In the most lethal attack on aid workers so far in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Eraste Rwatangabo, Education Manager working with the British Charity Children in Crisis, and three other colleagues were amongst seven people murdered by a Congolese rebel group as the aid workers travelled to conduct programme activities with schools and communities. The rebel group were reportedly the Mai Mai Yakutumba.

The aid vehicle was ambushed on route to the town of Minembwe on Tuesday 4th October. It appears to have been a tribally motivated attack against the Banyamulenge tribe, since 4 non-Banyamulenge were released.

Eraste and the three other men, Kandoti Tite (Deputy Education Manager), Gifota Edmond (Teacher Trainer) and Musore Ruturutsa (Driver) were staff of Eben Ezer Ministry International, Children in Crisis’s partner in the DRC.

Eraste Rwatangabo was the moving force behind a programme which has already reached upwards of 30,000 children with schools, teachers and education in the remote plateau region of South Kivu in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. HCRI’s own Professor James Thompson worked closely with this programme as part of the In Place of War programme, of which he is Director. http://www.inplaceofwar.net/

Eraste and his colleagues were working on a second phase of the programme which, with support from international Donors including the Baring and John Ellerman Foundations, has been running since 2007 to improve education in every single school across a plateau the size of Wales.

Our hearts and thoughts are with the families of those who died and we direct people to http://tinyurl.com/69esjfs where you can contribute to a fund to support the families now and into the future.

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