Shalom started in 2010 as a fellowship of refugees worshiping in their native language and assisting each other with daily life. Through this fellowship, it became clear the need is great and resources can be difficult to access for new Iowans. Eugene founded SCIC to support refugees and immigrants with access to educational, social, and economic upward mobility.
Our goal is to love through service of others and to impact our communities in positive, powerful, and lasting ways.
Violence in Democratic Republic of Congo has not changed. There are more than 2.5 million Congolese people displaced from their homes, villages, and cities. Many have suffered extreme trauma and human rights violations as a result of war, and more than half of them are children. Having had poor access to education, extreme food insecurity, and very little exposure to English, new Iowans from DRC and other countries face multiple barriers to services that make adjusting to their new home a challenge.
Shalom Community Impact Center seeks to face these challenges together with the people we serve. We work to help remove barriers to existing services and create additional culturally and linguistically appropriate services to help our new Iowans integrate successfully and flourish as new Americans.
Shalom Community Impact Center endeavors to inspire new Iowans to become full participants in their local and national communities. We work to empower refugee and immigrant families by providing services and programs which assist with integration and adaptation in their new home country to ensure upward mobility in the areas of education, employment, and health and well being.
Founder and Director of SCIC, Pastor, Community Navigator, and Family Advocate: Eugene Kiruhura
Born in Fizi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eugene was forced to flee his home country in 2004 due to civil war. He was resettled in Des Moines, Iowa, where he has lived since 2007.
Eugene graduated with an Associate’s Degree from I.S.T.C.E./Accounting in Uvira, DRC and has engaged in additional theological studies since coming to Des Moines. In 2015, he received a Bi-Vocational Ministry license through the Midwest Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church. Eugene is the lead Pastor of Shalom Covenant Church in Urbandale, Iowa.
Eugene loves people and has a heart of compassion to care for the needs of others while remaining humble and respectful toward God and all people.
