Justin Zihindula grew up in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a region that has endured decades of conflict. “I started seeing things turning the wrong side, I believe, in 1997, when they overturned the government,” Justin recalls. That year, the overthrow of President Mobutu Sese Seko’s regime marked the beginning of a particularly violent era. An estimated 6 million Congolese have died over the next 30 years where ethnic violence, colonial meddling and battles over DR Congo’s rich natural resources have all played a role in the complex confict.
Justin was a nurse practitioner —well-educated and committed to helping his community. But as violence escalated, he feared for his life. “My life was not bad, but I was also forced [to flee] because I saw that my security and my life was at risk.” In 2003, he left with his wife and children for Uganda, where he spent six years as a refugee. There, he worked with the United Nations, assisting fellow Congolese with resettlement information. In 2009, the Canadian government sponsored him and his family to resettle in Canada; they now reside in Kitchener, Ontario.
Once in Canada, Justin worked tirelessly to sponsor relatives still in danger—some of whom had fled violence or lived in camps for nearly a decade before their resettlement was finalized. “They waited for nine years … but thank God that they came here,” he says.
Justin recently returned to DR Congo in 2023 to launch an initiative called The Tumaini Letu DRC Project to support Congolese refugees. But even that effort led to a crisis highlighting the dire situation. A volunteer he hired to help with his project was targeted by a criminal ring under the guise of a job interview and had to escape with her children after a case of mistaken identity left another woman dead. Now, with MCC's support, Justin is sponsoring her and her children to come to Canada. “She’s been having a lot of security issues,” he explains, but he is hopeful that she and her children will be able to resettle in Canada later this year.
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“For me, the greatest hope I have is for Congo to be safe.”
Esther's story
For Esther Muziranenge, another Congolese newcomer now living in Canada, her journey has also been marked by loss and resilience. Born in DR Congo, she and her family fled to Kenya where she spent her formative teenage years. They lived as refugees in a small apartment with her mother working as a seamstress and her father selling goods to make ends meet. After nine years in limbo in Kenya, they were given the chance to resettle in Canada as refugees.
Leaving Kenya for Canada came with hope—but also heartbreak. “Actually, for me I had a mixed feelings,” Esther remembers. “I’m happy because finally what I’ve been waiting for, now I have it … but again, the feeling of sadness was there because I was leaving my classmates, I was leaving my friends.” The transition to Canada was overwhelming. Esther’s family came as government-assisted refugees, which meant that while they received government funding to help with their first year in Canada, they had no additional social or community supports like privately-sponsored refugees have.
Now 23, Esther is the eldest of four siblings. After a short time in London, Ontario, her family moved to Stratford in search of work. “When we came, I had to go to upgrading lessons to have my Canadian Grade 12 equivalency,” she says. But when her father lost his job and her brother returned to school, Esther became the sole provider.
“I have plans [to study], but actually if my parents are not working … I can’t study,” she says. “I have to work and provide for them.” She currently works at a hotel, putting her dreams of becoming a nursing assistant on hold. Esther is matter-of-fact about the situation: “It is what it is,” she says with a smile.
Despite the daily challenges, Esther remains grounded in hope for her homeland. “For me, the hope that I have, the greatest one, is for Congo to be safe,” she says. Her parents—separated from their own families—long for home too. “They can’t stop thinking about it. They can’t just forget.”
Violence still haunts the relatives they left behind. In January 2025, the armed rebel group M23 seized Goma and Bukavu in eastern DR Congo, triggering another wave of atrocities.
“They sleep knowing at night somebody might attack us. But when you’ve got no options, you get used to what you have,” Esther says quietly. For many Congolese families, even fleeing isn’t an option due to closed borders or lack of funds.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo now faces one of the world’s largest displacement crises, with nearly 8 million internally-displaced people and over 1 million refugees seeking safety in neighbouring countries. More than 23 million Congolese are experiencing food insecurity, with armed groups continuing to exploit vulnerable youth—often luring them into militia groups with false promises of employment. In March, the global Anabaptist community pledged to supporttheir siblings in faith in the DR Congo.
MCC is leading this response with a new relief project on the ground in DR Congo as well as supporting refugee sponsorship here in Canada. Justin is grateful: “I know that MCC [has] worked tirelessly helping many of the refugees who are stuck and who have no voice … I would say that MCC continues to connect and create new sponsors who have the heart to help those who are in need.”
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"We pray that MCC … will try to talk to many people who can sponsor as many refugees as they can."
His message is simple, yet urgent: “We pray that MCC and the world today … will try to talk to many people who can sponsor as many refugees as they can, especially from the DRC and other refugees around the world.”
While the Canadian government has cut back drastically on the number of refugees allowed in, MCC Ontario is still looking for private sponsors for the cost-sharing Blended Visa Office Referred (BVOR) program. The BVOR program assists the most vulnerable refugees who are pre-screened and travel-ready. The government also provides a generous subsidy to the costs of the private sponsorship. There are many refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo in the BVOR program who are waiting for your sponsorship.
Stay tuned to hear Justin’s full story on Undercurrents, MCC’s podcast, later this month. If you're considering sponsoring a refugee from the DR Congo through the BVOR program, write to refugee@mcco.ca for more details.