All articles in category Central Africa
By Keith Ferdinando
June 2010
Democratic Republic of Congo
LRA
LRA In the north the barbarism of the ‘Lord’s Resistance Army’ (LRA), originating from Uganda, has brought havoc to vast and impoverished areas of Congo. The Congolese army and UN forces struggle to deal effectively with the situation, while the outside world shows scant interest in the faraway and faceless people of that remote region. Even in the last few weeks rebel forces were able briefly to seize the airport in the major town of Mbandaka, in western Congo. Inevitably, Congolese churches have suffered along with the rest of the population from the effects of the continuing conflict. Some believers have lost...
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By Theodore Witmer
June 2010
Democratic Republic of Congo
Light in the DRC’s darkness
Light in the DRC’s darkness In the early 1900s many considered Africa to be the ‘dark continent’. What was then called Belgian Congo was thought to be at the heart of this darkness. So missionary pioneers like C. T. Studd and Peter Cameron Scott sought to create a chain of mission stations, to reach the many tribes who had never heard of Jesus Christ and counter the advance of Islam from the north. It is 100 years since their arrival and 50 years on since the DRC became an independent nation. What has God been doing in this area, so marked by wars,...
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June 2010
Democratic Republic of Congo
Survival in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Survival in the Democratic Republic of Congo Over many years, Western media have paid little attention to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), but few can be totally unaware of the conflict that has troubled that country with such catastrophic effect since 1996. The numbers who have died are counted in millions; the economy, which was precarious before the conflict, has largely collapsed; and the country’s institutional structures are seriously undermined. Officially, peace has now come and the armed forces of neighbours like Rwanda and Uganda withdrawn. However, ethnic conflict in the Kivu provinces of the Great Lakes region in the east...
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June 2010
Democratic Republic of Congo
FACTFILE – The Democratic Republic of Congo
The Democratic Republic of Congo Factfile Area: 905,354 sq miles. Climate: Equatorial. Population: 68 million. Infant mortality: 81 per 1000. Life expectancy: 54 years. Capital: Kinshasa (8 million). Peoples: Over 200 African ethnic groups of which the majority are Bantu. The four largest tribes — Mongo, Luba, Kongo (all Bantu), and Mangbtu-Azande (Hamitic) — comprise 45 per cent of the population. Languages: French (official), Lingala, Swahili, Kikongo, Tshiluba. Economy:The DRC has vast potential wealth in the form of minerals and precious metals, diamonds, petroleum, coal, hydropower and timber; coffee is also an export. However, due to...
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June 2010
Democratic Republic of Congo
Survival in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Survival in the Democratic Republic of Congo Over many years, Western media have paid little attention to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), but few can be totally unaware of the conflict that has troubled that country with such catastrophic effect since 1996. The numbers who have died are counted in millions; the economy, which was precarious before the conflict, has largely collapsed; and the country’s institutional structures are seriously undermined. Officially, peace has now come and the armed forces of neighbours like Rwanda and Uganda withdrawn. However, ethnic conflict in the Kivu provinces of the Great Lakes region in the east...
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By Anatole Dlordon
August 2005
Cameroon
Missionary Spotlight – Cameroon
A bird’s-eye view of Cameroon’s church history The first Christian mission to Cameroon was the London Baptist Mission (LBM) in 1845. The LBM was constituted at the request of former African slaves in the Americas. It consisted of black pastors Fuller and Merrick along with English missionaries Dr Prince and Alfred Saker. Based in Douala and working in difficult conditions, these men laboured to bring the good news of salvation to local people, and to care for their practical needs – especially through teaching farming. First convert Pastor Merrick died in 1849, the same year the first Cameroon national convert was baptised. Commenting on this,...
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