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: opportunities for people with disabilities
Local partner Bisoke Balikenga runs a peace centre against the backdrop of ongoing conflict. In addition to ongoing peacebuilding programmes and providing water for 3,000 families, give thanks that the peace centre was able to provide a seminar for 100 displaced people with disabilities. Pray for more opportunities for people with disabilities to heal from trauma… Read more
North Africa: pastoral care for hospital patients
J and S, serving through a church and a school in a town in North Africa, write that doctors and nurses at the local hospital are enthusiastic about the idea of more spiritual care being offered at the hospital. Pray for those working to establish a group of committed believers who can offer pastoral visits,… 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.
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