HOMEPAGE for this issue: December 1, 2010

Local Catholic group eases suffering of Congolese

By Roxanne King

Gratitude and hope. Those were the sentiments Father Gaston Muyombo shared on a recent visit here from his home Diocese of Mbujimayi in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The priest who served in the Denver Archdiocese for eight years beginning in 1988 comes back periodically to report on humanitarian efforts he is involved with that are supported in part through the Colorado-based Congo Relief Mission, a nonprofit organization he established while ministering and attending school here. Those efforts include a Catholic church, two schools, a clinic and a hospital. During his October visit, he gave an update on the 235-bed Our Lady of Hope Hospital, which marked its second anniversary in August.

“The hospital was empty because people couldn’t afford the hospital fees and the doctor visit fees,” Father Muyombo said, adding that the nominal fees of about one dollar were simply out of reach for the populace.

“We were about to say we need to close the hospital,” he said.

But Providence intervened.

“A donation came from Denver on the second anniversary,” the priest said smiling widely. “It came in good timing.”

“We are transforming our hospital into a charity hospital; the people can go and be treated for free,” Father Muyombo said.  “We treat not only people who come to the hospital but we have a mobile clinic for those who are homebound and can’t go to the hospital.”

Despite the good news, the reality is the hospital is still in need of $20,000 to meet it’s $120,000 annual budget to remain open for a full year.

“I’m very grateful for the (anniversary) donation,” Father Muyombo said. “I’m hoping people can help with the $20,000 we are short or would be willing to volunteer their services or donate equipment or medicine.

“A tax-exempt Christmas gift donation of $10 is lifesaving,” he added.

Enduring one of the lowest living standards in the world, Father Muyombo said life expectancy in his nation is just 43 years. Still struggling to recover from the

“African World War,” which officially ended in 2003 with a peace agreement, the Democratic Repu-blic of Congo remains a humanitarian crisis with continued conflict in the east and widespread poverty, disease and malnutrition.

“Civil war is a cancer,” Father Muyombo said. “More than 5 million people have been killed.

“It’s not that people are just dying through the war,” he explained, “the (ruined) economy is killing us. People suffer from poverty—they are malnourished and the children just die.”

But the aptly named hospital has restored hope as it heals the sick and saves lives.

“We have been praying to Our Lady of Hope the last two years,” Father Muyombo said. Referring to the anniversary donation and the changes it helped bring about, he added, “Now there is hope.”

Additionally, the schools and church the Congo Relief Mission has helped build are reinvigorating the faith life of the people in the predominately Christian nation (90 percent) among which more than half of churchgoers are Catholic.

“Thirteen hundred kids are attending the parish school (St. Stephen’s) where I am pastor,” Father Muyombo said. “The other school, Buloba, which means ‘the earth,’ (has) 400 kids. It’s located in a remote village. … The education of the kids has been a great ground for our pastoral work in the village.

“I’m very grateful to the archbishop and the people of the archdiocese for being so supportive of all these projects that have saved lives and brought hope to Congo,” he said.

The ministries have eased the suffering of the people, Father Muyombo said.

“If you are desperate your life is misery, but if someone brings hope then you can be poor but you have hope that it’s not the end of life,” he said.

“We are keeping the hope higher.”