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Alfred State College's School of Mechanical Engineering Technology won the 2008 Basic Utility Vehicle (BUV) competition. The school donated the vehicle to Congo Helping Hands.
Their BUV is now in Kinshasa awaiting shipment to the Kananga for mobile library project. It has been a long journey from New York, Indiana, Maryland, and now Congo.
Alfred State College is located in Alfred, New York.
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One of my nightmares while traveling in Congo is what to do if your car breaks down. I have gotten stuck in the ditches and water holes. And we (the driver actually) have managed to get out. But I had a car breakout which was not fixable.
Well, it happened last night after I returned from dinner. I was dropped off at the door of MPH. I started inside but I did not hear the car start or drive away. I went outside and found that the car would not start.
We checked the obvious stuff like a loose battery cable. But it was tight and snug. Finally, they called their mechanic. He drove their other car over to MPH to check out the problem.
After over an hour or so, he removed the part and said he would have to get another one the next day.
What if this would have happened in the middle of the trip between Bulape and Kananga? A long walk!
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Evening rush hour in Kinshasa is just like most large cities. But it looks a lot different due to the unique faces of its public transportation.
First, there is no city provided transportation such as buses, trains, subways, or etc.
Second, there are very few authorized taxis. I refer to the painted blue and yellow taxi-buses and taxi-cars as the authorized ones.
Third, private cars, vans, and buses make up the majoirty of the city's public transportation. Most of the vehicles appear to be taking or should be taking there last trip to the junk yard.
I defined public transportation as any transportation that is not privately owned for personal use. Only 3-5 percent of the cars in Kinshasa are privately owned for personal use. The poor can not afford their own means of transportation.
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In a big city like Kinshasa, women, children, and men go door-to-door or office-to-office selling their items of stuff. There is steady and never-ending stream of people selling stuff.
The items ranged from belts, shirts, shoes, pants, and prepaid credit for phones. Then there services being offered like a shoeshine. Of course, there were food and drinks like water, Kool-Aid, oranges, bananas, bread, and cold cuts meats (actually warmed by the sun).
Each seller makes eye contact with you. Now, you have to respond politely with a nodding no or a wave to come over for a closer inspection. That's door-to-door selling Congolese style.
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If you can afford a motorbike, you are probably middle class or have a good paying job. Cars including the Landcruiser and other 4-wheel drive types vehicles can only be afforded by the upper class people, or governmental and non-governmental organizations.
Congo is a country of a small upper and middle class. Nearly all of the country, probably 85-95 percent is poor to extremely poor. They can not afford the luxury of a motorize transport or even a bicycle.
So it is not uncommon to see lots of motorbikes at a gathering of doctors for the tuberculosis meeting. In this case, the motorbikes were owned by their employers, a governmental or non-governmental organization.
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Health Zone officials started a week long meeting to discuss the fight against tuberculosis (TB). The meeting was held at the Project AXxes Coordination Office in Mbuji Mayi. It included officials from the five health zones supported by the project.
TB is one of the poverty diseases. In the developed world, TB is very rare. But in the developing countries like Congo, TB is alive and well. New strains and drug-restraint strains are on the rise.
Also, TB is a disease that many times accompany AIDS.
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The UN's Mission to Congo (MONUC) is present in the Mbuji Mayi.
Peace in the eastern Congo comes and goes without warning. The UN's presence in central Congo is less about peace-keeping or peace-seeking. It is more about building and supporting a sustainable infrastructure and government capacity.
For example, the UN supports humanitarian efforts in the region. They supported Congo Helping Hands with free of charge air shipment.
Without the UN's presence, the country would most certainly be in worse shape.
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What happens when there is no city electricity today? You bring out the generator.
I had been spoiled. Everyday we had electricity when we arrived at the Project AXxes Office. Then it happened.
There was no electricity. They rolled out the generator. They started the generator. Then they connected the building and there was electricity again.
The power was off most of the day until about quitting time. But what about thousands of other businesses and homes? And what about the hospital next door?
I am sure most of them were prepared, too.
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