Aid delivered to DRC victims
2008-11-05 22:19
Kibati - The International Committee of the Red Cross began distributing food aid on Wednesday to 65 000 displaced people at a camp on the northern outskirts of Goma in eastern DR Congo.
Thousands of people waited patiently at the Kibati camp as aid officials called them forward one by one to receive 60 kilogram bags, mainly containing corn, salt and cooking oil.
Eight truckloads of food aid rolled into the Kibati camp earlier on Wednesday, bringing badly needed food aid to the camp, where the head of the ICRC's delegation Max Hadorn described conditions as "terrible".
"In the Kibati camps, I saw people in extreme distress, including women and children, and elderly people," he said.
Volunteers from DR Congo's Red Cross Society have also helped the ICRC to install latrines in the Kibati camp.
In addition, 60 000 litres of water have been delivered daily over the past week, said the ICRC in a statement, which also reminded parties in the conflict to facilitate the passage of relief supplies to civilians.
About 100 cases of cholera have been recorded in the Goma area, French doctors' charity Medecins Sans Frontieres said.