Ending Extreme Poverty in the Congo

The Summer Solstice and Winter Solstice Is Meaningless

Today is the either the longest or shortest day depending upon where you live.  In Congo, the Summer Solstice is meaningless.

June Solstice (Winter Solstice) is on Tuesday, June 21, 2011 at 6:16 PM in Kinshasa, DR Congo. In locations south of Equator, the shortest day of the year occurs in June.  It's the opposite of us here in northern hemisphere.  But what is remarkable, the shortest day is 11 hours 52 minutes and 25 seconds.  Conversely, the longest day is 12 hours 22 minutes and 28 seconds.

A deeper meaning could be a near farmer's utopia.  An equal growing season of 365 days a year due to moderate temperature.  Unfortunately, most African countries are importers of food due to the lack of technology (knowledge and practices) and resources.

ONE says, 'Roughly 1 billion people, 265 million who live in sub-Saharan Africa, rely on agriculture for their livelihoods or more simply a source of work and income for all their needs.' 

 

Seeds, Roots and Herbs

One out of five Congolese children do not reach their fifth birthday.  That's a tragic.  Rural Congolese families are even more susceptible.  They have less access to traditional health care.

However, these same families have learned to survive on non-traditional medicines and cures.  They have an abundance of roots and herbs.

New roots and herbs are being found daily.  We, Congo Helping Hands, introduced the Moringa Tree for nutrition intervention.  Later, we found that the seeds could be used for simple water purification.  

Fresh Fruits and Vegetables

Fresh fruits and vegetables are a key ingredient of a nutritious meal.  That's what we know here in the developed world.

But in the developing world, like Congo, only fresh fruits and vegetables are available.  So there are other factors that cause the people to be malnourished.  The quantity of food is at fault.

First, not enough of fresh fruits and vegetables are grown during some periods of the year.  Also, lack of transportation limits the available of fresh fruits and vegetables to near the farm.  Finally, the lack of electricity and refrigeration limits the shelf life of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Hampered

Poor subsistence farmers are hampered many things in the rural Congo.  They are hampered by the lack of irrigation systems.  They are hampered by modern agricultural techniques and machinery.  They are hampered by the lack of storage facilities.  Finally, they are hampered by transportation to the market places in the urban areas.

Motorized transportation in rural Congo is virtually non-existent.  Train service is extremely limited.  But rural Congo and their food are essential to the well-being of those living in urban areas. 

What the Future Holds?

Children are the future.  It does not matter if their American, Haitian, Sudanese, or Congolese children.

In the case of Congo, children face many obstacles.  Lack of health care, education, safe water, and development are critical for their future.

As the world grows smaller, the divide between the haves and the have-nots widens.  Therefore, the scope of suffering will increase.  And our view of the suffering will increase, too. 

Everything will be amplified.  The needs of poor will be amplified.  But the ways and choices to make a difference will be amplified.  You will just need to act.

Not A Place for Your Average Tourist

Rural Congo is not a hot place for tourism.  In fact, you will not find too many tourist in Congo.

Most people like to visit warm, sunny places with tall palm trees and sandy beaches.  Congo is warm.  It is sunny most of the time.  But it does not a lot of sandy beaches.  And we are trying to replace the standard taller palm tree with a small dwarf palm tree.

However, the dwarf palm tree is an experiment to encourage more palm tree plantations.  Currently, palm oil is a big import for Congo.  In reality, Congo should be a leader exporter of palm oil.

Exportation of palm oil would be boom for rural Congo.

Solar Energy is Critical to Village Development

 
Solar energy is the key to development in rural Congo.  There are no power grids to provide electricity.  And gasoline and diesel used to generate electricity are too expensive for it to be sustainable.

Congo Helping Hands was established to improve the quality of life for rural poor Congolese.  We chose to work in the areas of education, health, and development.  Frankly, development activities were delayed due to its complexity.  Also, it was more convenient to assist and support an existing education system and health system.

But the time has come to jump into community development in the rural villages in central Congo.  Every time we look to or propose a project, the lack of electricity is limiting factor.  Electricity enables community development.  Also, it enables and extends health and education, too.

Our reference hospital uses some solar energy.  But primarily, it relies upon diesel-generated electricity out of necessity.  The installed solar electric systems are generally used for lighting only.  The solar energy is not stored or used to power equipment.

In the past year, we have looked at the successes of the Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF).  "For the past 20 years, the Solar Electric Light Fund has worked to deliver solar power to rural villages in Africa, Asia, and Latin America by facilitating a new generation of “whole village” solar electrification projects."  I concur with their belief, 'energy is a human right.'  SELF’s Solar Integrated Development Maturity Model is their 5-level framework for understanding how energy poverty can be tackled at the local level, sustainably, one village at a time.  The five levels include water, food, health, education, and enterprise.

Starting next year (2011), Congo Helping Hands plans to implement its Congo Water Project Download Congo Water Project - Flyer - June 2010.  The center piece of the project is the establishment of a rural water company.  Solar energy will be critical to power planned water wells for drinking, domestic and agricultural use.

In the future, solar energy projects will improve the hospital and clinics use of solar energy.  Finally, solar energy is being considered as part of the Vinyl School Project .  The project will construct semi-permanent classrooms made out of used vinyl billboards.

Rural Water Wells Are THE ANSWER

Water is essential for health, education, and development.  Water is the enabler for better health.  Water is the enabler for girls education and women equality.  Water is the enabler for sustainable development.

Water is nature's gift.  Congo has an abundance of water.  But water is not equally distributed.  Water is the hidden gift, too.

In rural Congo, rural water wells are needed.  We need to make water available to everyone.  We need to let water be all it can be to everyone.

Eat More Chicken

We have beef, pork, or chicken as our primary meats.  Then there are fish or lamb.  Our choices are limitless.  We can buy any type of meat at our stores.

In Congo, the two primary meats are goat and chicken.  In our rural village of Bulape, there are cows that roam around the village.  However, I have eaten beef there.  Why?

I think that the size of a cow makes it prohibitive in a place without electricity and refrigeration.  A cow is too big to eat for one meal.  So Congolese naturally eat more chicken.

Help Provide Safe Water

 
Water is an important commodity to the life of a village.  The resident needs water for drinking and for preparing food.   Also, farmer need water for crops.

Water is so important, it affects over human development beyond the obvious health issues.  Access to water can also improve educational opportunity for girls.  And water can improve business opportunity for women.

The problem with water is not limited to the Congo.  Most of the countries in sub-Saharan Africa have a similar problem of water.  That's why it is a target area under Millennium Development Goal (MDG) #7.

Help provide safe water and sanitation to 100 million people, call your Congress-person (House of Representative), and urge them to support immediate House passage of the just-passed Water for the World Act, (Bill # S. 624).