In the first photo we can see Sister Agnieszka’s car during one of the many trips in recent days to the outskirts of Goma, to the place where a tongue of lava has cut off the capital of North Kivu province from the arterial road leading north. This is also the access road to our hospital. Sister Agnieszka transports single mothers with children from there, who are fleeing Goma on foot due to lack of other means. Today, accompanied by a doctor, a nurse and a driver, she went to Uganda to blaze the trail for a new supply channel for the hospital. She brought back a supply of IVs donated by you. It is these, along with malaria drugs, that are most needed now. Thank you so much for your support so far! Please continue to support our hospital and share information from Congo. All hands on deck!

Grim forecasts are being painted by scientists, who are basing possible scenarios for the next few days on concrete data and not on unfounded information. The danger now lurks under the bed of Lake Kivu, just outside Goma. Experts say that after last week’s eruption of Mount Nyiragongo, underground magma is now flowing straight into the lake. Analysts fear an underwater leak could release a cloud of deadly and suffocating gas. This is known as a limnic eruption, which poses a rare but potentially catastrophic threat to those around the lake. The dissolved CO2 rises from the bottom, suffocating all living creatures. It can also cause a tsunami-like wave to form on the body of water, which gets displaced by the increasing amount of gas. A few days ago, part of the road running along the shoreline disappeared into the lake. Several hectares of land were engulfed by the water. This is one of the signs that the volcano is not sleeping and that the danger is still great.

More than 400 000 inhabitants of Goma have left their homes. The streets of the city are empty. Let us remember that Goma is the main city of the province where our hospital is located and is the nearest source of supplies and extended diagnostics for the most seriously ill patients. Those fleeing Goma have scattered throughout the province. Many settled in the vicinity of Ntamugenga.

Sister Agnieszka admits all the most seriously ill patients to the hospital.

To make matters worse, apart from the volcano, terrorists have also become more active. In Beni, which is situated a few hundred kilometres north of Ntamugenga, there have been two attacks in which 50 people were killed. Jihadists partly linked to the so-called Islamic State attacked two villages. The victims are mainly civilians. This means that the area where our hospital is situated should soon expect an influx not only of those fleeing Goma, but also of refugees from the north.

Our patients need us very much and you can help! Your aid in sharing this message is also very important to us, so that the news of the needs of the people of eastern Congo reaches as large an audience as possible.