First Field Trip Done!

Kitchanga: where IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons) are forced. There are two camps here that we deal with: Mungote and Kahe, both only about 10 minute drives from each other. Both populations are very different, sharing similar circumstances, including but not limited to, overcrowding, poor nutrition and hygiene, and massive death tolls from rampant diseases. New IDPs are considered vulnerable for about 3 months before transitioning to the non-vulnerable category. Many people receive rations that only cover half of the recommended bare essentials diet, if they are even fortunate to have that. The majority have been caught in the crossfire of the African War, having lost multiple family members from rebel group gunshots as well as constantly being shifted around due to lack of land and resources. Good descriptions from other organizations working in the area: IRC and EFAGMR.

Houses in construction.

The beautiful countryside.

GETTING THERE: C. Kitchanga is 70 km from Goma, but because of the deteriorated roads, it takes 3 1/2 hours rather than 1 1/2 hours anywhere else. The roads are rocky, extremely bumpy and twist and turn around hills and mountains. Luckily, on the way back I passed out.

NUTRITION SENSITIZATION: A. Upon arrival anywhere in the DRC, we have to first have the local authorities approve our mission. After that, we head to the camps to education them on basic nutrition concepts - what kind of foods provide the necessary nutrients to a healthy diet, proper water-sanitation habits, etc. Coming from largely traditional cultures, our team divides the camp population into 3 groups: men, women, and children. We facilitate a focus group discussion with the men regarding issues important to them; the women are taught simple recipes that provide enough nutrition; the children are taught basic nutrition health concepts using games. All of this is of course in Swahili (more later).

Kahe Camp, not quite as big but equally distressing.

Health sensitizing.

Mungote camp. There are over 10,000 IDPs here alone.

With Jean Marie, the extremely supportive North Kivu provinicial government.

"Check out what we made!"

Can you tell which camp is predominantly Hutu and which is predominantly Tutsi?

Waiting in line patiently. "I can't wait!"

FOOD FAIRS: A. Then,in steps CRS' Foires aux Vivres, or Food Fairs - funded by the World Food Program (Programme Alimentaire Mondial, PAM). Historically, WFP comes into an emergency situation and does direct food distribution - handing out goods to IDPs. However, CRS' Food Fairs takes a different approach: let's set up closed markets with local vendors where IDPs will receive vouchers to use in purchasing food items to supplement their meager rations. Closed markets ensure there is less discrimination and biasness towards the IDPs, while giving them a variety of options necessary to fill their diets - while the local business community receives an injection of money. Furthermore, vouchers provide incentive for the IDPs to spend during the fair, rather than trading it for items they may not need. This is quite a paradigm shift for the WFP.

Local vendors love the food fairs!

Just a sample of what possibilities await.

What to get? What to get?

Beans are extremely important to this region's diet.

Peace to you, little boy!

This kid knows what's up - potatoes!

A typical basket of goods.

"Vouchers - they save us every month!"

Music is played during the fairs. Theatrics. 

Our amazing team after 5 days of fair!

Jules, M&E Officer, and Kate, the outgoing PM - with onlookers of course.

FOOD FAIRS II: The support for this project within the local community is amazing. The stakeholders love the program as it is a win-win situation for all. I didn't realize this before joining but the project's reputation is extremely high around the international development community. It is my job to take and expand it to help out as many people as possible. On the trip back, we read out loud the feedback from the local vendors, many of which read,"I never would've been able to provide for my family or to send my children to school without this."

After each fair day I return to my room to count and recount all 10,000+ vouchers.. guided by my headlight.

Fiston, with some of the Caritas agents the first night.

SWAHILI: C-. My French improves daily, which helps interacting with the vendors. On the other hand, the IDPs generally speak Swahili. I can ramble on and on in French all day but they won't understand until I throw out the few words and phrases I know.. "Jambo mama. Jambo papa. Habari yako? Muzuri. Asante." As a result of this area's blend of French and Swahili, the terms "mama" and "papa" are used quite a lot when speaking. It took a few weeks to get use to calling my guards "papa" but it's a piece of the culture that's quite important in breaking down communication barriers. The other thing is this term called "mzungu." Mzungu is Swahili for white, european, stranger (i.e. not from the area). It's similar to "gringo" in Spanish. Not exactly the most flattering term but I hear it everywhere I go in the villages. Quite often it is cut down to "muzu," yelled by little children with their thumbs up and running alongside the car. At first I thought they were saying "bisou! bisou!" only to realize, no - not really. Haha. To be honest, I'm quite surprised I haven't heard "mchina," which I got everywhere in Tanzania.

LOGISTICS: B-. There is no electricity in Kitchanga at all. At nights, if lucky there is a battery generator. Internet is non-existent.. except at the amazing base of UNHCR, which has a separate tent/lobby just for humanitarian workers. We've used it a few times for internet and to print since the generators can't handle the energy necessary. The first night at our base, the generator wasn't working so we ended up using these awesome lanterns, which run on petrol. Quite possibly the first time I've actually had to use it. Also, there is absolutely no chance you're getting hot water here. 10 days with ice cold water really brings one to their senses..

Tell me you didn't dream of this when you heard about the Congo!

FOOD: A-. Surprisingly, it wasn't too hard to find vegetarian options in these villages. In the morning it is typical to have chapati (slightly salty African flour bread) with this deliciously milky tea.

Chapati and tea - yum!

Delicious meal at the paroise - rice, potatoes, beans, and spinach!

Meal at the hotel: foufou (not my favorite..), beans, and veggies!

MISC: Kate's going away party had the office out in force at Club Mamba, where we had dinner, followed by dancing. The Congolese love the rumba! I know because I danced it with our receptionist - which was too fast, as told later. Then we went to their private room and got down!.. to more crazy arms throwing, feet chicken-dancing, hip thrusting music. There is no way in the States a supervisor would go out like that with their staff. They kept egging me on to kick out breakdance moves but I resisted. In my impromptu speech I set a football (soccer) challenge between CRS and our Caritas partner in the upcoming plans. I also offered free lessons on Texas culture for anyone interested, but no response yet on that..

TRIVIA! The answers were well answered *cough googled cough* by Becca in the previous post. But just in case..

1. What's been the deadliest war in the world since the end of World War II? Great Africa War.
2. Which African country controls the exclave of Cabinda, wedged between the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo? Angola.
3. Which country has the lowest point on the African continent? Djibouti.
4. Which country has the highest point on the African continent? Tanzania.
5. What percentage of all malaria cases are in sub-Saharan Africa (+/-5%)? 90%.
6. BONUS: What is the best city in Texas? Dallas! Duh. And Austin is a very close second.

Now for this post's trivia:

1. What is the most populous French-speaking country?
2. What author wrote: "I believe there is no sickness of the heart too great it cannot be cured by a dose of Africa...if I have ever seen magic, it has been in Africa?"
3. What country has the highest rate of infant mortality?
4. What 2 animals are the closest living evolutionary relatives to humans? Which one is only found in the wild in the Congo?
5. When is the DRC's Independence Day?
6. BONUS: What's the longest word in Spanish?

Passing the Gorilla mountains on the way to Kiwanja tomorrow. Hopefully the violence has subsided enough for us to help those in need.. A bientot!

NB: My phone numbers are +243 9978 44803 and +243 8089 84945, alternate number when traveling to Kitchanga, where only one company has reception.