Going to RDCongo

That's it! I won't be a student anymore (before next time for a PhD somewhere). Until then I can finally go back to work in the fields and visit forgotten corners of the blue planet. Can you imagine I actually missed working... What an irony. This time I am going to Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC the ex-Zaire) where I will be posted in Kindu, the capital of the Maniema province, right on the Lualaba River which is a confluent of the Congo River. Once again I operate as a project coordinator with Medical Emergency Relief International (MERLIN) but this time it's a bigger project than the one in Tajikistan. I will oversee 5 programs including HIV/AIDS, Water & Sanitation, the establishment, furbishing and maintenance of about 50 local health facilities in the middle of the jungle, plus the supporting of the provincial central hospital. And as usual I will manage teams of doctors, trainers, community health mobilizers, and all the logistics and administration staff. Of course the security is unstable and ressembles the usual vicious circle of armed rebel forces/political decay/economic meltdown/corruption/fight over natural resources/nasty international geo-politics and global security plots... Additionally people suffer from the remotness of the province, the lack of access to clean water, the collapse of essential social services like education and health. More generally the local communities whose survival depend on the ruthless diamond and gold mining industry clearly live under the poverty line. On average, the richest rural poor owns a bike, up to 5 shirts and 3 trousers and a battery radio...and their children probably received education.

That's all I can comment on so far. Much more to read on this page once I get there. Stay tune and read my adventure in the Congo!

Learn more:
About Medical Emergency Relief International (MERLIN)
About humanitarian situation in Congo at ReliefWeb.com
About the MONUC, the UN peace keeping mission