Life in Minembwe recently got crazy very quickly these past few weeks. First, the girls, Bella, Sophia, and Aimee, got sick with high fevers. With very little testing available in Minembwe, the UN allowed them to travel out via the helicopter to Uvira, DRC on September 5, along with Emilee and Lisa. They all ended up just across the border in Bujumbura, Burundi, our normal “go to” spot of resupply. The girls were tested; Aimee had a bacterial infection, and Sophia had a kidney infection. Bella’s feeling better, but it was never determined what was ailing her.
Immediately after the ladies and girls left, things went from bad to worse in Minembwe, as the Mai Mai rebels began yet another campaign, as they did in March and May, to try to take over Minembwe. Miles and I kept working hard through this latest conflict on various community projects, the building of Miles’ shop and house, the garden projects at the volunteers’ house, as well as trying to help the community cope with the current crisis. During the week, things went from worse to “worser,” and then on Friday, Sept 13, things got extremely tense and the UN peacekeepers requested that Miles and I evacuate to their base. We grabbed our already packed “getaway” backpacks and went to the base, which is 1.3 miles or about five minutes by motorcycle from the volunteer house. Due to the escalating situation, the UN had to fly some personnel into Minembwe the next day, so on Saturday morning they told us that Miles and I were flying out in a couple of hours.
Our family was happy to know that Miles and I would arrive in Bujumbura on Saturday afternoon. But, leaving behind our Minembwe “family” was a horrible feeling; pretty sure that I would not be capable of leaving them in the future should this situation arise again. Told by the Mai Mai they would be slaughtered where they stood and knowing they were without the help of the DRC army, the locals were unexpectedly able to fight off the Mai Mai (killing the Mai Mai leader) that very day. There are a lot of politics and tribal issues in Minembwe and throughout DRC, so depending on what tribe you hail from, you don’t want to wait on the DRC army to help you.
We’re waiting on news regarding the stability of Minembwe. Our partner Lazare went up on Thursday, and Miles is hoping to head back up this coming Monday. If Miles gives us the “thumbs up” the rest of us will follow shortly thereafter.