Ending Extreme Poverty in the Congo

No More Excuses, Just Do It

 
We all have to do things that we don't like to do.  We would rather be doing something else.  But sometimes we have to just do it.

Congolese men normally do not care for babies.  Actually, it is because they can't.  Babies are breast-feed out of necessity.  The poor can not afford baby formula.  So men are excused.

Toddlers are not off limits.  Therefore on rare occasions, you see men assuming child care duties.  But normally, mom is not resting.  She is probably doing some type of women's work like carrying water, gathering wood, or harvesting food.

Corn on the Cob

Corn on the cob may be a summertime for many of us.  It's a favorite for home cookout and even at the state fairs.

Congolese grow lots of corn.  It is a staple food.  But it is not eaten in its natural state.  Corn is grinded into flour.  The flour is usually mix with cassava for added nutrition.

Corn is not usually eaten fresh.  Only a few times, I have had corn on the cob.  Since it was not a variety of sweet corn, the corn on the cob was not so tasty.

Cream-style corn would be better.

Why Women Are More Industrious

 

"I have always wondered - what do the men do? Why are they not as industrious as the women?"

 

More Congolese women are uneducated and illiterate.  Therefore, they work with their body, hands, and feet to survive.  Their work is more physical and laborious.

 

Men on the other hand are better educated and literate.  Therefore, they work more with their mental  abilities and skills.  They are the service workers.  And their jobs are mostly tucked away out of sight.

 

 

Gender Equality is Foreign

Congolese women rank at the bottom on the world's gender development index.  The UN ranked Congolese 150 out of 155 countries on gender development issues in its 2009, the latest report.

Education and literacy keep Congolese women down.  They earn about 46 percent of their male counterparts.

Their Normal is Not Our Typical

 
Typically, Congolese girls and women work from sun-up to sun-down.  They are taking care of children.  They are working in the fields.  They are carrying water.  They are cooking.  Or they are walking between jobs.  But they are doing something constructive for their families.

Occasionally, Congolese girls and women do what normally things you may be accustomed to.

One Step at a Time

 
  
If you answer the first word of a crossword puzzle, you may get a hint of the next word.  As more words are completed, the hints or partially revealed words become more visible.  You are not getting smarter but it feels that way.

In rural Congo, children going to school need a help getting the first word.  They may need help with the second, third, and fourth words.  But sooner or later, school becomes more doable.

The first word may be a scholarship to help pay their tuition.  The second word may be notebook paper.  Each need individually is not so great if you take it one step at a time.

Wasting Water or Not

 
Would you like a water faucet open and letting water flow for 24 hours a day?  Probably not.  Oddly enough, one of the ways to provide safe clean drinking water in rural Congo leaves water flowing from a pipe 24 hours a day.  But it is not the same.

Water is water, so what's the difference.  In rural Congo, you cap a naturally flowing spring.  It's natural for a spring to flow 24 hours a day.  It's part of the natural cycle of water.  Water from the pipe sips back in the ground.  Later, that same water flows up out of another spring or river.

Water flowing out a pipe, non-stop, 24 hours a day, just sounds wasteful.

Snacking on Peanuts

 
Congolese hosts are like us.  They offer food or snacks are a sign of hospitality.  In rural villages, most snacks consist of locally grown fruits and nuts.  

Roasted peanuts are the favorite.  They are like the potato chip of Congo.  But they are much more nutritious.  If you are allergic or don't like peanuts, you may be safe from over-snacking in rural Congo.   

Hand-made Is Great

In a rural Congolese village, vendors setup a market once a week.  The weekly market is a time to shop and find a wider variety of items for sale.  There are some factory-made clothes.  Also, there is plenty of cloths for sale.

Colorful cloths are used for shirts, dresses, skirts, and blouses.  You start with a great cloth.   Then you find the services of great seamstress.  Finally, you get a great handmade outfit.

There's Real Difference Between Before and Instead

You have heard the stories of what your parents had to do before going to school.  Some of them sounded more fictional then real.  But the key word is BEFORE.  That is, what they did "before going to school."

Suppose, the story sounded like this.  Here's what I had to do instead of going to school.  You would feel pity or empathy with your parents.

Stories like the latter happens far too often in rural Congo.  An estimated one out of three children never attend school.