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Blogs from Congo Democratic Republic, Africa - page 2
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July 26th 2012
In the last eight days, I have learned many new uses for the humble bucket. "Bucket List" has taken on a new meaning for me. In our house here at Kimwenza, we are blessed to have running water -- cold, but not hot. Down the hall from my room, there is a hot water heater with a faucet. So every night and every morning, I take my bucket there to fill it with hot water. We have showers (with cold water), but not bathtubs. So the bucket filled with a mixture of hot and cold water provides a daily bath/shower. I'm getting good at dousing myself from my bucket! It's also great for washing clothing and carrying it out to the clothesline. And for soaking tired feet -- it can't be beat. Of course, the bucket ... read more
July 24th 2012
A few days ago we visited the farm that the Sisters have on the compound at Kimwenza. When Sister Claudine Dumbi was studying agriculture at the Jesuit college in Kimwenza, she needed to do a practicum. She requested some money from her community and bought 200 chickens. That was in 1999-2000. Twelve years later they now have 1500 chickens, 100 or so rabbits, a small flock of baby turkeys and lots of vegetables. The farm provides not only income for the Sisters but also jobs for local people.... read more
English English English
Published: July 23rd 2012Africa » Congo Democratic Republic » West » Kinshasa
July 23rd 2012
English is the language of choice these days. Today we asked the Sisters to try to speak English at meals, and we teachers will spread out and sit among them in the dining room. Meanwhile Maureen and I are each teaching two sections of English, and we meet each section twice a day. Maureen has the Cuvilly and Namur groups, and I have the Amiens and Ghent groups. We're working on verb tenses, pronouns, prepositions, new vocabulary and pronunciation. The Side by Side materials -- texts, workbooks, picture cards and CDs -- are excellent, and the students seem to be enjoying them. Today I gave my students a little written homework -- to write about themselves, their families and their interests. When I asked them to send it to me by email, they applauded! Here is ... read more
July 22nd 2012
Communication is so important for an international religious congregation. The Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur live and work in 16 countries in Africa, Japan, Europe, North and South America and Europe. In the past it used to take up to two weeks for important communications from our generalate in Rome to reach the Congo. Now because of the Photovoltaic Project the Congolese Sisters have dependable electricity and internet access. In some of the more remote sections of the country, they share this capability with the people of the village in cybercafes. You can read all about this project on our congregational website. Just click on this link -- http://www.snddencongokin.org/photovoltaique.html. All of the Congolese Sisters in this summer program are taking a class in computer skills. They are learning First Class, a program which supports an ... read more
July 21st 2012
Today is Saturday, July 21. On Thursday evening, July 19, we all participated in a lovely ceremony in the chapel, with songs, readings, prayers and blessings appropriate for the opening a new program. Before we left the U.S. we (the PACE Team) had decided to divide the students into four groups named for towns in France and Belgium that are important to the history of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur -- Cuvilly, Amiens, Namur, Ghent. During the ceremony each Sister came forward when her name was called to receive a name tag bearing her group name. Maureen is teaching English to the Cuvilly and Namur groups. I have the Amiens and Ghent groups for English. Evelyn and Margaret are team teaching the computer and internet skills class to all four groups. Our classes began ... read more
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July 20th 2012
A major staple of the Congolese diet is manioc. Yesterday many of the SNDs were working hard at peeling the outer bark off the manioc pieces. One of the most popular dishes made from manioc is fufu -- manioc that is soaked, dried in the sun, ground into flour, added to boiling water and whipped. The closest dish I could compare it to is polenta.... read more
July 19th 2012
After 14 hours in the air and 3 on the ground in the Brussels Airport, we arrived safely at N'Djili Airport in Kinshasa, Congo. Wefour American SNDs -- Maureen, Margaret, Evelyn and yours truly -- were fortunate to have as traveling companions 3 Congolese SNDs -- Anaclette, Ursule and Marie Dominique -- who were returning home from an international education conference at Emmanuel College in Boston. The baggage claim experience was a sight to behold. Unfortunately I could not take photos because of a law forbidding this. The presence of many uniformed police officers would discourage anyone from breaking any law! It took an hour and a half to recover all our bags -- no small feat given all the congestion around the carousel and the fact that the tram that usually brings baggage from the ... read more
Democratic Republic of Congo
Published: September 1st 2012Africa » Congo Democratic Republic » West » Matadi
July 16th 2012
Monday July 16 Crossing into our fourteenth country today, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the lovely roads of Angola ended at the border with sandy roads greeting us the minute we crossed. There were several villages that we passed through and then a larger town where adults and children alike asked us for food, water, cigarettes and money. I find myself getting annoyed sometimes but am working on the 'if you don't ask, you don't know' theory. They're not necessarily expecting us to give them anything but if they don't ask, they don't know. For the most part we just wave and when it gets too much, I lie down on the seat so I can't be seen. Hearing them calling is enough to make me feel guilty though. Along the sandy road is remnants ... read more
Into "the Heart of Darkness"
Published: April 22nd 2012Africa » Congo Democratic Republic » East » Goma
April 21st 2012
My legs were more than a little wobbly after the five plus hour climb, one that took me up an increasingly steep gradient, made all the more difficult by alternating stretches of slippery smooth rock and loose, jagged gravel. But now I was nearly at the top, just a few feet away from my goal. Before I mustered the energy to climb the last stretch, I turned to look at the surrounding vista. From my perch, more than 11,000 feet above sea level, I had an unhindered view of Lake Kivu, with the rambling outlines of distant Goma spread along its shore, and the wide, surprisingly flat plain at the base of the mountain, which quickly gave rise to another chain of mountains that mark the beginning of Rwanda. All looked verdantly healthy; all appeared peaceful. ... read more
Gorillas in the Mist and other adventures
Published: March 11th 2012Africa » Congo Democratic Republic » East » Goma
March 11th 2012
Murrays travel schedule kicked off again in February. As you know, he loves to write about it, not! So bear with me while I try to document his trip. His first trip was to North & South Kivu in DRC for a final evaluation of the WASH program there. One of the highlights was seeing a gravity fed water scheme under construction, the women from the village were so happy that they would spontaneously break into song and dance. Another highlight was seeing positive results from a Sanitation and Hygiene program in Tongo. In January, 42 people died from 1 village. The people thought it was witchcraft, a study showed it was a malaria and cholera outbreak. Our organisation did an emergency intervention together with another agency. They set up a medical clinic to treat the ... read more
