August 1, 2014

Lubumbashi  Market  Fire

There was a market fire in Lubumbashi, Katanga Province, on the night of August 1, 2014.  There were no casualties, as the market had closed and it was in the evening.  However, all belongings of the people selling in that market were destroyed.  Also, a water tank vehicle from a neighboring business, Hyper Psaro, was lost.

The people who sell in this market live from hand to mouth.  What they sell during a day, feeds their families that night.  The time of year is critical because these are families who have children starting school in two weeks.  With the loss of the family income, these families are worried about how they will be able to financially enroll their children in school and provide even the basic school supplies for them.

This market was located on a road adjacent to the Lubumbashi Stake Center.  Nothing on the church property was destroyed.  This is a highly-developed, commercial part of town that has manufacturing and distribution centers.  None of the adjacent buildings were damaged other than smoke damage.

  

Left:  The two men on the left are representatives of the market vendors.  The man in the middle was referred to as the chief.  The man on the right in the vest was the municipal representative in charge of the cleanup.

Right: Fire debris not yet cleaned up.  Lubumbashi Stake Center is in the background.

Below: Documentation of cleanup efforts and remaining debris as of August 14, 2014

  

  

Executive Summary

Lubumbashi leaders, Mbidi Ilunga and Desire Ilunga met with Elder and Sister Davis on August 14 to discuss possible ways the church could be of assistance in a relief effort to assist merchants required to relocate their business from the fire-damaged Marche location to the new location provided by the municipality.

The mayor’s office sent a letter to the church outlining suggested financial assistance that could be provided.  Their request included: materials, demolition costs, relocation expenses, security, construction of a new Marche office building, aid for being out of work, transportation, fuel and other wish list items.  

The municipality has been actively cleaning up the damaged fire location and has posted security to prohibit merchants from rebuilding at this site.  We have made an appointment for Friday, August 15th to meet with the mayor’s office officials to listen to their request.  We visited the site and took pictures to document the damage in preparation for the meeting.

We discussed the possibility of using Helping Hands to assist with their relocation.  Mbidi Ilunga felt this would not be a good idea.  The church had previously approached the Marche about relocating and some merchants from the Marche feel the church may in some way be involved in the fire and are happy about the relocation.  Mbidi felt it would not be good to have any publicity that would fuel this speculation. Also the cleanup and relocation is well underway with the assistance of the municipality.

The four of us thought that assistance with materials would be the preferred option.  They have requested lumber, tin for their roofs and nails.  I had worried about how to control the disbursement of materials and had the impression to speak with Elder Brent Atkinson who is a senior couple missionary working with the church construction program.  I first thought that previous graduates from the construction program could be hired to assist in reconstructing the booths for the displaced merchants, but Elder Atkinson had a better idea.

Elder Atkinson said they have a construction class starting in one week with ten students and two trainer/supervisors.  The curriculum requires the students to work for free for the first three months under the direction of the trainers.  They receive one hour of instruction and three hours of on the job training each day.  Elder Atkinson said the church construction project has been delayed and they have no job-related work projects for the new students.  He suggested they be used to assist in rebuilding the Marche.  He said this would qualify for their training and would cost the church nothing.  This would also be a preferred way to control the distribution of materials supplied from humanitarian funds.  

August 15, 2014

This morning we had a meeting with Twite Wa Lwamba Eric, the Bourgmestre Adjoint of the Commune Kampemba.

Left:  Elder and Sister Davis, chairman of the reconstruction committee, Mr. Twite, Desiree Ilunga, government employee.

Meeting highlights and Recommendation

In meeting with the mayor’s assistant and the chairman of the relocation and reconstruction committee, we expressed our heartfelt concern for the merchants and their families who had been displaced due to the fire.  We told them we had received their request for assistance.   We said were there to understand their request and to communicate the guidelines we follow in providing humanitarian service.

We agreed with them that the cost estimate for cleanup, relocation and rebuilding would probably exceed their estimate.  We told them that we desired to participate in providing relief to the poor and needy and those who had suffered loss; however, this must be a collaborative effort involving the municipality, the merchants and the community.  They asked if we wanted any donation we made to remain anonymous and our response was that we were not there for the publicity and they could tell whomever they wished.  

We communicated that we would propose to our leaders that humanitarian service be provided in the form of materials and potentially labor assistance from our construction-training program.  They asked if we could construct the business office for the new market.  My response was that we would focus on the needs of the individuals in reconstructing their booths as our first priority.  

They were extremely pleased that we had come.  They were worried that we had ignored their request and many merchants expressed feelings that the church had turned a deaf ear to their cries and that we were somehow pleased with their plight as it resulted in their relocation.  I expressed appreciation for all the municipality had already done in preparing an alternate site for location of the market and conducting the cleanup efforts at the burn site.  I told them we would submit our recommendation this weekend and we would notify them by Friday, August 22nd if not sooner.

Those impacted include:

• 250-300 merchants
• Some church members had shops at this market location
• The Lubumbashi Stake Center will benefit from added access to the stake center

Our recommendation is to supply all materials requested at a total cost of approximately $17,500 and that the construction program participants and trainers be authorized to receive these materials and participate in the reconstruction of standardized stalls for the merchants.  This experience will qualify for their certification and Fernand, the Church’s local coordinator of construction, is supportive of the proposal.   We propose that the municipality be responsible for negotiating the pricing of the materials but that we purchase and pay for them directly and control all issuance of materials.  

The new market location is shown on the following page.  It is approximately 2 – 3 kilometers from the previous location.