Story number 1 for 15 Jan 2002

(Democratic Republic of Congo)–Our newscast begins today in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The DRC’s President Joseph Kabila and two rebel factions met yesterday to discuss peace. The Congo’s war escalated in 1998, drawing in five neighboring countries. American Leprosy Mission’s Dr. Jacques Kongawi (kon-GAH-wee) hopes for an accord. “Half of our country is under the control of the rebels. They plan to have a peace talk in February to who will lead the country until they do the election to choose one president. I’m optimistic that things will improve.” Although the area is in relative calm right now, Kongawi says the fighting has made ALM’s Christian outreach difficult. “We pray for the peace in our country, because you can’t do anything good without peace. We are facing a bad economic situation in our country now. But, with the help of God, we are sure that we can help these people.”