Guns For Bikes Program Works In Congo
Megan Shannon - All Headline News Staff Writer (AHN) - Pastor Ngoy Mulunda of the Democratic Republic of Congo has collected 6,500 weapons in the past year in exchange for guns--a program now backed by President Joseph Kabila. The bikes are worth about $50 and make a big difference in the lives of the people there--so much that gunmen are voluntarily disarming themselves. Mulunda said he destroys the weapons upon receipt. The program has proven to be more successful then the UN Disarmament Exercise and is therefore being extended. In fact, the neighboring South Kivu province has adopted a similar program, giving gunmen zinc roofing sheets instead of bikes. Congolese troops and UN peacekeepers have been forcibly disarming militai in preparation for the elections due to take place on July 30.
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