LOCAL PARTNERS
Bisoke Balikenga, DR Congo
Provincial youth worker investing in young people through encouraging them in their education and peacemaking and raising up new leaders
Working with the Anglican Church in Congo, Bisoke started a peace centre in Bunia, the provincial capital of Ituri province in eastern DRC. Ituri is a region rocked by tribal fighting.
Thousands of people have fled attacks in their villages and travelled to Bunia in search of relative safety – with 200,000 displaced people now in the area.
They are in desperate need of food, water and shelter, and are deeply traumatised. Many women and girls who arrive at the peace centre have suffered sexual violence, and been rejected by their families as a result.
Related prayer news and stories
Kenya: visa and restoration of peace and stability
Pray for Aaron Stanbury as he tries to sort out his visa to continue serving in Nairobi. Please also pray for restoration of peace and stability in Kenya, where there have been demonstrations against proposed tax rises. Pray against the use of excessive force and for young people to be patient, for the government to… Read more
South Sudan: new placement
Nicci Maxwell flies out on Sunday to go to her new placement serving as a doctor at Al Sabah Children’s Hospital, Juba, South Sudan, and at a nearby refugee camp. Pray for Nicci as she settles into a new country and role. Read more
Bisoke’s story
Based in Bunia, eastern DR Congo, Bisoke worked with CMS mission partner Judy Acheson for many years and then took over as provincial youth worker in 2009, when Judy retired. He is Church Mission Society’s longest-standing local partner in Africa.
Bisoke is married to Furaha, and has three children. He has been involved in youth activities since 1989, and studied at Daystar University in Kenya. He describes his vision as reaching “young people with the gospel, enabling them to discern the way forwards and to make informed decisions”.
He is also passionate about raising up young “Christian patriots”, who can contribute to the fight against poverty and work towards the reconstruction of DR Congo and the Republic of the Congo. Bisoke works in several dioceses across these countries, and is committed to training youth workers and promoting youth work throughout the region.
Feeling generous?
Some ways to support our wider work
Time for a story?
See what God does through your prayers and gifts
Meet new people?
Get to know the people who make up our global family
