As a young boy suffered from malnutrition in the wake of conflict, Samaritan’s Purse provided critical nutrition, along with skills and supplies for his family to grow abundant harvests.
His garden is more than an oasis—it’s a lifeline.
As Mbakonzadhu sits among his fields of tomatoes, cabbages, peanuts, beans, maize, and potatoes, it is a dream come true. The variety of produce is keeping his family alive and healthy in the war-torn Democratic Republic of the Congo—something that seemed out of reach until Samaritan’s Purse provided him with seeds and agricultural training, grounded in Biblical principles.
Mbakonzadhu’s city located 35 miles outside Bunia, the capital of Ituri province, is a hotbed for warring factions. At three different times, when fighting grew especially fierce, he and his wife and children fled for their lives—losing all they owned in each exodus.
When it was eventually safe enough to return home, they often went hungry on their land. They couldn’t grow anything to eat because they lacked the funds to buy seeds.
Mbakonzadhu’s potato harvest also helps provide funds for his household needs and the education of his children.
Their 2-year-old son, Ovyanda, was born after the uprisings and displacements, but without a balanced diet, he suffered from acute malnutrition and anemia.
“We helped him with small amounts of food, but it wasn’t enough for his needs,” said Mbakonzadhu, the boy’s father.
That’s when the family met a Samaritan’s Purse team who supplied the child with therapeutic peanut paste full of iron, zinc, vitamin A, and other nutrients that he lacked.
“I’ve already seen changes,” said Mbakonzadhu, grateful for the formulated food. “The child [now 4 years old] is doing better. The puffy cheeks are gone.”
Yielding a Harvest
Samaritan’s Purse not only addressed the immediate need of his malnourished son, but trained Mbakonzadhu how to grow the varied nutrients his family needs to stay healthy in the years ahead.
“I got these seeds from Samaritan’s Purse,” Mbakonzadhu said, referring to his recently harvested 130-pound crop of potatoes.
“We thank them very much for what they did for us. They taught us how to plant tomatoes, how to plant cabbages, peanuts. They also taught us how to use pesticides, to make sure our seeds don’t die.”
“They taught us how to plant tomatoes,” Mbakonzadhu said of Samaritan’s Purse staff members.
Mbakonzadhu also noted with gratitude how the gardens benefit his family with both food and an income. Now he’s able to send his children to school and provide for their medical care.
“Agriculture helps in the household. From all that we harvest, we consume a part, the other part we sell, and another portion we keep as seed. The money, once we have it, helps us find cooking oil or other household needs. It also helps us educate the children and buy medicine for them when they are sick.”
Growing in the Lord
Most importantly, Mbakonzadhu grew in his Christian faith thanks to the relief he received from our staff.
“Samaritan’s Purse has helped us a lot spiritually,” Mbakonzadhu said. “They taught us how to search for verses to read in the Bible, and how to maintain family relationships,” in addition to all they taught them about agriculture.
“They really taught us a lot. There is nothing to forget!”
One of these lessons Samaritan’s Purse staff taught the family comes from Proverbs 28:19: “He who tills his land will have plenty of bread.”
Mbakonzadhu paraphrases that truth into a simple, memorable reminder: “He who works has plenty of food.”
Mbakonzadhu harvested 130 pounds of potatoes from the seeds he received from Samaritan’s Purse.
For the past 10 years, Samaritan’s Purse has been serving the people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo with varied projects, including emergency food distributions, health and nutrition programming, non-food item distributions, and church construction.
In 2025 alone, our integrated agricultural and nutrition programming in the country has served nearly 700 households. Please pray that families like Mbakonzadhu’s will thrive both physically and spiritually as a result of the relief provided in Jesus’ Name.
