through the banks, you have to make transactions via the banks of Rwanda. For the moment, these types of operations are becoming impossible. 

So, because of the Ebola epidemic, the business community in Goma and Bukavu is paralyzed. We hope that the Rwandan government will not delay in opening its borders, because Rwandans who work in Congo, and those who trade with the Congolese, also suffer from this strict measure of closing customs.

War

Recently, in our locality of Mokoto, we have witnessed multiple incursions by pro-government rebels, the Wazalendos. Many civilians are victims of stray bullets. During this May and June (2026) about 7 people were killed around us. The seriously injured are taken in our car to the hospital 30km away. Our car has become the ambulance of our locality, because it is the only car that exists on the spot, apart from a few trucks of merchants who are often on the move. 

On the night of Sunday, June 7, 2026, 2km from our Abbey, a new attack by these same rebels occurred, so many of the people of our locality spent the night in our pasture, and about ten, including the chief of the locality, took refuge with us in the monastery. The next morning they came to ask us for the car to urgently evacuate a girl who was wounded by a bullet, because she was the one who had denounced the arrival of the Wazalendo rebels, who had come unsuccessfully to look for the local leader of the M23 movement's occupation.

From there, every day the displaced by war come knocking on our door to ask us for alms. Given their large number and our very limited financial means, I often give them work in our pasture, in our gardens, and on the road (13Km).

United Nations

An additional challenge we are facing is that the United Nations, which was our tenant in our concession in the city of Goma, broke its contract with us 4 months ago. The United States reduced the spending allocated to the UN in our province, which resulted in reduction of the number of personnel here and abandoning spaces they had rented. Rent from the UN was 50% of our income. As a result, since their departure, our finances have suffered, especially since in our context of the war, it is difficult for us to find a new tenant.

Planning & Hope During Insecurity

Following this situation of permanent insecurity, we still have the dream of having a foundation in Zambia. The latter can serve as a house of refuge in the event that we could leave the place as happened to us in 1996 until 2011. And if this future foundation functions autonomously, and Mokoto continues to exist on its original site, it could in the future be a daughter house of our Mokoto Abbey. In a situation like ours and that of the population around us in precarious conditions, any help is welcome.