19 November 2008

A delegation of around 50 women waited in anticipation for the arrival of UK Foreign Minister UK Foreign Office Minister, Lord Malloch Brown at Mugunga 1 camp on the outskirts of Goma.

The women wore placards around their neck calling for peace and the protection of women in the wake of the conflict.

Some of the slogans, written in French, translated as "we want to go home" and children at the camp who had been orphaned or separated from their families held up signs saying, "I need parents".

Lord Malloch Brown visited the camp late this afternoon as part of his fact-finding mission in the war-torn region. He met with the delegation and conversed with them in French.

Liberata, who lead the delegation, told Lord Malloch Brown that "enough is enough is enough. We need peace and nothing apart from peace. Women want to go home to cultivate their fields," adding "women are at risk of rape everywhere they go."

The women explained how they were bearing the brunt of the conflict, both in the way they had become vulnerable to rape and attacks, and because life in the camps was particularly tough on women who were afforded no privacy and had the responsibility of looking after all the children.

Toyota Maombi, 35, and mother of five children, is one of the many displaced women living in Mugunga 1 camp. She said: "The conditions are very tough. Our children are getting sick and the one thing we ask for is to be able to go back home - we hope the British minister will be able to help us."

Kamundu Kabiho, who is 72 years old, agreed that women are suffering the most: "We need peace so we can go back to our homes and we plead for the help of the international community," she said.

ActionAid have been distributing food and emergency relief items to camps in and around Goma town, and aims to reach 60,000 internally displaced persons in the next three months.

Donations to the Democratic Republic of Congo appeal can be made via this website or the UK's Disasters Emergency Committee website at www.dec.org.uk