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
DR Congo: capture of Masisi town
Last weekend, Rwandan-backed M23 rebels took the town of Masisi west of Goma and installed their own governor. Since then more than 100,000 people have fled. The Congolese government recaptured the town on Wednesday, but those who fled are unlikely to return for a long time and those who stay are at increasing risk of… Read more
Ethiopia: health concerns
Chris and Suzy Wilson, mission partners working in reconciliation and peacebuilding with Christian leaders in Addis Ababa, ask for prayer for Simon. Simon is one of Chris and Suzy’s former students from their previous work in the Gambella area and now works alongside Chris training church leaders in refugee camps. Recently, a few serious health… 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
