Ending Extreme Poverty in the Congo

My Fear of Getting a Haircut

I was just as afraid as a young toddler when I got my first and only haircut in the Congo.  Why was I so afraid?

 

I was afraid because I could get a scalp disease or sometime worst.  The year was 2001.  The AIDS pandemic in Africa was just beginning to make the headlines.  I asked myself, could I get AIDS from a haircut?

 

We do not have electricity in our village of Bulape.  Therefore, a haircut is a manual procedure.  It is done with a comb and a double-edged razor.  It had been quite a few years ago since I had gotten a manual haircut in the rural South (US).  But a razor brought back memories of knicks and blood.

 

I insisted that the young man purchase a new razor for my haircut.  He did so I reluctantly got my first and only haircut.  Today, I plan ahead and use a rechargeable razor.

 

An Old Man and A Young Child

Looks are deceiving.  In lots of African countries when you see an old man and a young child, you immediately thinkof the lost of a generation due to HIV/AIDS.  Well, at least in Bulape, it is normally the case of the parents out in the bush tending to their farms.

Congo and Bulape do suffer from HIV/AIDS but not to the extend as some other sub-Saharan African countries.  Poverty related diseases are the primary cause of death among Congolese.  Preventable and treatable diseases kill thousands because Congolese do not have access to adequate health care.  And, in those cases where health care is available, the poor can not afford it.

 

I can't remember why this young boys started screaming and crying.