Ending Extreme Poverty in the Congo

What Are You Having at Your Super Bowl Party

In Congo, the shopping list for a super bowl party would consist of bananas, peanuts, and palm wine.  Those are the party staples.  That's the equivalent of our chips, dip, and beer.

Not many Congolese will watch the Super Bowl.  Probably, the average Congolese would not even realize Sunday is Super Bowl Sunday.

Most Congolese do not have televisions.  A few more Congolese may have a radio.  But I think the limiting factor of radio is language even though they are cheaper.  However, most radio programs are in the official French language.

If you did not attend secondary school, you would probably would not have learned the French language.  I remember hearing a story of a young child from a foreign country living in New York that learned English just by watching the television.  Radios and televisions can provide both news, entertainment and education. 

What would the average Congolese learn from the Super Bowl? 

Economic Crisis - The Man-made Plague Strike Africa

Another plague has stroke Africa.  This time, it is the global economic crisis.

In a country like Congo with almost no other industry, a collapse in the mining industry will mean economic disaster in normally prosperous areas.  Also, it is coming at a time when the government is finally trying to control the mining contracts.

Chinese Premier Injects Note of Optimism at Davos

Mr. Manuel, of South Africa, said the economic crisis has hit his continent hard in the past year, as projects to develop natural resources, an area with much potential for Africa, are scaled back.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo alone, 48 mining projects are in various stages of abandonment, Mr. Manuel said.

“Look at Africa,” he said. “It’s a risk of decoupling, derailment, and abandonment altogether.”

Mr. Manuel and others said that as Western and Asian governments start borrowing heavily to spend for stimulus packages, they should allocate a portion to poorer countries.

Dirty Water Everywhere

While in Bulape, sometimes I get the chance to see what happens when it rains.  It is amazing to see girls walking toward the buckets and pales.

They are rushing to collect rain water from the roof.  Our roof is a hard clay roof and water runs off the roof.  Water does not run off the typical thatched roof of a hut.

How safe is rain water?  Normally, rain water is very safe.  But what happenings if you catch it from a dirt roof.

I would still say it is relatively safe.  It is just a little dirt.

The water collected at our house is a lot closer than the two mile trip done the hill.  There the water is dirt, too.

Could a Congolese Mother have Eight Babies?

I have seen plenty of Congolese mothers with eight children.  I have seen a few pair of twins in Congo.  But I do not think a Congolese mother could have eight babies at once.  On the average, Congolese women have almost seven births during their lifetime.

It is a basic fact that Congo has one of the highest infant mortality and maternal mortality rates.  That is, babies dying during children birth and mothers dying during children birth, respectively.

Almost half of the women give birth to their children without the assistance of skilled health personnel.

Almost two out of ten babies are born with a low brith weight.

The chances of babies surviving a multiple birth are low.

We hope to improve those statistics with the addition of an ultrasound machine for the Bulape Hospital.  In the picture above, Dr. Mike Haninger of the Good Shepherd Hospital near Kananga looks over our ultrasound machine in the warehouse in Kinshasa.

The ultrasound machine was shipped to Good Shephard Hospital.  Dr. Mike will train medical personnel at the Bulape Hospital on its use.

It is Hard to Be a Good Student in rural Congo

As a teacher, you want your students to learn because they are a reflection of your abilities.  You want them to pay attend to you.  Also, you want them to take good notes for review and studying.  You want them to be successful. 

Can you imagine being a student in this rural school in Bulape?  It is hard for a student not to look out of the classroom.  The mud wall has washed away revealing the outdoors.

How about taking down notes written on the board?  It is hard for a student not to miss or not see parts of the teacher's notes.  The black paint on the wood has washed away revealing a near white surface.

This classroom is the typical in rural areas of Congo.

It is really hard to be a good student in such a classroom setting.  However, education is important key required to break the cycle of poverty.

Congolese Women Out Live Their Men, But ...

Congo lags behind the US and the developed world in more than economic terms.  Socially and culturally, it's a lagger, too.  Take the topic of migration from the rural areas to the urban areas, you can see the pattern well established in Congo.  The young and especially educated people are leaving the confines of rural Congo.

Traditionally, Congolese parents had many children whether to ensure survival of a family or as a pension plan when they got older.  However, many children, born and raised in a rural village, have moved to the urban areas in search of jobs, better living conditions, and more opportunities.

What does that mean to their aging parents left in the village?

I cannot answer that question, now.  What I do know is that older people are vulnerable.  They may be more vulnerable due to the lack of a formally established or organized social system.  Also, most of the aging parents are women.

Middle-aged women like Mama Sylvie (pictured above) have expressed concern about the plight of the older women.  Because, she is just one of a growing number of widowed women in the village of Bulape.  And some or most of their children now live in the city.

Will their children who have moved to the city remember them? 

So far, most of the aged women are being taken care or watched after.  I hope that the Congolese family structure remains strong and intact.  If not, many aged-women will suffer when they become too weak to take care of themselves.

As Congolese women out live their men will they live out their life in dignity in old age. 

Mark 1:14-20:

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news."

As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea-for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, "Follow me and I will make you fish for people." And immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.

Here's the Easy Part of the Cooking Process in Rural Congo

If you live in rural Congo, the job of cooking could take you up to half of your day.  The first step in the cooking process is physically going to get the fire wood. 

You could have find a fallen tree in the village or you make have to walk miles to the bush to find a fallen tree.  Once you find a tree you have to chop smaller pieces off the tree with your machete or ax.  Next, you have to carry the work to your hut.  Finally, you can start the fire for cooking.

Fetching the wood is the easy part because Bulape is surrounded by dense forest and bush.  Actually, "finding something to eat" is more difficult. 

 

Obama Would NOT Be President of the Congo

Consider this fact, the civil rights struggles in the US happened roughly the same time as the de-colonization of Africa.  Congo received its independence from Belgium in June 1960. 

If Barack's mother was a Congolese woman and returned to Congo after his white father died, would Barack be the President of Congo?  I say NO Way!

Joseph Kabila, Congo's current President, received the benefit of his father being president before him.  But the problems in Congo go much deeper than the top job of president in the country.

I believe the problem is caused by lack of jobs or viable economy.  You can be a lot of things in the Congo, but you may not be paid for it.  Teachers, doctors, lawyers, and other professionals struggle to find good paying jobs.  So the corruption is allowed because of the intense competition for paying jobs.

BBC NEWS | Africa | DR Congo, a land of greased palms.

"I can't get a permanent job in Congo because its not what you know round here that matters, it's who you know."

I was in the car park of a hotel in Goma, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. I had just asked a man, who I was employing for a few weeks as a guide, what he did when people like me were not around.

His answer - about cronyism trumping merit and hard work - says a lot about what is wrong with DR Congo. The young man in Goma spoke five languages - three African and two European - fluently. He could also "get by" in several other tongues. He had a university-level education, was resourceful and hard-working. 'Not what you know...'

In most countries around the world, those skills would make him highly employable. But not in DR Congo.

The Future of Congo is Standing Still

 

What does the future look like for the poor Congolese people?  The future of Congo is on hold.

The world have continued to progress and move forward.  In sub-saharan Africa, some things have changed in last few years.  In the Congo, little progress has been made.  In fact, a few things have gone worst.  For example, the life expectancy of the average Congolese dropped from 46 years to 45 years.

How do we going to reverse these trends?  You have to eliminate extreme poverty.

Is Congo Ready to Work Alongside the Obama Administration?

Congo is one of the poorest countries in the world.  But I like to footnote that statement to mean, Congolese people are among the poorest people in the world.

What does the average poor Congolese look like?  They are uneducated.  Only one of out three Congolese over 15 years old is literate.  They drink disease-laden water.  Less than half of the people in Congo have access to safe drinking water.  They are starving and undernourished.  More than two of out three children under five years old are underweight.  Finally, they are a victim of that silent killer, extreme poverty.  Less than half of the population is expected to live past 40 years old.

As you know, rural life is worst off than urban living.  The people of rural villages like Bulape are even poorer then the average Congolese.

The President Obama pledged to work along side the poor.  But is Congo ready to work?  Or do we work around the Congolese government and go directly to the poor people?

The Inaugural Address of Barack Obama, 44th US President, January 20, 2009.

"To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to the suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it."