Goodbyes are never easy!

I’m now in Kigali, capital of Rwanda, waiting to take my flight back to London…and strangely missing my bucket baths back in DR Congo. The place I’m staying at here in Kigali has a shower to rival the strength of Victoria falls!

Since I’ve last posted I’ve continued to assist at the malnourishment centre at the General Hospital of Bukavu (in the mornings) and in the afternoons assisted the nuns with basic English (and English homework) at the Congregation De Cemmo Dorothee. I’ve also attended the Congolese wedding (which I mentioned in my previous post) and felt totally silly in the traditional ‘uniform’ the family made for me to wear on the day, but it’s a great souvenir  to keep. I found the actual wedding ceremony much less traditional than the ‘dot’ ceremony. The couple is Catholic, so the ceremony took place at the Catholic church followed by driving around in Bukavu in a procession of cars and then ended with an all night party at one of the hotels. It was such a laugh and great food (on the menu too was of course the goats that were slaughtered outside my window)….yum! That day also happened to be my 30th birthday (all downhill form now on then!) but I kept that to myself whilst imagining the wedding cake we were served was birthday cake instead and wondered to myself how lucky I was to be experiencing all that I am in the DRC.

Me and Nicole in our wedding uniforms

On my last day at the malnourishment centre I held a little ‘party’ for the kiddies and said a sad goodbye to all of them. (again sorry for sideway images, don’t know where to rotate in wordpress).

Me and Nicole in our wedding uniforms

On my final taxi ride in Bukavu I was quoted by the driver the price I know it should be for the specific route I was travelling, and was so surprised and grateful I paid him triple!

I met some truly fantastic people (Brandi Walker who does fantastic work at Panzi hospital where they treat women, and in increasing numbers men, who are victims of sexual violence/war rape). Please have a look at Panzi’s website or view this brief video on the situation of war rape featuring Dr. Denis Mukwege who works at Panzi hospital.
Poor Brandy fell ill with typhoid fever shortly after we met up for the last time (so I’m feeling rather guilty for blaming the samoesas at Gerda’s, one of the local expat & NGO/aid worker hangouts).
I’m pretty amazed that other than very light bouts of diarrhea and nosebleeds I’ve not been ill once (well for all the bloody vaccines I got as well as the price I paid for them I should hope not!). I’ve also not had one mosquito bite…but let me wait after I’ve left Kigali before getting too excited as there seems to be malaria awareness posters everywhere here in Kigali.
I had a hard time too saying goodbye to my Congolese host family, especially Nicole, the lady of the house, we really got on so well and she keeps texting me ‘Your Congo mammy misses for you!’.
I took the boat back from Bukavu to Goma for a last time as I love these boat trips on Lake Kivu but was disappointed that the boat I travelled with on this occasion was really small (although very quick, gets you to Goma in about 2 hours) so didn’t have a deck to walk around on. Ihusi Express, the speedboats I’ve been travelling with on previous occasions don’t operate on Sundays so I had to find an alternative. So to anyone who ever finds themselves in this part of the world, I’d definitely recommend Ihusi Express: The boat is called Kivu Queen, 3 hour trip, spacious, deck to walk around on and gaze at the amazing scenery that stretches along the banks of Lake Kivu, refreshments served, even a movie on board (usually ‘King Kong’ translated in French .
Once in Goma some friends and I decided to go for a meal at one of the local restaurants at night. On our way over to the restaurant there was someone driving in front of us who clearly had too much Primus (one of the locally brewed beers) and was going rather slow, swerving. As we tried to overtake him he stopped and reversed back into our vehicle and blocked us, got out, opened the door on the drivers side and tried to grab the keys, couldn’t reach it, started pounding the windows and bonnet with his fists furiously…then came over to my side, tried to open my door (I couldn’t find the lock but luckily the person sitting behind me locked the door just in time). He then started pounding on my window….we took off, he followed and cornered us in one of the main roads in Goma, which of course caused a bit of a traffic jam, onlookers and also attracted the attention of a car loaded with police, or Congolese army…not sure which, all I know is they had guns J. Loads of arguing which I didn’t really understand erupted, the issue seemed to be sorted, we took off again…and Mr Primus followed…again…but we did manage to loose him eventually, finally made our way to the restaurant for a quiet, relaxed meal!

On Tuesday I crossed over the boarder of DRC in Rwanda where I was met by a lovely Rwandan taxi driver who organised to show me the sites of Kigali today, which included a visit to the Rwandan Genocide memorial – well worth a visit if ever you find yourself in Kigali. The scenery along the way is pretty amazing to say the least…hill upon hill of luscious green…but not so good if you tend to get car sick like I do.

Admittedly I am pretty shattered! It’s been a full-on time from the word go and all passed so quickly! Would I do it all over again? Hell yeah! I will certainly post again as I am sure there are many bits and experiences and impressions I might have forgotten to mention…so as my memory catches up with me, and I catch my flight back to London I would just like to say a huge thanks to everyone I’ve met in the DRC who has made this an unforgettable journey and experience and to everyone who has followed the blog and left me words of encouragement – thank you all!

All best
Philippa

It’s been a while…

since I’ve posted on here, sorry for that! Since being back in Bukavu after my adventurous couple of days in Goma I’ve been a bit occupied and internet here in Bukavu isn’t so easy to come by as it was in Goma (the people I stayed with in Goma had wireless in their house! 24/7 access to the net!! That’s of course only when the electricity was on. Daily Power failures and water cuts are the norm). But anyhow, somehow you start to loose track of time…and become use to being disconnected. I’ve seen and experienced a lot of course since my last entry. From visiting the gorillas up in the Mikeno sector of North Kivu to seeing the briquette distribution/production in and around various villages in Goma. I also accompanied the briquette team to see the distribution of briquettes to the various IDP (Internally Displaced Person/People) camps on the outskirts of Goma. The camps that I am aware of are: Bulengo, Mugunga 1, Mugunga 2, Mugunga 3, Buhimba, Kibati II. Due to recent insecurity and fighting in their villages (by the militia groups) they are all currently displaced, living in the various IDP camps. Merci Corps, an NGO working in the camps, buy the briquettes and once a week a truck goes out to drop off sacks of briquettes to the various camps. My mode of transport: once big mother of a truck! (see photo). You can easily spot the camps from a distance, a sea of white plastic with the UNHCR logo printed on. The plastic is used to cover the little make-shift shelters made with branches, leaves etc. Row upon row. I’ve read so much about the recent violence and insecurity that caused the people to flee and seen so many photos…but nothing can really prepare you for when you actually enter these camps. Of course you feel totally hopeless and it certainly is no place for your own emotional reactions to take over, but every time I was blown away and totally enjoyed the hundreds of children…and despite the dire conditions they live in they are always smiling…it’s heart breaking for sure. The camp we visited was Mugunga 2. Here I met up with Joseph Ntangi, who works for Merci Corps and oversees the distribution of the briquettes in Mugunga 2. I also attended a party in Goma which was attended by a mix of various NGO workers, most of whom are all based in Goma and working at the various IDP camps.

It was interesting hearing all their stories of the work they do but also unnerving hearing their reports of the ‘gossip’ doing the rounds currently that ‘the sh*t is about to hit the fan again, all the signs are there’ (i.e. more insecurity and fighting erupting etc…) but I try not to pay any attention to it…besides I knew the situation was pretty volatile here before I came.

Back in Bukavu I continue to assists at the malnourishment centre in the mornings. Children continue to come and go, some get better, some don’t…however little Rachelle (about whom I’ve written before in one of my previous posts has taken a turn for the better and has now gone home. Any donations to the Malnourishment Centre will be greatly received. Thank you very much. In the afternoons I’m ‘hanging with the nuns’ at the congregation, ‘teaching’ basic English and in return they help me with my French…all and all a bit disastrous but great fun! Little Rachelle is much better now and has gone home I get around by taxi and the price changes on a daily basis, depending on how much I can haggle it down to…they see ‘muzungu’, they see cash… in my case isn’t true! (the Congolese refer to whites as ‘muzungu’) I get around on foot too, if the distance isn’t too far. The only thing getting up my nose here, quite literally, is the dust…and there is a lot of it! At the moment it’s dry season, so no rain from about June to September. I’m suffering big time with my hay fever and am having several nosebleeds on a daily basis.

As for the family I’m living with…it’s a busy house, never a dull  moment! There’s Franck Mutula, his wife Nicole and their 5 boys (Jannick (8), Frannick (6.5), Francis (4), Valery (2) and Donnel (6 months).. Then there also is Katie (sister of Nicole), Melanie (cousin of Franck), Chantal and Papa Meda, the 2 house aids. At the moment it’s madness in the household in preparation for the wedding of Franck’s brother, Oscar, which will take place on Friday the 7th of August with about 300 guests attending…an all-day affair which will start at 9am and finish at goodness knows what time. One of the ‘preparations’ involved 2 goats being slaughtered outside my bedroom window! You can always recognise whenever a wedding is happening in town thanks to a procession of cars decorated like Christmas trees, honking continuously and driving very slowly…slow enough to get a good glimpse of the passengers, all dressed up smartly in outfits made of Congolese cloth. Its tradition for the family on both sides of the bride and groom to wear outfits made from the same cloth for the church ceremony. They then change into smart casual clothing for the evening reception. My Congolese family are kindly making me my own outfit from the same cloth (for which I’m very grateful seeing as I didn’t exactly bring anything ‘fancy’ with me to DRC and it not as if I can quickly pop over to the nearest Debenhams!). Yesterday (Sunday the 2nd August) we attended a ceremony called ‘dot’ in French (meaning to give), in Swahili its ‘Maki’, where the husband-to-be’s side of they family visit the wife-to-be’s side of the family to present them with gifts (which in this case was 3 goats, beer, a barrel filled with fufu (maize) and 3 cows. From the photos you’ll see it was quite a big affair with loads of family members from each side attending. First the husband-to-be’s (Oscar) side of the family gathered at the family house, then we all made our way to the bride-to-be’s (Solange) parents house. Oscar and Solange are not present at this time. They are not allowed to be seen until all negotiations have been completed and agreed. After presenting the gifts to Solange’s parents we all gathered in the house of the representative for Solanges’ family, where we were all fed…and then waited for the families to agree and accept the gifts…which they did (thank goodness! We waited so long I was starting to wonder if the negotiations had gone wrong!). Finally the answer came, they were happy and the gifts were accepted…then all hell broke loose as both families joined in a frenzy of dancing and singing. It is at this time that Oscar and Solange present themselves and join in. I asked Franck (my host) if Oscar and Solange knew each other before, as I though this was an arranged marriage. He told me yes, they have free will in choosing their partners and that presenting the gifts to the family of the bride is just tradition. I know that for many African cultures this practise is the norm. In South Africa this is usually referred to as ‘labola’ (presenting the family of the bride-to-be with gifts of goats, chickens, cows etc.)…although I’m not sure if ‘free will’ in choosing whom you marry always plays a part).

Mode of transport Truck to IDP

Children at IDP camp

Groom-to-be side of family

I’ll be sure to post again after the wedding, with loads of photos (if I get a strong enough internet connection!).

All best x Philippa

In search of Gorilla

Early Saturday morning (18th July) we set off in search of gorillas in the Mikeno Forests in Virunga Park, North Kivu, DRC. We were one of few tourists visiting Bukima (one of the park patrol posts) since rebels attacked the Gorilla Sector in September 2007. Even now Virunga Park is still occupied by militia (believed to be the FDLR) who conduct the illegal charcoal trade that’s destroying the parks but is also funding their (the FDLR) operations. Believed to be heavily armed and well trained, they represent one of the greatest problems for the park due to the illegal charcoal trade. Many of the Virunga Park rangers have been killed and attacked by the FDLR.

This is why the briquettes (an organic alternative energy source to charcoal) which Virginia and her team are working on implementing is so important because not only will it provide jobs, it will also of course help save the forests as 92% of charcoal used in Goma and Northern Rwanda comes from Virunga National Park. Illegal trafficking of forest resources, in particular charcoal, provides armed groups with one of their primary sources of income.

All these things aside I was eager to get up to Bukima (about 2-3 hour drive from Goma with terrible roads) as the view is fantastic…waking up in the mornings to see a view of Mikeno volcano, and the surrounding forests. No photo can do it justice!

Bukima Patrol post

Man we saw along the way with his tobacco crop

Gorillas

Travel accessory

At the ‘Chalet’ in Goma

Exporing Goma by motorcycle

Shopping for my veg at one of the markets in Goma

In the photo you can see Mikeno in the background and at the foot is where you enter the forests.
We set off for about 1 1/2 hour of ‘easy’ walking before we entered the ridge of the forests and this is where the ‘walking’ got really tough. It is so dense and over grown…I lost count of the number of times I fell (my legs are one big bruise) and stupidly forgot suntan lotion (seeing as it’s pretty cold up at Bukima) and definitely didn’t pack enough water for the 6 hour walk! But of course the views and sounds made up for it…and of finally finding the gorillas after 3 1/2 hours of searching!

We were aloud to spend 1 hour with them, always keeping a distance of 7 meters. They are so totally chilled and relaxed, you could never imagine they are wild…the younger ones are very curious whereas the older ones seem as if they couldn’t care less about us being there. The hour we were aloud to spend with them past super quick and soon we were on our way again back to Bukima camp totally exhausted and in serious need of water but feeling so happy to have experienced an encounter with gorillas.

On the Sunday back in Goma we went for lunch at a place called ‘Chalet’, a restaurant/bar next to Lake Kivu. Beautiful gardens, people sitting around on the deck chairs, lunching, drinking…it felt so out of context…there was even some guy speeding past on a freaken jet-ski! Totally bizarre!

All best

Back in Goma…and into Virunga

My 1st week at the General Hospital of Bukavu flew past and at the end of the week I’d seen some really really severe cases of malnourishment but also some children making a great improvement! On Thursday evening I met up with my friend Brandy Walker who works at Panzi hospital. The idea was to go around to hers and as far as the Congolese family I am staying with were concerned; it is in walking distance from where I am staying. So I set off on foot in search of her address but by this time it was just about to become dark…and I could not find it and no-one along the way, although all very friendly, could point me in the right direction. I was becoming slightly concerned at this point as there are no street lights and also because I was stop by 2 Congolese soldiers demanding alcohol off me which of course I didn’t have! Luckily, it was at this point that I finally found her house so just in time…not very easy to convince 2 men with guns that you don’t have any alcohol for them! I was pretty relieved, but just played totally dumb with them although to be honest was totally crapping myself!

On Saturday (11th) I took the boat back to Goma to meet up with my friend Virginia Echavarria, who works for Africa Conservation Fund who is helping the Virunga National Parks in Northern DRC by – amongst other things – implementing an alternative to charcoal to the population, most of whom are refugees (displaced due to the recent conflicts that happened in August and October) and living in and around Goma. The charcoal however is coming from Virunga Park (a UNESCO world heritage site) and is usually produced and smuggled out illegally by various militia groups operating here. Considering the fact that almost 90% of the population here is dependent on charcoal as their only means of energy for cooking and cleaning etc. the militia are generating a huge revenue from this illegal charcoal trade which not only destroys the parks but also helps to fund their operations. The alternative Virginia and her team has come up with is a organic alternative made up of organic waists (leaves, recycled paper, sawdust etc) called fuel briquettes and with this they are aiming to reduce the purchases of charcoal but also create masses of employment to the local people by training them on how to produce these briquettes by supplying them with training and equipment. These briquettes are then also distributed in and around the various refugee camps in Goma. The lack of interest in charcoal also of course means the parks could potentially be saved and a source of income to the militia groups stopped. You can read more about this here. Seeing as the Panzi Hospital thing fell through (this is the hospital outside Bukavu there they specifically treat women who are victims of war rape) I thought I’d take Virginia up on her offer of spending some time in around Goma to see all the briquette projects…so now here I am in Goma, home to ‘roads’ consisting of lava rocks (due to the closely situated Mt Nyamuragira having erupted in 2002) and potholes the size of craters, NGOs of all sorts, UN trucks (MONUC – the United Nations peace keeping operating force here in DRC and from what I’ve heard the biggest and most expensive to operate…and dust everywhere! Goma often suffers from electricity and water cuts so although I am now blessed with a shower, the water is never hot. I find Goma interesting and wish I could spend more time here to explore it properly. The time I’ve spend here so far included various outings to the briquette projects in and around Goma. Today we are heading into Virunga Park…and this includes a visit to the mountain gorillas! Naturally I cannot wait and still cannot believe how fortunate I am to see these amazing beasts up close and personal, as well as meet the rangers that risks their lives on a daily basis protecting these parks (as the parks are still inhabited by militia groups). I’ll be writing about this when I’m back with some photos probably when I am back in Bukavu, but in the meantime here are some photos of the various briquette programs we visited in and around Goma.

All best

Philippa x

c

Children in village outside of Goma

Lovely lady in village outside of Goma

Village outside of Goma we visited to see the briquette projects

Village outside of Goma we visited

Village outside of Goma we visited

sorry if these are upside down and no description…short of time, will fix later

General Hospital of Bukavu

Monday morning I met Sœur (sister) Helena Albarracin, a Catholic sister, at the Congregation Dorotee di Cemmo in Bukavu where she lives with other sisters who all work at various clinics, schools and prisons in and around Bukavu. From there we left for the General Hospital of Bukavu, where Sœur Helena assists in the running of the malnourishment centre for kids. I was first given a guided tour of the whole hospital to meet everyone there (doctors, nurses, medical students, directors etc).

At the end of this ‘meet-and-greet’ my head was spinning with all the names and impressions as well as trying to understand everything in French…but it’s the best way to learn and being able to speak and understand it becomes a matter of ‘survival’ if you want to get around on your own!

The general condition of the hospital is in a bit of a state, but they manage to cope with what they have…it seems. Seeing what I did left me feeling rather guilty for complaining about waiting lists on the NHS (National Health Service in the UK) and nasty receptionists at doctors surgeries! Despite the tough conditions the personnel at the hospital have to work with (limited access to medication, dated buildings and equipment) they are all terribly friendly and do fantastic work.

Then on to the malnourishment centre. It’s here where reality hit me hard and I wondered how I’ll be able to leave DRC without having adopted all of the kids here. To be honest, I didn’t expect a pretty picture and I surely didn’t get one, most of the children here are seriously malnourished and clearly look close to death and I feel pretty useless and helpless being here and doubt the bag of toys I bought them will be any good…but they really need is proper access to medication and balanced noutrition…as all children do.

There’s roughly 30 children at the centre, some coming in on a daily basis (with their parents or siblings who travel long distances to get here), others residing at the centre for closer observation. Their ages range from 3 months to 10 years (the ones I saw). Along with the sisters, the kids are looked after and their intake of food/nutritional drinks monitored by the resident nutritionist. Some of the children struggle to keep the food down and some don’t want to eat/drink at all. The symptoms of malnourishment is clearly visible on most of the children (swollen belly, skeletal frame, sunken or very swollen eyes, lifeless gaze) but luckily there are some who, having been at the centre for a while, look so much healthier in comparison to the kids who recently entered the centre. Most of the children cried upon seeing me, possibly because they’ve never seen a white person before, but luckily on Tuesday most of the children remembered me and it felt great to be met with a smile and a ‘high five’!

There is one little girl in particular off whom I’ve grown very fond of very quickly, called Rachelle (5 years). She is terribly weak from malnourishment and so so thin. Upon meeting her for the first time she cried non-stop and didn’t allow me to comfort her. But on Tuesday, after sitting with her for a while and showing her the photo I took of her on the camera screen, she warmed to me and seemed more comfortable with me being around her…which felt so great!
To anyone who feels that they are able to help with donations for the malnourishment centre, the donations will be gratefully received and put to good use. Donations can be made to Sœur Helena Albarracin through Western Union. Thank you so much!

There are trainee doctors who drop by often (many of them my age). They are all eager to practice their English with me, as I am to practise my French with them, so we’ve agreed to a 50/50 exchange of ‘teaching’ each other which of course is a huge laugh, but useful nevertheless as I already feel much more confident with my French.

Late in the afternoons I spend my time exploring Bukavu, which is somewhat terrifying on your own, but I need to know my way around and have luckily managed to find a shop that sells my favourite coffee and cigarettes (yes yes I know, smoking bad…bla bla bla, but I don’t drink or do drugs or sleep around so I need to do something ok?) and a internet café right next to each other…which I hope won’t bugger up my macbook! I tried using the shop’s computers but the keyboards are in French with missing letters so sorry to any of you who received incomprehensible email responses from me!

BTW if any IT experts are reading this (erm…Bob?) I have a question: If you use your own laptop/macbook at internet cafes and only insert their telephone line, is it still possible to pick up problems/issues/anything that will affect my macbook? Any advice greatly received! Merci beaucoup!

All best!
Philippa

Below some photos of the kids at the malnourishment centre

Children at the malnourishment centre in Bukavu

Children at the malnourishment centre in Bukavu

Children at the malnourishment centre in Bukavu

Children at the malnourishment centre in Bukavu

Children at the malnourishment centre in Bukavu

Karibu!

Meaning welcome in Swahili I’m finally here, in Bukavu! Arrived yesterday with the speed boat and was met at the port by Sœur Helena (with whom I will be working at the General Hospital in Bukavu) and Franck, with whom I’ll be staying for my time in Bukavu. Some sort of VIP must have been on the boat as well as there were crap loads of troops and crowds too. It’s strange because even though you are in the same country (travelling from Goma to Bukavu) you still need to get your passport checked and stamped leaving from Goma and arriving into Bukavu. As for the actual journey, even though it was pretty long, it went rather hassle free. I think the fact that I was so nackered even before I departed helped with not letting my nerves get to me too much and to just totally ‘go with the flow’. Leaving from Heathrow we flew to Nairobi where I had to get another flight to Kigali (but going via Bujumbura-Burundi). At Bujumbura they picked up more people and as we were about to take off again the staff realised that there were too many people abroad…so we had to wait for them to own up and get off which of course they didn’t…which resulted in 1.30 hours of rechecking everyone’s tickets and whatnot. Finally we were on our way into Kigali where I was kindly met by a friend of a friend’s dad (oh the wonders of Facebook! Turned out one of my old school friends has a friend whos dad lives in Kigali and they kindly arranged for me to be met by him at the airport). From there it was to the taxi/bus place for a 3 hour trip through Rwanda, which was truly beautiful…land of a thousand hills indeed! Of course I needed the toilet, and the taxi did stop (without me asking though!) and the toilet was some unisex setup…but hey if you gotta go you gotta go, and trust me, as far as ‘needing to go’ goes, I’ve seen it all and could probably write a guide book one day for people always ‘needing to go’! Arriving into Goma and crossing through was not as scary as I’d imagined but I’m sure it was also helped by the fact that my friend Virginia was there to meet me. Goma is crazy madly busy with UN & NGO vehicles everywhere…and of course loads and loads of people, motorbikes, potholes etc. We first stopped off at her office to meet her colleagues and from there went to a house she shares with another aid worker (a Japanese girl working for UNHCR). The majority of the houses occupied by NGO workers have security guards around the clock. Despite of this the girls still lock their bedrooms at night as ‘there has been cases recently of NGO/Aid workers being raped/attacked’. I was just too happy to lay down, even though it was a bid hard sleeping in a nackered old sofa mattress…to me it was heaven! Then up again early (5am) to catch the boat. The boat trip was of course lovely and the seating comfortable! They even showed movies (some crap American blockbuster in French), but I spend most of my time on the deck. I was pretty amazed by how huge the lake is! Meeting the family I’m staying with was truly lovely and all day long they had visitors dropping in. One of their friends is a doctor and when I told him about the type of malaria tablets I’m taking, he just laughed and said that there is no way they will be effective here…erm, OK then…but I guess I’ll just continue using them. I was never keen in the first place as I pretty much grew up in a malaria area in South Africa and never took anything for it except for relying on mosquito nets and spray. Everyone in my family has had malaria, but I’ve been lucky not too and hope it will stay that way. They also took me for a trip around Bukavu and like Goma, Bukavu is madly busy (1 million people I was told), but this helped to get me a bit familiar with the surroundings. Ironically, their house is right next to the IRC (International Rescue Committee), one of the many organisations I contacted a while back to enquire about doing volunteer work! All and all, everything is good…all I miss is 24-7 internet access and a shower (it’s a bucket with water for my time here)…but the hard work begins tomorrow as I start my 1st day at the hospital. I’ll of course try to update as much as I can, next time with some photos, but my internet access is limited. For now I’ve included some photos of the boat trip.

Sunday was spend exploring Bukavu but also met up with a friend, Brandi, who showed me the local ‘hang-outs’. We spend some time with friends of hers (visiting from the States) at Hotel Orchid (right next to the lovely Lake Kivu) and then for a bite to eat at ‘Gerdas’. All these places seem far removed, tranquil and calm in comparison n to bussy Bukavu.

Monday was my first day at the hospital. Truly overwhelming to see it all and to meet everyone (and trying to remember everyone’s names!) but certainly great to finally be here. I will soon be writing about this in more detail…access to internet is limited and where you do find it its very veerryyyyyyy slow!

So far so good! Of course I have had moments where I’ve felt and still feel totally out of my depth…but hey I that’s all part of the experience…I’m not going to lie and say it’s all a big jolly, but I am loving being here, the good and the bad.

All best x Philippa

please see my original blog for some photos

From here to there and everything in between

If the heat hasn’t caused me a few sleepless nights in a row my nerves surely has! And no, just because I am from South Africa (living in the UK) doesn’t mean I ‘should be used to the heat’ (the general response I always get when complaining about the heat).
Anyhow, this is just a quick one as I am due to fly out tomorrow and have loads to sort before I go. Slight change in plan though since my first post as far as ‘getting there’ goes…and more exciting I should think!

Tomorrow nigh I’ll be flying out London Heathrow to Nairobi, Friday morning flying Nairobi to Kigali (with an ever-changing departure time), then I will get a taxi/bus from the airport to Gisenyi by the boarder of DRC (this will be a 3 hour ride through Rwanda…and still keeping everything crossed, quite literally,  that the taxi/bus driver kindly stops for toilet breaks!), then I’ll cross over into Goma, DRC where I’ll be meeting Virginia and spending the night at hers. On Saturday I’ll be taking the ‘speed boat’ (which will actually be a 2 hour trip I’m told) down Lake Kivu to Bukavu (South Kivu, DRC) where the Congolese family (with whom I’ll be staying whilst in Bukavu) will be meeting me. All relatively straight-forward really!

The Congolese family I will be staying with for a bit (kindly arranged by Sœur Helena from the malnourishment centre) sound truly lovely! A family of 7 – Franck & Nicole Mutula (husband and wife) with their 5 little boys (all under the age of 8). I generally hate shopping with a passion, but it was great fun shopping for gifts for all the boys…not quite sure where to fit my clothes now. I also had a surprise call from Nicole and Franck last Saturday eve:
“Philippaaaaaa!! We are so so happy for you to come within our family! Welcome to Bukavu!  What you want for your meal when you arrive?! Rice?”.. no, no please, I don’t want to be any trouble…“Potatoes?”…no really there is no need!…“You want meat!?”…honestly, please don’t worry as I’m a vegetarian…“Aaah! We have many vegetables here for you!! We see you Saturday Philippa! Welcome! Bye!”
Their overwhelming kindness (for welcoming me into their family) does help in easing the nerves I’m feeling at the moment!

I don’t know what lies ahead, nothing is predictable or certain and plans/opportunities change constantly. One moment it is ok for me to do some assisting on volunteer projects at Panzi Hospital in Bukavu (this is the hospital who treat women and girls who are victims of war rape), the next moment it’s not. But I’ve now also been given the opportunity to spend some time in Goma with Virginia’s team as well as staying up in the Virunga forests supporting the rangers who protect the parks and the gorillas.

As a control freak, it’s very hard not to know what is happening exactly when, where and how, but I’m going to take the opportunities that come my way whilst in the DRC and try not to waist to much energy on being disappointed about the opportunities that didn’t turn out as I hoped and just go with it as this is surely going to be one surreal trip!! And I can’t wait!

I’m not to sure how soon I will have access to internet again when I’ve arrived but will of course post something as soon as I can.

All best!

Philippa x

ps. I’ve uploaded a photo I took of my ‘bon voyage’ gift from work: Illustration of me (done by my manager) on my ‘mission’ in DRC, nicely framed with everyone’s messages on the back – thanks everyone at HH!

Rucksack…check, flights…check, visa…check, nerves…erm…

Yesterday was the day I had put aside to visit the DR Congo embassy to apply for my visa. Now, along with hundreds of other logistical challenges I’ve been facing pulling this trip together, this was certainly one that has had me nearly chewing my wrists off in frustration.

Back in February I tried to call the DR Congo embassy to ask what they require for a visa application. However, the number listed for them on the Internet as well as on their visa application was ‘not recognised’ every time I tried it. I even contacted various other DR Congo embassies in different countries (like Belgium) to make sure I had the correct number, which they assured me I did. After weeks of ‘not being recognised’ the phone was finally answered by a lovely lady called Eugenie who went on to tell me about her family in DRC and how much she missed them…she did warn me however ‘be careful out there, there are a lot of bad men, but there are good people too’. She kindly gave me her mobile number if ever I have trouble getting through to the embassy again and gave me all the information I required for obtaining a visa, one of them being a ‘letter of invitation’ from the people I will be visiting/volunteering at, stamped by ‘autorités locales’.

When I mentioned this to the nuns at the general Hospital in Bukavu where I will be volunteering they had no clue what I meant or why this is required and neither did Brandi or Virginia and they both had ‘letters of invitation’ without this so-called ‘autorités locales’ stamp and still managed to get their visas. So to avoid making unnecessary trips to the embassy I got a colleague (thanks Sophie!), who speaks fluent French, to call the embassy, read the letter back to them, describing the stamps and signatures of the congregation the nuns are with, just to be sure the letter met their requirements. We even faxed it through to them and again they assured us the letter I have is fine. I also checked that they will be open on the day I intend to visit, which they said they were.

So, yesterday, armed with my passport, yellow fever vaccine certificate and all important ‘letter of invitation’ I set off to London with such excitement I could burst…which I did, but with disappointment…outside the embassy, a notice reading: ‘DUE TO A PUBLIC HOLIDAY IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONDO THE EMBASSY WILL BE CLOSED ON THE 18th MAY’. Crap!

At least I had the Tuesday (today) booked off from work too but had a dentist appointment at 9am, which I could not cancel without incurring a charge (and it’s work that I do need to get done as I don’t want to be in DR Congo with tooth problems!)….it would be a tight squeeze…going to the dentist then rushing into London again to get to the embassy before 12pm, but it had to be done! Turned out my ‘letter of invitation’ was not correct, but I think dear Eugenie took pity on me, especially after I explained that I checked this with them and they approved it at the time. I was then send on my way and told to collect it at 3pm. After 3 hours of wandering the streets of London to kill time, I returned only to be told that it wasn’t ready and that I’d had to wait for 10 more minutes, which turned into 20..30..40…more than a hour later Eugenie finally called me over, returning to me my passport…WITH MY VISA! I almost cried..with joy of finally getting it sorted but also with the pain from having my tooth extracted earlier today at the dentist…turns out the intended root canal could no longer save my tooth and that all that could be done to prevent it from being a problem was to pull it…so I am sans 1 tooth but avec a DR Congo VISA! (make that a toothless smiley face!)

All best! Philippa

Counting the months, weeks, days…and learning

I am not quite sure what I should be writing for my first entry…learning how to use a ‘blog’…? I seem to be learning a lot of things these days…learning French, learning some Swahili, learning that vaccines are so terribly expensive, learning that you can go ‘loopy’ on malaria tablets, learning how to sell my stuff on ebay to help fund this trip,  learning that I cannot get any travel insurance (seeing as I will be going into a ‘war/conflict zone’)…learning how to fundraise, learning that there is very little information available about this bus I need to catch from Kigali (capital of Rwanda) for a 6 hour ride through Rwanda to the border of the DRC seems to be a logistical nightmare on its own…and apparently this bus doesn’t stop for toilet breaks…now anyone that knows me knows how many times an hour I need to use the bathroom…I’ve been told by a friend however that should I ‘smile sweetly at the bus driver and be all ‘flirty’ (thanks Brandi…something else to learn!!) he might just stop…I am sure I will have it down to a fine art then by the time my bus journey ends…and my life in DRC begins!

Why do I need to learn all these things you might ask?

As for ‘blogging’…I am the last person ever to want to write ’stuff’ about myself, but seeing as my main intention for wanting to go to the Democratic Republic of Congo is to raise awareness of the situation there I thought that this might be a useful tool in helping me achieve this by giving first hand account of my experiences there and on the projects I will be volunteering on. I intend to do regular updates with photos  with the aim of raising awareness and funding for the hospital/s where I will be volunteering.

French is one of the main spoken languages in the DRC so seeing as I’d like to be able to communicate with the people there it is a must (but a challenge…for someone who has never spoken it before)…as for the Swahili (another one of the main languages spoken) I am trying to squeeze this all in in between my full-time  job and the ‘logistics’ of pulling this whole trip together.

My journey will begin on the 2nd of July with a flight from London Heathrow to Nairobi (Capital of Kenya), then a flight to Kigali (capital of Rwanda) and then a taxi ride to some bus station somewhere in Kigali for a 6 hour bus trip through Rwanda to the border of DRC, then another taxi ride to Bukavu, in South Kivu, Eastern Congo,where I will be staying for 2 months doing volunteer work (please see my ‘About’ page for further information on the Democratic Republic of Congo and my volunteer work).

So for now, whilst I learn and sort all these things in preparation for my trip to DRC, the blog posts will be somewhat ‘neglected’ but hopefully the site itself will start to evolve with more pictures, maps and information about the situation in the DRC.

Philippa