Ending Extreme Poverty in the Congo

Where Are These Pictures?

What do school-age children do handmade pictures in the Congo?  In most American homes, handmade pictures by younger, school-age children are placed on the refrigerator or a kitchen wall.  It does not matter if its your child or a grandchild, we all are obligated to display those handmade masterpieces.

In rural Congo, families do not have electricity.  Therefore, they do not own refrigerators.  Most rural Congolese houses are made with mud walls.  Also, their kitchens burn wood in an open fire.  Therefore, the pictures are probably not pasted on the kitchen walls.

So what happened to these handmade pictures?

Improvising

Every avid sports player have the tools of their trade.  A baseball player will have a ball and glove.  A football player will have a football.  A tennis player will have a racket and a can of balls.  An a golf will have a set a clubs and balls.

One of the things we noticed in rural Congo, avid sports player still have a love of the game.  But they did not have the tools of the sports. 

Even schools did not have sporting equipment.  There were no soccer balls, nets, or uniforms.  But the students still had a love of the sport.  They just improvised.

The Journey

As a parent, you see your child's first day of school as the beginning of the journey.  The journey to self-sufficient and adulthood.

The same is true for development work in Congo.  You hope one day that people are self-sufficient and prosperous.

As with children, you know that it going to take a long time.  It's a lot of learning on the part of the child.  It's a lot of frustration on the part of the parent.  But step by step, both the parent and child learn and adjust.  You know it's a journey, so you don't expect it to happen overnight.

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.

Containers in the Bush

Typical building in the bush to not last too long.  They only last about two to three years. We are searching for more permanent or semi-permanent building materials.

Lately, I have been discussing an adverse effect of using shipping containers as housing here in the US.  I have argued that using shipping containers have created a shortage of shipping containers needed for shipping stuff to places like Congo.

If we had more containers maybe we use some of them for school classrooms.  They would last forever.  WOW, I may have to see how much it would cost to transporta container to the bush.  Typical material handling equipment (MHE) can be replaced by hundreds of Congolese men.

Actually, I have seen a few containers in rural Congo.  And I have wondered how they got there.  They got there somehow.

The Future Is In Her Hands

It's said that the future lies in the hands of the children.  In the case of Congo, the future lies in the hands of girls.  If the equality gap is closed, extreme poverty could come to an end.

Education is key to equality in the Congo.  Girls must have an equal access to primary and secondary school, and university level professions.   

Wordprocessing Center

We, Congo Helping Hands, have shipped many manual typewriters to the Girls' School in Bulape.  The typewriter are used by the girls learning to type in the Administrative Option. 

Laptop computers are an option for a few of the advanced students.  But the laptop computers are located at the Bulape Cultural Center.  The girls can learn how to prepare documents using wordprocessing software.

The laptop computers are available for rental.  Therefore, they are a potential income-generator for proficient students and graduates.   

Basic Bullying

In the US, we have a big problem of students bullying other students based upon sex preference and other issues.  Later, most students grow out bullying and move on to adulthood.  The bullied-student may not have any major or lasting effects.

But in Congo, they have only basic bullying, so far.  Boys bully or tease the girls.  Many girls are discouraged by their parents, too.  Later, most girls would drop out of school before completing high school.  BUT, the bullied-girl will have life long effects of little or incomplete education.

In our rural village of Bulape, they have started girl only schools to combat bullying.  Education is too important and too irreversible. 

 

Catch The Vision

 
Congolese boys and young men have a vision of their future.  They may dream about occupying a certain position.  And most young men ask about more education post primary and secondary school.

I have never had a Congolese girl or young women ask me about more education.  They are just happy to be recognized.  They are content with opportunity to attend primary and secondary school.

Girls must be given universal access to primary and secondary school.  Then they will catch the vision for a better future.

Marching Too Slow To Catch Up

Our elementary students in the US are exposed to computers, video, and other high tech tools.  These tools increase a student's overall perception.  Students become knowledgeable about the tools of tomorrow.

Rural Congolese elementary students are exposed to only a few tools.  Even though those tools may not seem less important, they expand the students overall perception.  But without computers, video, and other high tech tools.  Congolese students will not gain the necessary knowledge needed for tomorrow.

Those Congolese students will never catch up because they are marching too slow.