| WHAT WE DO: | ||
| + | Economic Development & Livelihoods: Fish farming, goat, sheep and guinea pig distributions. | |
| + | Agriculture & Environment: Seed and tool distribution, seed fairs, advanced farming techniques, cassava seed multiplication of disease resistant varieties. | |
| + | Emergency Relief: Emergency food distribution, emergency feeding centers. | |
| + | Health & Nutrition: Distribution of vitamin-enriched food for malnourished children, guinea pig distribution for mothers with malnourished children, nutrition education. | |
| + | Infrastructure: Road and bridge rehabilitation. | |
| + | Water & Sanitation: Capping water sources, building wells and latrines. | |
She sees for him.
Taking his hand gently in hers, they walk together, through the rows of neatly mud-made homes, across the grasses reaching toward the sky, over the rocky foot path. Their field is spread before them, tilled and growing, flourishing. She lets go of his hand and turns, making her way back to the village, her baby balanced on her back, asleep. He remains.
As the sun begins to slip and fall through the sky, she looks up. It's time. She picks up the baby again and makes her way back out through Kumbula, the same grass now slanted from wind, the rocks wet from the afternoon rain. He is waiting there for her; tired from the day, he rests upon the red earth. She bends and takes his hand again, and together, they walk home.
Night falls and Kasali cares for her six children. The youngest is still asleep on her back and he is still waiting for her. She helps make the meal, helps him eat, helps him find his way to their thin mattress.
Kasali's husband is blind and tilling the land is an enormous challenge for him. Since he can't manage a large piece of land, he must make what he has grow, and grow well. There is no other choice. FH gave Kasali and her family enough seed to plant their field and taught them new farming techniques to increase the harvest. They haven't eaten meat in three years, but they can eat maize and cassava twice a day, the fruits of their labor. This is more than some of their neighbors are able to gather.
"The war took everything. Our livestock is gone, now there is nothing, except our land," Kasali says, her face set with a strength and determination that must fuel her hope. "I believe in God," she says firmly, "it is Him who keeps us on this earth."
The earth - it can provide or refuse, and so she will lead him back to it tomorrow, to work, to try, to fight for the lives of their children. Though he can't see what he does or even know with his sight the faces of the children he fights for, he continues to feel with his hands and live with Kasali's gentle touch leading the way.
+ FH HISTORY:
FH has been operational in Congo since
early 1995. The first FH programs were in Goma in response to the Rwandan
refugee crises, and then began programming in Uvira. The first two years
of FH’s work in Congo was predominantly handling the influx of
unaccompanied children. The Bukavu base was set up in 1997, from which
our current projects in South Kivu, Maniema and Katanga provinces are
run.
FH Congo today focuses primarily on food security vulnerabilities,
providing seeds, tools, seed protection packets, and developing fish ponds.
FH is also engaged in road rehabilitation, water and sanitation and health
projects.
+ DR CONGO'S HISTORY:
Over a century ago, King Leopold II of Belgium appropriated Congo and treated it as his private kingdom during his 29-year reign-10 million Congolese died during this time as a result of disease, starvation and outright murder. King Leopold II exploited the Congo for its rich natural resources and used the Congolese as slaves to extract wealth from the nation.
After Congo achieved independence from Belgium in 1960, Mobutu Sese Seko seized power and led a 37-year dictatorship, during which he successfully carried out one of history's most complete kleptocracies and re-baptized the country Zaire. While the country churned out diamonds, coltan and copper, the majority of profits went into the hands of an elite few, leaving the population without infrastructure or basic services.
The First Congo War (1996-1997) began as an outcry against Mobutu and ended when Mobutu was overthrown by rebel forces backed by foreign powers. The Second Congo War, also known as Africa's World War (1998-2003) claimed the lives of over four million people, mostly in the eastern region of the country. Involving at one point up to eight other African nations, motives for the brutal conflict were mixed, involving backlash against the Kabila-led government and interests, again, in the rich natural resources the Congo boasts.
Democratic elections were held in 2006 for the first time in decades, placing Joseph Kabila in power as a democratically elected president-Congo's first ever.
Yet although the war is "officially" over, violence continues in North Kivu province between rebel groups and the Congolese Government. At least 400,000 people have been displaced in 2007 alone from this conflict in North Kivu, continuing to hold the east captive to unrest.
FACTS:
+ DRC is the size of Western Europe
+ There are over 200 language groups in the Congo
+ Over 5.3 million people died from direct and indirect causes during the last ten years of war
+ Life expectancy for men is 42 years, and for women is 44 years
+ There are at least 11,000 child soldiers active in DRC
+ Facts From: ActionAid, BBC News, PRB 2007 World Population Data Sheet
FIELD REPORTS:
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