Thank you for supporting our Children in Goma
Please continue your prayers for our children, and for peace. Please consider making a donation for our children at any time. Thank you.
To donate by check, make check payable to
Caritas Chamber Chorale
3 Hunters Glen,
Far Hills, NJ 07931
August 2025 Update
August 6, 2025 - Ceasefire in doubt.Hundreds of civilians were killed in Eastern Congo in July, despite peace agreements.
June 2025 Update
June 21, 2025 - Peace deal about to be signed.In the meantime, difficulties continue for those in Goma.
April 2025 Update
April 28, 2025 - US brokers peace deal to be signed May 2.
(Late March 2025) From the Superior of the Adorno Fathers, Fr. Teodoro Kalaw: "The region [of Goma] has fallen under rebel control. Prisons have been opened, criminals roam freely... Families are living in fear, unable to sleep through nights of gunfire... And yet, they continue... Caritas Chamber Chorale, you may not be physically present in Congo, but your voices reach beyond borders. Your music becomes the sound of healing, the sound of courage, the sound of solidarity... You remind us that peace is still possible, that beauty still exists, and God is still with His people..."
April 10, 2025 - Peace talks delayed.
April 7, 2025 - Congo Savings Bank, Goma branch reopens, Adornos say Congolese do not put their trust in it: Read more.
March 2025 Update - Dramatic humanitarian situation
March 24, 2025 - DRC open to talks with M23: Read more.
March 17, 2025 - Fighting subsides; Goma is cut off: airports are closed and banks are at a standstill.
March 17, 2025 - Congo seeks a security for minerals deal from USA.
March 8, 2025 - Now the Pierluigi Fabbiani Nursery School has opened. But the situation remains dire.
March 4, 2025 - The good news is that the Gianni Diurni School has reopened. Nearly a third of the children have returned to school "despite fear and insecurity." We hope more children will attend in the coming days.
M23 continues to terrorize. Hospital patients are abducted.
Eastern Congo suffers from aid cuts.
February 2025 Update - Rebels Control Goma and Beyond
"Goma [is] still under control of the rebels. People live in fear; some families are looking for their members to find out if they are dead or still alive. [In] brief, there is a big humanitarian crisis... The schools are not yet in session. We pray that God may continue to keep them safe. This is a hard time and so stressful..." Fr. Henri Kasereka, Adorno Fathers Associate Mission Director.
Where is the Outrage? Congo is Bleeding (NYT Opinion).
Contrasting Congo and Rwanda One Lake: Two Worlds (NYT).
Who is behind the Congo Crisis? BBC Overview.
January 2025 Update - Rebels Claim Goma
"We have to keep on praying for Congo. Our schools, orphanage, hospitals, and seminary are affected. School is closed and Fr. Ted Kalaw [Adorno Fathers' Superior] told me that there is damage to some of the structures in our school. Many families have fled...everything is unstable...the rebels control everything. We just keep on praying." Fr. Nony Villaluz, Adorno Fathers Missions Director.
"M23 rebels claim capture of key DR Congo city of Goma - Video (Jan 27)" Al Jazeera Video Summary.
"Rebels Backed by Rwanda Announce Capture of Key City in Eastern Congo (Jan 27)" NYT Article.
"M23 rebels say they have taken Goma (Jan 27)" BBC Article.
"Thousands flee fighting (Jan 27)" CNN Article.
"Rebel Alliance says they have taken Goma (Jan 26)" Reuters Article.
"2025 Goma Offensive" Wikipedia Article (with background).
September 2024 Update - Despite a Cease Fire: Crisis and Conflict
"... Survival is a daily struggle in the conflict-ridden region." Read more.
Letter of thanks from the Gianni Diurni School 6.20.24
Your donations have sustained our children to the end of the school year. Please read this letter of thanks from the director and teachers of The Gianni Diurni School: It is with a heart full of gratitude...July Update - White House announces a temporary truce in Eastern Congo
"... The truce, beginning at midnight local time on Friday [July 5] and to extend through July 19, covers areas where the conflict most affects civilian populations ..." Continue Reading.
June 2024 UPDATE - Drones and heavy weapons
"Heavy weapons [cause] a steady stream of wounded civilians...suffering here is really distressing..." Continue reading.
UNICEF Goodwill Ambasador: "The staggering scale of the conflict in eastern DRC, the horrific level of violence, and its devastating impact on the children and women I met is heart-wrenching..." Continue reading.
May 2024 UPDATE - Bombing of displaced persons
"Eighteen people were killed and 32 wounded on Friday [May 3] when at least five rockets fell on camps sheltering displaced people around the eastern Congolese city of Goma ..." Continue reading.
"The Congolese Bishops ... condemned 'with the utmost vigor this barbarity which constitutes a denial of humanity and reminds perpetrators that human life is sacred and belongs to God ...' [They invited] the armed group, M23, to lay down arms 'because one cannot claim to save the Congo by killing the Congolese people.'” Read more.
April 2024 UPDATE - The crisis in Goma escalates.
See this overview of the Crisis in Goma.
"...The influx of refugees into Goma has seen a spike in the prices of basic commodities and a disruption in health services. Local activist John Anibal of the LUCHA civil society group warns that 'the situation is at its worst and war is at the door.' The escalation of violence is characterized by a significant increase in the use of explosives, shelling, and air raids..." Continue reading.
"[UN diplomat] Bintou Keita [informed the] UN Security Council ... that 'One Congolese person out of four faces hunger and malnutrition.'" Continue reading.
All this obviously affects our school children. We ask for your support to at least keep them fed. Thank you.
March 2024 Update - the Crisis Continues
"The Democratic Republic of Congo's conflict-driven hunger crisis is worsening as violence in the eastern provinces surges, forcing families to flee once again. More and more people are arriving at overcrowded camps where there is a lack of food, sanitation and shelter." Continue reading.
Feb. 2024, Gianni Diurni School: Our children are hungry
As domestic refugees continue to flock into Goma fleeing violence elsewhere, the armed rebel group M23 has blockaded roads. Few supplies can get into the city. The price of goods, including food, has risen dramatically.
Children are arriving at the Gianni Diurni School without having eaten, since their families cannot afford the escalating prices. Read more on the crisis.
Read the appeal from the teachers: To all people of good will.
Since it is impossible to teach a hungry child, we are pleading for your financial support now, so the school can provide something for these children to eat.
Since its founding in 2005, Caritas Chamber Chorale has sung concerts for the benefit of the Adorno Fathers St. Francis Caracciolo Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa. Since 2011, Caritas has specifically supported the African Missions' Gianni Diurni Primary School in Goma. This school serves children of all faiths, who otherwise would have little opportunity for education. In 2020, Caritas expanded its support to include the orphanage Foyer de l’enfance Paolo Di Nardo.
