Field Trip

Im back in Kampala...relaxing and reflecting on the first 3 months in the Congo. This time last week I was in the middle of my first field trip, which proved to be very eventful. Myself and Karin visted the town of Wamba, about 2ookm North of Isiro, to visit some Medair projects going on in that area. The roads were terrible, the car broke down, we got stuck and even managed to visit some Pygmy villages. This is where Medair's programmes have become a bit blurred between emergency and development programmes. We have constructed some health centres, helped to provide some medical kit and trained some of the medical staff. Wamba is not an insecure area, but is desperately poor.


The road from Isiro to Wamba. Not exactly the M1. Its about 200km. It took us 11 hours.

Crossing the Poko river. North Eastern Congo.

A pygmy village. About 20km north of Wamba. There are about 50,000 Pygmies living in the forest that surrounds Wamba. They try to live their traditional lives as much as possible, but they are extremely poor, their tribes have been ravaged by illnesses such as leprosy and terbuculosis. They are a forgotten people, ignored by the government, reached only by a few NGO`s, missionaries and some inspirational individuals.

Im at the back of this picture with 2 friends, Dr.Jose and Fr.Justin, a Catholic priest. Both reach out to the Pygmy community, with pastoral and medical care. Some of the health centres have even built small huts for the Pygmies, as they feel uncomfortable inside the normal hospital strutures. Its small acts of community like this that really give me hope for the Congo. Individuals reaching out in love to transform lives. Amazing.


The Pygmies still hunt with the bow and arrow, poisonned lethally at the tip. This picture was also supposed to give you some idea of their size. The health centre in Wamba, built by Medair.

Inevitably we got stuck on the way back home. It looks more like a river than a road.