Ann and Dr. Bill Clemmer reside in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on the Congo-Rwanda border. They work with IM partners HEAL Africa and IMA World Health. Since October 2018, Bill has been based 200 miles north of Goma; he leads a team of over 80 Congolese doctors, nurses, and engineers in the fight against a raging Ebola outbreak – the longest and deadliest in Congo’s history. Ann coordinates children’s programs for HEAL Africa in the struggling town of Goma. These programs provide Christian education, counseling, food and clothing to over 1,000 children each week. Many of these children also attend worship and Sunday school activities. 

Ann writes on Facebook on Good Friday – Just received terribly sad news. For the end of the Ebola epidemic to be declared, 42 days have to pass from the release of the last patient. Only 48 hours from the declared end (on Easter Sunday), a patient in Beni (where Bill has been working since October 2018) tested positive after succumbing to the disease this afternoon.  We were so looking forward to the end of this, Congo’s longest and deadliest outbreak.  With the expansion of Covid-19 into eastern Congo, we had already made the decision to stay and pivot from Ebola to Covid… but now it looks we will be facing two fronts of seeming uncertainty.  But we, as do our colleagues here, know that God is in control.