Imani, Espoir, & Love Ministries
Life in the Democratic Republic of Congo
ON THE CONGOLESE PARADOX: A POOR POPULATION IN A RICH TERRITORY
The Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly Belgian Congo or Zaire, is a vast country in the heart of Africa. In terms of area, it is the second-largest country on the continent after Algeria, covering 2,345,000 km², with an estimated population of 120 million people. It is a country with immense potential: several hundred million hectares of arable land, a variety of strategic minerals that attract the greed of multinational companies, not to mention extensive energy resources.
At the dawn of its independence in 1960, the Democratic Republic of Congo ranked among the three major economic powers on the African continent, a position it lost as its economic growth opportunities began to collapse due to the poor governance of its ruling political class. Consequently, the country has plunged into a multisectoral crisis that continues to affect the lives of men, women, and children who live daily in multifaceted suffering. It should be noted that Congolese leaders have engaged in a relentless race for illicit enrichment through illegal practices: The recurrent embezzlement of public funds, the systematic plundering of natural resources for the benefit of their clan and family, the purchase of luxury villas in Europe, the USA, Canada, the United Arab Emirates, and of course in other African countries, bilateral or multilateral aid diverted and then placed in tax havens around the world.
According to the latest report from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, an external debt estimated at 16 billion dollars weighs on the Democratic Republic of Congo, yet unfortunately no positive impact is visible in the lives of Congolese people, in terms of infrastructure that could justify this situation. Added to this are frivolous expenses such as music concerts, tourist trips, birthday parties of leaders that bring nothing to the lives of Congolese people who are languishing in total misery.
Faced with this grim portrait we have just drawn, we have a moral obligation to present the socio-economic reality as experienced by the Congolese people, impoverished by the selfishness of their leaders who are indifferent to their misery. After a thorough analysis of the root causes of our people's misery, we focused on a few aspects of the life of the Congolese citizen to better understand the complexity of the socio-economic crisis in which the DR Congo is currently immersed, notably in the areas of education, social affairs, health, environment, and agriculture.
Photo provided by https://www.britannica.com/place/Democratic-Republic-of-the-Congo/Settlement-patterns
A. Education Aspect:
Education is a key sector in the life of any nation, but in the DRC it is relegated to the background, especially in the public sector. Fortunately, private institutions and churches are doing their best to address this deficit by creating schools that meet acceptable standards, within their
means. The public education sector is lamentably ruined by corruption, with the payment of meager salaries making teachers dependent on parents, which is reflected in teachers' demotivated attitude, resulting in the deterioration of teaching quality. One of the major consequences of this situation is the high rate of school dropout, especially among girls: early marriages and pregnancies in the village of Kakanda/Dilambwe, while in Lubumbashi, both girls and boys freely engage in drug use and prostitution. This is where we acknowledge the work of our non-profit 'Imani, Espoir and Love Ministries,' which tries, to some extent, to meet the needs of students and teachers at both sites (Lubumbashi and Kakanda/Dilambwe), providing some classroom supplies.
B. The Social Aspect:
The Democratic Republic of Congo holds the record for the highest unemployment rate in Central Africa. The cost of living is becoming increasingly unbearable, while prices for basic necessities are skyrocketing. In this socio-economic context, many households live on less than $5 a day. Consequently, they are unable to feed, clothe, educate, or provide basic healthcare for their families.
The pastors of our church and the teachers live in these miserable living conditions. In other cases, some households have set up a rotation system for eating: the girls and their mother eat on odd days, and the boys of the family eat with their father on even days. Under these conditions, children leave their parental home and live on the streets. Here in Lubumbashi, these children are called "Shegués, sparrows."
In Kakanda/Dilambwe, these kinds of children end up in mining quarries where they are subjected to inhumane treatment: carrying raw ore sacks for meager payment. The girls are exploited by their parents, selling vegetables illegally across the streets.
C. The Health Aspect:
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, there is no free
medical coverage for the population. In Kakanda/Dilambwe, there is only one hospital that meets acceptable standards, that of the Boss Mining company, which is still bankrupt today. Currently, the lack of pharmaceutical products in this hospital is a reality, and the mortality rate, especially among children, is noticeable.
The result is alarming, with diseases such as malaria, typhoid fever, and cholera killing thousands of people every day.
In Lubumbashi, although there are private hospitals, basic care is very expensive and not affordable for every citizen. Even worse, patients are sometimes held hostage in hospitals due to their inability to pay medical bills, a common practice in many healthcare centers in the DRC.
D. Agriculture Aspect:
Land undoubtedly remains an inexhaustible source of human well-being; the holy scriptures emphasize its importance (Genesis 1:29).
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, however, the attention of leaders is rather focused on the mining sector. The evidence is that the budget allocated to the agricultural sector is far lower than the budget granted for the lifestyle of the officials of the institutions of the Republic. No agricultural credit bank exists in the country, and there is no policy of agricultural subsidies to support Congolese farmers or cultivators. Yet, the prices of agricultural inputs are extremely high on the market. Under these conditions, famine rages, child malnutrition resurfaces, and the city of Lubumbashi remains dependent on the border towns of the Republic of Zambia to secure its survival with various agricultural food products.
Finally, we have just described the socio-economic situation with all its consequences on various aspects of the life of Congolese citizens, among whom we find the Pastors and teachers of Imani, Espoir, & Love Ministries. This allows us to understand the complexity and the deep causes of the suffering of an entire nation. Today, non-governmental organizations such as Imani, Espoir and Love Ministries have become valid and credible interlocutors in terms of aid.
It should be noted that our article is neither an indictment nor a trial against the ruling class; rather, it is an appeal on behalf of the innocent poor Congolese. It is a beacon of the sad social reality of a people impoverished by the selfishness of their own leaders. This is an article that issues a heartfelt call to all men of goodwill determined to bring happiness to all those who are afflicted, to come to the aid of a wounded people.
And the King will answer them, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me". Matthew 25:40
May God bless everyone who reads this article with love!!
Pastor Kennedy BANZE WA MULONGO
“Imani, Espoir, & Love Ministries” DRCongo