The journey is ending but the experience will never leave.

We are sitting in the Kigali airport awaiting our flight home via Kampala, Uganda and Amsterdam, Netherlands.  I look back and am so appreciative of the opportunity we have been given.

Today we interviewed a private sector Ex-Pat (export patriot) who works with NGOs (non-government organizations) to assist their organizations with efficiencies. Having been in Africa for 10 years and in the thick of the complications in Goma, he shared a very interesting perspective on a developing country the importance of the aid they receive.

I have been so fortunate to come  in contact with such wonderful people. Randy and Doug have been wonderful traveling companions. Ken Oloo was a great addition to our production team offering an insight to the language and culture that was invaluable. Claude was a great production coordinator and more helpful than one could ask for.  John was very helpful in translating and even some small acting roles. 
Jean Lois managed to drive us safely through Goma (which is no easy task).  Dr Joe, who's house (more like a resort called Maji Matilivu - means Still Water) we stayed in and the surgeon I spoke of at Heal Africa.  He took us all by surprise. Such a wonderful man with so much heart and a wonderful sense of humor. Considering he has lived through multiple Congolese regimes, humor is likely not that easy to come by. There are a number of others including the other guests at Maji Matilivu.   Last, but certainly not least are Camille and Esther.  From the first second to the last they ensured that we were welcomed, transported, fed, and that every other need was taken care of. I could not imagine this trip without them.  Such amazing love they showed to us.

So many thanks to all those on this trip and all of those that have followed this blog. I am so blown away at the number of views, and from all over the world. Thank you.

Until the next adventure.

Down for the count.

Last night I was up all night with some violent food poisoning. I will spare you the details, but it was the most violent episodes I have ever had. I do think it was only food poisoning and not malaria or dengue fever because of the lack of a fever and it seems to have been contained to about 8 hours. That said, the others have gone on without me this morning. I am recuperating at the compound. As a result I get a little more time to reflect.  I noticed in the blog that I haven't stated the Hemingway quote I have always chosen to live by.  "Weak is a man who can only spell a word one way." I think it is important to say that these posts are being created on my cell phone which often has little power and when we are able to connect to power, there at continual power outages. Please accept my apologies for the lack of proof reading.

Here are some facts I think are interesting to share.

DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo) has a population of around 65 million.  That means that roughly an equivalent of 10% have been killed due to the events that followed the Rwandan Genocide. 

The life expectancy here is 45 years for men and 48 years for women.

During the cold war, the US was very supportive of the Dictator Motubu because he stood against soviet-backed Angola. Motubu renamed the country Zaire and himself Mobutu Sese Seko (The All Powerful Warrior).  The US lost interest in Zaire when the Cold War ceased. One thing people might remember was Mobutu was the one who hosted the Rumble in the Jungle with Mahammad Ali and George Forman.

The largest deployment of UN troops worldwide is in DRC. Goma is a main hub.  Many UN troops are Arab and African. The operation in DRC is run by a German man named Kobler.  He seems to be very well respected and appreciated for his success in the region and ensuring that Congolese hired by the UN get paid fair wages. In the beginning of the deployment there was huge corruption that Kohler put an end to.

Thanks for reading, but I am getting a little tired so I think I will take a little nap.

Tutaonana - Swahili for "Goodbye, we will meet again.

Back to Goma

We had a great day down in Bukavu. If Goma is like LA (and it's not) the Bukavu is like San Francisco. The poverty is the same but the landscape is hillsides. Roads are INSANE! They are dirt roads that are steep, full of cutouts and potholes, barely wide enough for one car and cars fight by one another in both directions along with motorcycle taxis and pedestrians. Our driver did some amazing driving, so good in fact, that we called him James Bond. Navigating the hills were truly like something you would see in a bond film.

Our interview went great.  It offered some more insight into the notion of rape as a weapon of war as it has been in the Congo. Devouring a society through destroying its women. Just unbelievable stuff. I think if that takes a big focus in the documentary it will likely be a horror film. The graphic nature of these acts are just pure evil.

We took the fast boat back (3 hours) up Lake Kivu and again made an unexpected stop. This time to get some one off an island. Not sure what it was about but he sure seemed happy.

Today was mostly traveling so there is not much to tell (plus I'm tired). Back at our compound for the night we had dinner and wonderful discussion.  I must say in a weird way that the poverty here is oddly inspiring.  People are determined to get through every day, acquiring all of its necessities, or attempting to.  Still trying to understand my reactions. I am still amazed that I am in Africa. I was telling Randy the other day that I have this expectation of going to Israel someday and getting a feeling that my described. He was not a religious man, but he said that when he went there he felt something he had not felt in any other land. I have actually had a weird feeling like that here in Africa. There is something about it that is connecting. Not sure what it is,  but it is definitely something, and no, its not Malaria.

To Steve's question, yes, my internet access is actually through Rwandan servers through out hotel lobby. It is a slow connection. Which is why the photos are limited. 

Six hour boat ride down Lake Kivu

I have received a few emails questioning our safety. I must say, that in the way we have been traveling and lodging behind razor wire lined walls we have not had an inkling of concern for our safety.  There are UN trucks that drive by filled with dozens of armed personnel. There are also numerous Congolese army (FRDC) personnel walking the street, and tons of armed police. Automatic weapons are within any glance. Our instructions are to not point any cameras at FRDC. Others are fair game.  We have been sneaking a few shots with cell phones, but otherwise have been cautious. There was some bloodshed yesterday but it was 100 km North of us. 

Other than that is the active volcano that glows red at night.  10 years ago it covered the city, but while it worries me, it doesn't seem to bother the locals.

This morning we had to get up at 5am and get to the Port of Goma to board a boat to Bukavu. This port is not like any I have seen before. First, it is on a lake. A huge lake. But the port looks built through necessity and not design. The boarding was as Chaotic as one could imagine. There we people crowding to get on a metal gangway no bigger than something you would use to get a motorcycle on a pick up truck. There we're police and other personal that apparently with random selectivity would let some people go on and others not. One guy with a 50-100 lbs bag of flour on his head forced his way through. He had white powder all over his face neck and shoulders. A police officer grabbed him and pulled him off the gangway and they started yelling at each other. Two different officers reviewed our passports. The 2nd guy said the other guy did it all wrong. I got pushed on ahead of Claude, our right hand man who was assigned to us and has been a wonderful local asset. We boarded on the 3rd class level which is standing room and little organization. It was actually more like a cargo hold than a passenger area.   The tickets for this 6 hour ride in 3rd class were $10. 2nd class, above were $15 and had seats more like you would expect. Then 1st class was $25 and had couches and food and drinks included. We opted to "splurge."  When we were pulling out of port a few soda peddlers were selling too late in the departure and fell in the water and swam back to the dock. There was a lot of commotion. 

A hour or so in to our boat ride I noticed the boat had stopped. Turns out that we came upon a stranded ship that was out of gas. If our third class was like cargo, this ship was 4th class. There were people everywhere  including the roof and the bow was filled with produce, rice, water jugs and even a couple of turkeys. Our captain gave them some gas and we were on our way.

Our Visas and permits allowed us to film in Goma, but outside we are not to film. Our interview in Bukavu is fine because it will be in a private hospital. We have been told to say we are missionaries so we don't get questioned.  On board the boat I noticed some FRDC on some couches behind us.  Claude told me they were high level to be riding in 1st class. We have wanted to interview some FDRC, but that has been off limits. Claude told me they get to ride free but don't get the food and drink service. Part of the issue here is that the military is not paid. So I thought at first I would offer them our Cokes and Bread. They accepted and were grateful. Then an hour later I had Claude ask them in Swahili if they would be willing to do an interview with us. My thoughts were that we were out away from everything, we made a pease offering and then they could say yes or no. Turns out they said "yes." They are actually major status and here that is a very high ranking. 

We got a GREAT impromptu interview on the bow of the boat. They spoke of the power of the FDRC and Congo is safe and all thanks goes to the Congolese president. We had Claude wired up on a mic for the translation so after the interview, Claude was talking them and they became a lot less political and told him some real stories. We continued to roll on it without their knowing and got some amazing insight. They were actually very appreciative to be heard. However, they did ask for some money. Turns out we could only give about $3 each or their superior (the General) would question how they Got so much money

Arriving to Bukavu we were picked up by the regional manager of DHL, the air freight company. That turned out to be very helpful because the local police were not able to go through our bags because in his car, it was considered "Parcels" and they were not allowed to be searched. We arrived at our hotel (very nice), had a nice dinner and are going to bed early. We have the interview tomorrow with the prominent Congo figure.

I have to take a second and thank everyone for viewing this blog. I never expected it to get to nearly 1000 views as it is right now. That is CRAZY!  Please feel free to comment. I would love to hear from all of you. 

Much love from Congo. (I still can't believe I am in Africa)

Into the Trenches

Today we spent the morning at Heal Africa and Dr Joe's hospital. This is a man who has lived through numerous regimes and has devoted his life to healing in war-torn Congo. His hospital specializes in assisting the women who have been raped as a weapon of war. The hospital started the day with a very energetic devotional service. I was so excited to see the woman we interviewed yesterday in the Tabernacle (Church).  Yesterday she was very stoic and showed little expression in our interview. The only time she showed any joy was after telling us that after 8 surgeries related to the rapes she endured, she was finally able to urinate like a normal woman. But today, when she saw us in the congregation she smiled and reached out her hand to shake ours.

In the hospital, Dr Joe walked us around and showed us the areas for family planning, treating the children, treating orthopedics, and the holiest of holy, the surgical area where they treat the rape victims. As i was filming he announced that I could not go in because I was a sinner. We all laughed because what he meant by that was I was not scrubbed and clean enough. They have had zero infections and were very proud of their record. No, this hospital is not like any I have seen. It was pieced together using anything they could. For the traction in Orthopedics section, they were using filled water bottles for the weight on the traction. They made their own crutches out of wood. It was astounding how resourceful they are.

After that we headed out to the home of one of the student we had interviewed days earlier. Her brothers and sisters were given the house when her mom was killed. The reason I mention this is because there was no chance for extortion by a landlord because of her association with us. Shooting at her house really put us inside the level of poverty that is found all around Goma. No power, no water, no sewers.  Her house was tiny. About 250 sq ft maybe, comprised of a salon (main room), a bedroom/kitchen, and a second  bedroom. In these three rooms lives 4 girls and 2 boys, in just 250 sq ft. This girl, who has a French name that sounded like "charming" to me, so I call her that. I really think it suits her. After shooting she said  prays that some day she can be an influence in Goma's future. I told her I would pray for that as well, so who ever would like, feel free to join me in this.

Tomorrow the now 4 man crew (we added Ken, a cameraman from Kenya) is going to split up. Randy and I are getting on a boat for 5 hours for an opportunity to interview another very influential person in the region and actually known around the world.

On Friday, we hope to interview the Bishop of Goma.  As it turns out, Randy and I have a dear friend in the Catholic church and who happens to be serving at the Vatican right now and is trying to make it happen for us. The Catholic church has a long history of helping the people if Goma. It would be another great opportunity.

OK. Wish us luck and safe travels for tomorrow.

I've attached a picture I took of Charming today.

Day 5

So it seems that I may still be a little nervous about being here.  Last night, walking back to our room from the sitting area our hotel, I came around a corner, saw something unexpected and jumped. Turned out it was my shadow cast against a wall. I guess I am afraid if my own shadow.

We are doing everything right. We are taking our Malaria pills, keeping the deet on, watching what we eat, although we are starting to get a little adventurous.  We are actually considering buying a live goat to bring to out hotel cook to slaughter and cook for everyone. Apparently it is the best meat, according to a dutch gentleman at our hotel.  We are staying at Chateau/Compound hosted by Dr Joe, one of the world renowned doctors who specializes in surgeries and rehabilitation for rape victims here in the Congo. We have dinner with him and other guest here at night. He is an amazing man with a very warm and friendly personality. Some of the other guest are amazing, too. We just met a girl staying here from Belgium that is working with the EU, going around to the battle grounds throughout Congo and picking up shell casings and spent bullets and then doing the forensics in them to determine the guns and trace them back from manufacturing through its entire distribution to determine how they got here.  Amazing.

The interviews we had today included a number of heart wrenching stories. Please excuse the graphic nature, but I believe it is essential to the understanding  One was a young man who told us of seeing his father being shot and killed, and the image of his body falling back and landing on the ground is one that never leaves him.  He also described his two older brother that were held in the streets by rebels. They systematically chopped off their arms with machetes, then their legs and finally their heads. He described the trauma of carrying his brothers bodies from the street, at age seven.  We also spoke with a girl who was raped by a number of rebel soldiers left unconscious after the event, she woke up in the hospital and require multiple surgeries over numerous months. The damage that these men did to her is just beyond any level of evil one could imagine. 

I have been writing sentences and erasing then for about an hour now and can't seem to either put the right words together nor keep from tearing up, so I will move on to easier topics.

Tomorrow we are going to Dr Joe's hospital where he treats the victims of the rapes. We are beginning with a devotion that he leads with the women. We will also be going to some of the schools of the kids we interviewed.

We just found out we were granted a pretty tough to get interview with a very influential person. So, on Wednesday we need to take a 3 hour speedboat ride across the lake to meet with him. This will take a day out of our schedule, but well worth it. A great opportunity we just can't miss. 

To bed for now and then back to work early tomorrow.

Beautiful People

I'm not sure what it is but the "third world" aspect of this journey is dissolving somehow. I don't mean to say I am getting numb to it or desensitized to it, but it is not seeming to be the separation I expected.  I am certainly getting a sense if connection.  Not to get too lofty, but there is truly something to be said about our interconnectedness to all things on this earth. Now, don't get the wrong impression, we are being treated with some amazing hospitality and certainly, not under the same conditions of the people we are interviewing. It is hard to go to dinner knowing there are some  we have interviewed that may not even get to have dinner. We get driven around while one of the kids we interviewed had to walk 45 minutes each way just to go to a school he wasn't even a student at because he wanted to.  He would sit outside the window because his parents couldn't afford the tuition, doing all the homework and he was just 5 years old!  Because of his tenacity they accepted him in the school free of charge  I found out tonight a father might make $50 a month working security for a hospital, and have to rent a "house" for $25 a month. Running water and electricity are certainly not luxuries they can afford. Put in context that a case of bottled water we just bought cost $10 (bought by our Congolese hosts so it was the true price).  It certainly doesn't offer many options for hope, yet that is one thing all the people we have interviewed have plenty of.

Another conflicting aspect of this trip comes from our just touching their world. Previously a film crew interviewed one of the kids we did. They shot in the child's home. His family's landlord saw the Mzungu (white people) at his house and raised their rent, assuming that they benefited from that relationship. We certainly don't  want to effect their life negatively. We are here for the very opposite reason, so we have to think through all the possible ramifications.

One story today struck me quite hard. A 17 year old was telling of his cousin being shot and killed and his brother having his head chopped off and put in a tree. The young man was speaking in French, so I heard a delayed translation and was sorrowfully moved that neither the tenor of his voice nor the expression on his face offered any hit that he was discussing something so horrific or so deeply painful.

So as not to end tonight on such a sorrowful note even though I find the resonance of this reality truly depicts my profound experience, I will instead share this.

Today in one of the interviews, Randy asked a girl how many were in her family.  She said she has 5 brothers and 5 sisters. When asked again to give her answer in French, the language she speaks more fluently, she said she has 8 brothers and 4 sisters.  As you can imagine, we are quite thankful to have our translators to assist us.

Until another day.

Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo

We made it. After 118 miles of driving the same roads that the Hutu rebels fled into Congo 20 years ago, we arrived at the boarder. Along the way we got to see an amazingly resilient and resourceful people that are Rwandans. To an ignorant person as myself it didn't matter if they were Hutu or Tutsi, it was just that they were walking on the side of the road, carrying water back to their home or riding a bike carrying a bale of straw larger than themselves to make some rope or cultivating a field in a small coop on a plot of land. The countryside which was vast with many steep hills were all being used for agriculture. It seemed like every inch was being used. We have since discovered that his is actually one of the continued pressures on the Congo. Rwanda need more land. I will try to find a way to describe all these details better later. It really can be confusing so I want to do it right when I know more.  The drive was actually quite scary as our our van had no seatbelts, the doors operated only with a lot of persuasion and my bench seat was missing some bolts that secured it to the floorboards. To add to that, the driver drove the windy hilly roads very fast and it rained nearly the entire time. (Sorry for these details, Mom)

We were welcomed at the boarder of DRCongo by Esther, one of our hosts.  One quick observation was that the roads ended in Rwanda. Goma had no paved roads. They were all destroyed by the volcano eruption in 2002 (I think). So now the "roads" are covered with mud and lava rock. Esther and her husband Camille are amazingly welcoming and generous. At the boarder Esther identified that she prayed it would rain when she picked us up. She said the rain scares the Congolese. Half joking, she said said that no one does anything, even goes to work when it rains. So as a result, the border was under staffed and they didn't want to go through our luggage.  Otherwise, she said it would have been a long time with them going through every item.

We got to their house, through their guarded gate and were met with a wonderful home cooked lunch. From their we went to their leadership school for kids and interviewed a few students. To give a sample, there was a 15 year old girl who lives alone with her brother and sisters because her parents we're poisoned. She describes everything with a very calm and matter of fact accounting of the events. Then, we had her recite a speech that she wrote for her class about her vision of Congo, and she began crying. A 15 year old who has this kind of passion for her country is something I was not expecting.

We then checked into our "hotel" which is the Heal Africa Guest House. It sits right on Kivu lake, one of the Great Lakes (the other Great Lakes). It is owned by Dr. Joe, who is a rebound surgeon in Goma and actually was in Kinshasa Rwanda when the genocide broke out there 20 years ago. We had dinner with him and a fabulous discussion of the state of Congo.

Tomorrow we were invited to Camille and Esther's church, so I need to get some sleep. Something tells me every night will be like this.

Sleeping in Kigali

We made it to a hotel in Rywanda. Our flight attendant was very friendly and shared with us that the 20 year anniversary is a very important thing. He is 27 and described when he was 7 he went outside to see his friends slashed up and neighbors dead in the streets. He credits God and Luck that he is here.  His name is Hakem and is an amazing person to have met.  So nice to be granted connections like this right from the start and on an unintended diversion.

Tomorrow we drive to Goma. Apparently once we leave Rwanda there are really no roads. Our van seems to be held together with many aftermarket modification. Should be a fun and bumpy ride.

And the adventure begins!

After 20 hours in a plane and 30 min from Kigali Rwanda, our plane changed direction by more that 90 degrees. After 15 minutes heading the wrong direction they said the power was out at the Kigali airport and we were heading to Entebee Uganda. If my dad's career in aviation taught me anything it is that airports are important enough to a country and the world to have backup generators.  As it turns out, most of the people on our plane were journalists or humanitarian aid workers. I sat next to a BBC reporter who was flying to Rwanda for its 20th anniversary of the massacre that occurred. (Watch Hotel Rwanda if you haven't yet). So... That puts a unique light on our trip we actually hadn't thought of.

So we are now sitting in the Uganda airport, they are getting us on a 1:00am flight back to Rwanda. There were enough passengers on our plane with enough experience that they knew there was no power outage. As it turns out it was likely a dignitary coming in and they diverted all other flights, without warning. A person in front of me in line waiting for our new tickets said when she has been on the ground in Rwanda and they are preparing for dignitary, they actually round up all the homeless children and put them in prison, beating them and not feeding them. One time she was with some homeless children, the police came to get the kids, one kid ran and they shot him 8 times in the back. The Rwandan government told the US embassy if she said anything she wouldn't be allowed back into the country.

Tomorrow is the day

Today I spent the day walking in circles. I would remember something, go to get it, then remember something else, go to get that, remembered I forgot something and then back around again. Feeling like I just need to go. All gear is nicely packed. Got a large stash of protein bars if the goat stew is not up to my standards.

T minus 2 days

OK. Getting more and more nervous. All equipment and packing seems to be in order. Just can't shake that "I'm missing something" feeling.