Most fishermen, at some point in time, have claimed the "big one" got away. In our rural Congolese village, they have not grown the big one. But they are just starting to raise fish. They are proud of their accomplishments. With some experience and education, they will be really growing the "big one".
Everything, including a fish, is relative. You just can not take things as its absolute value. So I congratulate them.
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What's for dinner? The Congolese dinner meal is getting more western. Congolese are eating more rice. But rice, a distance second, is not that popular of a staple food like it is in our western society. Cassava is the still the staple food of rural Congo.
I am not sure which came first. Did the rural Congolese farmers grow more rice? Then they started eating more rice themselves. Or did they the people started eating more rice or saw the Americans eating it? And then they started to grow it.
Rice and beans are my staple foods when I am in rural Congo.
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Cassava is the food staple of the Congo, and most of Africa. Each African country and even region within a country has its own recipes and names for the cassava.
In the Kasai region, corn meal is added to the cassava to give it more flavor, texture, and nutrition. It is called bidia in Bulape and other areas of the Kasai. It is made in a pot over an open fire in boiling water.
So what goes with bidia? Anything the family can afford or find to go with it. A meat or vegetable flavored sauce is the typical side dish. Of course, a poor family may just have bidia.
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One out of five children die before their fifth birthday in Congo. Subsaharan African countries have the highest child mortality rates in the world. You must conclude that a child's life has little value. "Child mortality is a sensitive indicator of a country’s development and telling evidence of its priorities and values. Investing in the health of children and their mothers is not only a human rights imperative, it is a sound economic decision and one of the surest ways for a country to set its course towards a better future." UNICEF - The State of the World's Children 2008
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Today, Congo's Ministry of Health declared the Ebola outbreak near Mweka is "under control". That is, it is over for now since no new cases have been reported after the last case on January 1st. The outbreak was diagnosed in late November. Authorities identifed it killed about 15 people; although, many more died of similar of other causes with similar symptons.
This Ebola outbreak occurred in the same area of central Congo that had an earlier outbreak just 18 months ago. The provincial health authorities asked the people to change their ways. He specifically warned them not eat monkey meat and dead animals found in the forests in addition to poor hygiene.
While in Congo, I ate termites with the locals. Thank God, termites are not on the list of banned foods.
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Congo is one of the poorest countries in the world. But I like to footnote that statement to mean, Congolese people are among the poorest people in the world.
What does the average poor Congolese look like? They are uneducated. Only one of out three Congolese over 15 years old is literate. They drink disease-laden water. Less than half of the people in Congo have access to safe drinking water. They are starving and undernourished. More than two of out three children under five years old are underweight. Finally, they are a victim of that silent killer, extreme poverty. Less than half of the population is expected to live past 40 years old.
As you know, rural life is worst off than urban living. The people of rural villages like Bulape are even poorer then the average Congolese.
The President Obama pledged to work along side the poor. But is Congo ready to work? Or do we work around the Congolese government and go directly to the poor people?
The Inaugural Address of Barack Obama, 44th US President, January 20, 2009.
"To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to the suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it."
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Fish is a excellent source of food and proteins. A diet of fish would eliminate malnutrition. But how do you get enough fish for sale and distribution? You can only get enough by improving these fish ponds in Bulape.
So, why is there not enough fish in Bulape? I do not know why. The ponds have fish. But something is missing.
Expertise in fish farming is needed. How much water is needed? How do you keep the fish fed? What type of fish is best for the Bulape village? How do you operate a self-sustaining fish farm?
These Congolese men need your help to improve their fish farm.
1 Samuel 3:1-10 Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread.
At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room; the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was.
Then the Lord called, "Samuel! Samuel!" and he said, "Here I am!" and ran to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you called me." But he said, "I did not call; lie down again."
So he went and lay down. The Lord called again, "Samuel!" Samuel got up and went to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you called me."
But he said, "I did not call, my son; lie down again."
Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. The Lord called Samuel again, a third time. And he got up and went to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you called me."
Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. Therefore Eli said to Samuel, "Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, 'Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.'" So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
Now the Lord came and stood there, calling as before, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening." Then the Lord said to Samuel, "See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make both ears of anyone who hears of it tingle.
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Congo is the home of the "opposites" or "have nots". I am not talking about children without shoes or children without torn and worn out clothes. Although those are the highly visible things you first see, those are not the critical or life-saving interventions.
Children do not have nutritious food to eat, so more than half of them are below the height and weight standard for their age. As such, most children do not have strong immune systems to fight off common childhood illnesses and diseases.
Children do not have access to health care, so one out five before their fifth birthday. Health care is either not available or the family is too poor to afford it. The perfect storm of death caused by extreme poverty.
You have the power to create a better world for these children. You can improve their access to health care and nutritious food. These children need your help and assistance move to other side with the "haves".
Genesis 1:1-5 In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
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Water is essential for life. Rain or irrigation is essential for growing crops.
In Bulape, farmers do not water their crops. As such, farming or gardening is only done during the rainy season. Also, Congolese do not store food. So when you combine the lack of food storage without farming during the dry season, malnutrition is a normal occurrence. The children are most vulnerable to malnutrition.
It is hard to break cultural practices of not farming during dry season. You have to try to education the young mothers. The girls and women are responsible for the care of the farms and gardens. More importantly as mothers, they should be more sensitive to the plight of their children.
Congo Helping Hands started a drip irrigation project at the girl's school. However, we found that water must be convenient for the teaching project. A rain harvesting project is needed to supply water for the project.
Jeremiah 31: 11-14 For the LORD has ransomed Jacob, and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him. They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion, and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the LORD, over the grain, the wine, and the oil, and over the young of the flock and the herd; their life shall become like a watered garden, and they shall never languish again. Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old shall be merry. I will turn their mourning into joy, I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow. I will give the priests their fill of fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my bounty, says the LORD.
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A Congolese mother prepares Cassava for grinding into flour. It is the one food item you see throughout the village of Bulape. It usually seen on the top of thatched roofs drying in the sun. After drying, the outer bark is removed to reveal the white chalky flesh of the root.
Cassava is the staple food of Africa. All African, especially in Central Africa, eats some local dish made from Cassava.
A familiar food item in Bulape is peanuts. It is a cash crop along with corn. Like corn, peanuts are not used extensively. Peanuts are only used in one manner. Peanuts are shelled and roasted. It is not used for peanut butter or cooking oil. There are no peanut recipes.
The peanut is underutilized. A wider use of peanuts could be improved the nutrition of children.
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