By 
AN Omagh woman has placed a suitcase and water container under her Christmas tree this year to raise awareness surrounding the urgent humanitarian crisis in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Margaret Cummings, a retired librarian and a member of First Omagh Presbyterian Church, said she hopes to raise awareness of the hundreds of thousand of people who have been displaced from their homes in Eastern Congo after fleeing conflict between armed groups and government forces.
“It’s symbolic of what very little these people have as they are forced to flee from their villages and left destitute,” said Mrs Cummings.
“These people are also facing a deepening hunger crisis with one in three of them also now struggling to get enough food to eat.”
Margaret is the Christian Aid representative at First Omagh Presbyterian Church and coordinates the church’s fundraising efforts to support the charity’s work.
Originally from Rathfriland in County Down, she has lived in Omagh for 48 years.
“I spent many years volunteering as a charity collector for Christian Aid in the local area,” she explained.
“I then became their Area Organiser and a representative for First Omagh Presbyterian Church, getting involved in coordinating Christian Aid Week within the church where we hold collections and make soup and cheese in aid of the charity.”
Chief Executive of Christian Aid Ireland, Rosamond Bennett, said they are ‘grateful’ to Margaret for helping them highlight the urgent situation in DRC.
“With her suitcase, she shows just how meagre the possessions are that people can take with them when they flee from fighting,” she said.
“Here at home, we are looking forward to our Christmas celebrations, but in DRC, mothers and children are struggling to feed themselves after escaping a brutal conflict.
“The money Margaret helps to raise each year in Omagh allows us to reach mothers and children and with public support this Christmas, we could reach even more families.”
Chance is one of those who saw her world suddenly turned upside down.
When fighting reached her village, Chance witnessed armed men loot her shop and attack her neighbour.
Carrying her two-month-old on her back and rallying her seven other children, Chance set off in search of safety.
She hasn’t seen her husband since she fled her home.
After walking with her children for 50 miles, Chance found relative safety in a camp for displaced people close to the town of Kalehe in South Kivu – a province in eastern DRC.
Now in a temporary shelter, she has nothing of value and fears her husband is dead.
Despite having very young children to care for, Chance does agricultural work in nearby fields, earning around 45p a day to buy food for the family.
Chance and other displaced families in South Kivu have been supported by Christian Aid’s local partner, which has provided grants to help people afford the basics.
