NEWS RELEASE – For immediate release April 25, 2022
Rock Church of San Diego collaborated with LightWaterLife to bring LightWaterLife humanitarian aid kits to the vulnerable Congolese population through Kivu Kwetu Development, a non-profit women’s organization that protects, supports, and assists vulnerable women, children, and the indigenous population in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
After seeing the work that their missionary partner was doing in the region, Rock Church saw a need to provide critical humanitarian aid assistance through Kivu Kwetu Development. They responded by partnering with LightWaterLife to provide humanitarian aid to Congolese families that meet vital daily needs with the included 4-gallon water filtration system, solar power lighting system, insecticide-treated mosquito net, and soccer ball.
Kivu Kwetu Development identified the most vulnerable beneficiaries through field visits in their two target villages: Cidurhu and Mushekere. The inhabitants in these villages go through many social difficulties (poor nutrition, lack of water, lack of electricity, no access to education, and no access to information).
Bahati Materanya Queen, coordinator of Kivu Kwetu Development stated, “These kits will play a positive impact on the current life of the beneficiary family because all these kits are important to human health (consumption of healthy water, sleeping under the mosquito net impregnated with insecticide) and solve other several household social problems (lighting in the house, allowing the children to study at night, doing sports, charging the phone without paying the money, etc.)”
“LightWaterLife strives to work with organizations that can provide logistics and training support as part of the distribution of our kits,” states Loren Penner, LightWaterLife Co-Founder. “Kivu Kwetu Development understood that with some quick and simple training the Congolese people who they serve would be empowered with light, water, and life for years to come.”
After demonstrating proper use of the components with the beneficiary targets, the KKDEV technical team distributed the kits and helped install lights and water filters in the homes of several beneficiaries. Following these humanitarian gestures, KKDEV said, “Many families applauded and said a prayer for the church that made such a donation for the benefit of vulnerable farmers.
Kivu Kwetu Development believes that water is the foundation of life. It is used for food purposes (drinking water, cooking) as well as domestic and personal hygiene. Water is important for public health to have easy access to safe water, whether for drinking or for domestic use. People are dying in the east of the DRC, particularly in the province of South Kivu where they carried out this LightWaterLife humanitarian aid kit distribution activity because of diarrheal diseases. Cholera, also called “dirty hands disease”, is caused by the bacteria Vibrio cholerae infection being transmitted through the consumption of food or water contaminated by the stools of infected persons.
Mr. Floribert Kandege Muhanano, Director of Human Resources at KKDEV says, “These kits are very important in households because they are so usable in daily life. Each kit contains a Sawyer® water filtration system that eliminates 99.99999% of all whole bacteria and several diseases of dirty hands. This is very important because the main source of water for these two areas, Cidurhu and Mushekere, is spring water, nearby pond or rain.” Not only does the water filter attain the highest level of filtration available today, but the system can also filter up to 500 gallons a day with a 100,000-gallon lifespan (or about ten years).
Kivu Kwetu Development knows that electricity alone does not make it possible to create all the conditions for economic growth, but it is obviously essential to meet the basic needs of human beings and facilitate the development of economic activities. Access to electricity or lighting in households can improve socioeconomic conditions in the DRC by having an impact on the essential components of poverty, namely health, education, income, and the environment.
LightWaterLife solar power lighting system with 2 LED light bulbs is a completely independent, off-grid power system with a solar panel that can provide illumination for up to 5-7 hours per night. It includes a USB output for recharging a cell phone and to power other USB devices.
Ms. Uzima, a 44-year-old widow testified, “I was born in my sub-village of Cidurhu. We lit candles for a long time looking for lighting in our houses at night because we do not have electricity. In 2019 our house was the victim of a fire caused by a candle. All our valuables were lost. Today I profit from this solar panel with the use of domestic lighting and will not use candles anymore. I am already protected against the risks of candles in the house.”
Mr. Faustin stated, “In the past, I left my house 4 km away on foot to look for where to charge my phone in the center of my sub-village of Kanoshe/Mushekere. Today thanks to Rock Church this kit will allow me to charge easily in my house without crossing long distances anymore and without paying money.”
Each recipient received LightWaterLife’s insecticide-treated net which covers a full-size bed or cot and provides fully enclosed protection against biting insects and mosquitoes. ITNs form personal protection that has been shown to reduce malaria illness, severe disease, and death due to malaria in endemic regions.
Each kit included a soccer ball and pump to encourage children to enjoy physical activity and put a smile on their faces. Banywesize Barthélemy, a 14-year-old child, explains, “In the past, I used to weave and I played with balls in bags, but today I am so delighted thanks to a quality football that I have just received through Rock Church.”
Kivu Kwetu Development was able to distribute LightWaterLife humanitarian aid kits donated by Rock Church to beneficiary families in Cidurhu Village and Mushekere Village. KKDEV is thankful to Rock Church and all those that collaborated in this effort for the benefit of vulnerable people in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
About LightWaterLife
LightWaterLife’s mission is to empower people with the basics of life with its all-in-one humanitarian aid kit that includes a water filtration system, an LED solar light kit, a full-size treated mosquito net, and a soccer ball. LightWaterLife also has a domestic disaster relief kit which includes a water filtration system, an LED solar light kit, a first-aid kit, and a hand crank flashlight/radio/NOAA/USB power device. The kit is the only sustainable humanitarian aid kit empowering people to have sustained access to clean drinking water, light from the darkness, and hope for a better future.
About Kivu Kwetu Development
Kivu Kwetu Development (KKDEV) is a non-profit women’s organization working in the Democratic Republic of Congo, whose head office and administrative office are located in the province of South Kivu, in the city of Bukavu. Headed by Mrs. Bahati Materanya Queen, the coordinator and her colleagues protect, support, and assist vulnerable women, children, and the indigenous population. This is made possible through educational training offered to them so that they become aware of their role in society to fight against marginalization, poverty, unemployment, and dependence. Website
About Rock Church
The Rock Church is one of the largest and fastest-growing churches in America with 18,000 people attending one of four Sunday services across five campuses in addition to online streaming, microsites, radio, and TV. It has a K-12 academy, an orphanage in Haiti, involved in numerous evangelical outreach efforts around the world, and holds many city-wide events in San Diego. It was started in 2000, by Pastor Miles McPherson, a former NFL player. Website
Contact: David Urabe, Co-founder | 888-593-3101 | info@lightwaterlife.com