Ending Extreme Poverty in the Congo

The Beginning Steps To A Poor Ending

Where are the boys?  Is there a separate water source just for boys?  In rural Congo, the task of getting water appears to be a girl thing.  There is nothing wrong with getting water.  I can think of worst things for girls to do.

Water is essential for life.  Someone has to get the water in poor developing countries.  Running water in homes is just not available.

But when girls are responsible for getting water, they start down the path to a second or third class citizenship.  Girls do not have enough time to study.  They do not stay in school.  They learn only to cook and to take care of young siblings.  In the end, everything points toward a false end.

Innocence Meets Poverty

 

Congolese children just want more opportunities.  What they want more is the opportunity to be educated.  The chance to receive an education is a game changer.  In rural Congo, education is a premium ticket item. 

Children are innocent.  They do not fully understand poverty.  But they are beginning to learn the limitation of poverty.  They see and experience the haves and have-nots.  They want more of haves like education.

Education should be universal. 

The Welfare of the People

 
Congo is a tribal country.  In rural areas, tribal laws and customs are practiced today.  Therefore, lots of things follow tradition.  Some things are inherited.

Tribal dress of the royal chiefs are mostly reserved for special occasions.  But as Congo prepares for its second democratic election, the role of chief may change.

Who is responsible for the welfare of the people?

It's Typical But It's Also Atypical

Typically, women rally to support fellow women in need.  This practice is especially in rural Congo.  A new mother is helped by her family, friends, and older women after child birth.

Typically, women walk home from the hospital, clinic, or other health facility.  There are no public or private transportation available in rural Congo.

The majority of women do not have access to health care.  The facility may not be available.  Also, the family may be too poor to afford it if a facility is available.  Therefore, many women and their newborns die unnecessarily.  One in 13 women will die due to childbirth complications.

So, it is atypical to be coming from a health care facility.

Visiting The Principal's Office

A visit to the principal's office was a bad thing.  BUT it could be a good thing for teachers.  The principal's office at Primary School Kamuangilahas the few resources available for the school.  The school in located in rural Bulape village in central Congo.  There are soccer balls, books, posters, and pamphlets.   

Typically, teachers do not have resources for their individual classes.  Resources are shared.

Teachers do not have office space.  Some of teachers do not even have a classroom.

An Oasis In A Desert of Poverty

I have never traveled in a desert BUT I have traveled along some of our interstate highways in great mid-west states.  You travel for hours without seeing a noticeable change in the landscape.  Finally, you reach an auto-plaza.  There is food, drinks, gas, along other people and cars.

The rural villages of Congo is like the vast lands of the mid-west states.  Although the physical distances are not so great, you travel a long time without seeing much of nothing.  Finally, you may arrive in another city or large village.

Bulape is like a big auto-plaza.  It has a little food, drink, and roadside stands.  There is a hospital, two health clinics, and numerous primary and secondary schools.  And you may even see another vehicle, several motor bikes and bicycles. 

Also, Bulape has a cultural center.  It is a multi-functional building.  It houses a large meeting hall with plastic seating chairs, a small library with French and Tshiluba books, a computer center with six laptops and a printer, and plenty of board games.

Villagers around Bulape live in extreme poverty.  But they can come and see things they have only heard someone talk about.  It is a chance to see glimpses of the other world for most of us.

The Bulape Cultural Center is a project of Congo Helping Hands.  The center supports other health, education, and development activities. 

Cooking Is Dominated By Girls and Women

 
Learning to cook is an essential skill for Congolese girls.  Cooking skills are started early, too.

In Congo, there are no fast food joints or no chain restaurants.  There may be one or two privately owned restaurants in the larger village or small cities.  In larger cities, more restaurants are available.  But they are fewer and more expensive per capita.

Cooking is a necessary skill in rural Congo.  Congolese women are expected to cook.  Very, very few men cook in a family setting.

A Rare Chance to Sightsee Along a Good Road

 
Most of us would prefer to travel via an interstate highway if we are going great distances.  In Congo, a vast country the size of the United States east of the Mississippi River or the size of Europe, there are no interstate highways.  There is not even an interstate railroad.

There are even few examples of good state roads.  Most paved road or streets stops at the city limits.  Dirt and sand roads, actually more like trails, are the norm.  Because of the erosion caused by rain and poor drainage, roads become impassable quite frequently.

It takes 9 to 17 hours to travel about 170 miles from Kananga, the West Kasai Provincial Capital, to the village of Bulape.  The roads are so bad, you literally have to hold-on in the vehicle to avoid injury.  There is no time to sightsee.  But occasionally, the road is good enough to take a picture.  Above is a rare picture of a good road in rural Congo. 

How Do You Carry Stuff?

 
I bet you do not carry stuff on your head.  There is a close relationship between the way people carry stuff and their prosperity and human development.  The more developed a people is the more they rely upon on something carry their stuff.

The very poor people can not afford those labor saving things such as hand-carts, wagons, bicycles, motor bikes, or cars.  In a poor rural Congolese village, people carry stuff on their heads.  Moving into a semi-rural or an urban city, you see a mix of carts, bicycles, motor bikes, and cars.

In Congo, I have never seen a ox, donkey, mule, or horse used to carry stuff.  Animals compete against poor people for food.

Vive Le Francais!

 
French is a second language of Congolese children and adults.  Actually, it is probably the third language for most Congolese.  Congo has a multi-layered language culture.  It is really evident (heard) in the rural poor areas. 

A rural villager will speak a tribal language.  This is the language of their mother and or ancestral tribe.  About all of the villagers would speak this language.  There are over 250 tribal languages in Congo. 

Above the tribal language is a regional or trade language.  This is language spoken across multiple villages and through vast regions.  There are four trade languages [Lingala, Kingwana (a dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili), Kikongo, Tshiluba] in Congo. 

Finally, the official language of Congo is French.  It is language of business.  Also, it is the language of the educated.  Typically, french is started by the secondary school level (junior high or middle school).

The measure is literacy is a person aged 15 and over who can read and write French, Lingala, Kingwana, Kikongo or Tshiluba.  Overall, 2 out of 3 people in Congo is literate.  However, the literacy rate is much lower in rural areas and for females.

Congo Helping Hands supports the rural poor Congolese and females with educational opportunities.  Join them on Facebook: Congo Helping Hands and Ending Extreme Poverty in the Congo.