The Relief world

Before I arrived in the Congo, I was warned by some people about the effectiveness of the humanitarian aid sector in responding to crises in this part of Africa. I was warned about the reputation of the UN and just how badly organised they can be, and even about some of the donors and NGO`s, about the approaches they take and the benefits for the locals.

Needless to say I was pretty shocked by the response of one of our donors this week. Although Medair are a Christian aid agency, some of the donors we deal with are not, they are certainly more secular. I won`t say who the donor was, but we had arranged to transport some medical aid with them this week. They cancelled the flight with a days notice, because instead of transporting the cargo, they wanted to transport some diplomats to a meeting. Can you imagine that? Rather than save lives, they preferred to send some high ranking officials for a meeting.

Thankfully, I chose to work for Medair, who like I say, are very much a Christian agency. It means, or at least I hope so, that we do and what we say stands out. The fact that we spend time as a team praying and studying the word together really matters. We are motivated by the love of Christ, our standards are that much higher, and we are here to genuinely serve the local people. What am I trying to say? Well im trying to say that it really matters that Christ is at the centre of what we do.

These are my thoughts anyway as I see some of the pros and cons of working at the sharp end of the humanitarian field. I had thought about this a lot before coming out to the field, so was fully prepared for it. I am already asking myself does humanatrian aid really give the DR congo what it needs? I don`t have an answer for you yet I came here to find out for myself.

However I am convinced that Medair does have something different to offer in this line of work. Im convinced that it makes a difference when you move forward with prayer, courage and obedience to Jesus, that he will work through you and his transforming power will change hearts and lives.

In the words of Martin Luther King, `if you can`t fly then run, if you can`t run then walk, If you can`t walk then crawl, but by all means keep moving forward.`

The cost...

I wrote a few weeks ago about the cost of being here..in the DR Congo. Well i did not expect to experience that cost so visibly and powerfully, only 3.5 weeks after arriving.

On saturday i recieved some heartbreaking news from home. My sister was due to give birth in just 5 weeks, but on Friday, on a check up at the hospital, she and her husband were told that the baby had died. She has still had to go through the trauma of giving birth, and so in the early hours of this morning, alexander luke was born. Devestating for my sister and her husband, and terrible for the rest of my family too.

I have experienced a mixture of emotions since hearing the news. Shock, anger, confusion, sadness. im sure that all pales in comparison to what my sister and her husband are feeling right now. My feelings have been exacerbated by the fact that im so far from home.

Medair have been great, very supportive. They offered me the chance to fly home. I have spoken to the family a lot over the last 48 hours and we have decided the best thing is for me to stay in the DR Congo. I need to settle here and there are already so many people supporting Jude and Jonny. i think if i had returned home, it would have been more for my benefit than theirs. We will speak on the phone and on skype, and i am OK with that for now.

A colleague said to me yesterday that you really make a big sacrifice whn you leave for the field. Not only does that apply to me, but for the people you leave behind as well. I have had that truth rammed down my throat.

Please pray for my sister and her husband if you get a chance. i would appreciate it.

My job so far....

We have a lot of emergencies at the moment in the North East Congo, as the LRA continue to attack villages, causing thousands of people to leave their homes and live in temporary camps. These people are officially classified as IDP`s (Internally Displaced People). This effectively means that they are refugees within the borders of their own country

These are the people who get caught in the crossfire and suffer the most in many cases. Hard to believe, but the UN estimate that 45,000 people die every month in the DR Congo. Most of these people die from preventable diseases, an indirect consequence of the chaos that surrounds them. The infrastructure can be so bad in eastern Congo, and the security so unstable that these people can be difficult to reach. People die from diahrroea in the Eastern Congo. Does that not make you angry? The war in Eastern Congo officialy ended 5 years ago but fighting continues, and the shattered economy and infrastructure have never recovered

Consequently many of Medairs programmes in the Congo are focusing on emergency response and trying to ensure that as many people as possible can recieve the medication they so desparately need. Since I arrived in Isiro, my role has focused on the control of the medical stock and making sure this kit is transported to our beneficiaries in the field. The medical kit is mostly transported by air. The roads are in a terrible state so they are not really an option...the planes get in and out pretty quickly.

We have medical supervisors who distribute the medicines. They are all Congolese, completely dedicated to what they do and pretty corageous guys too, putting themselvs in the middle of some pretty dangerous situations.

I hope to get to grips with the rest of my role over the next few weeks. Its been a pretty busy start, but the role has a hands on feel, and knowing what you are doing really does contribute to saving lives directly is a good thing. That why I came i guess, to serve the people of one of the most forgotten crises on planet earth.

In the picture you can see myself and my colleague Isaac delivering the medication to the airport

Welcome to DR Congo

I flew to Bunia on Monday from Kampala. On one of the smallest planes you can imagine. A 12 seater MAF plane. Amazing views as we flew over Lac Albert and the jungle. Having been debriefed in bunia for a couple of days i flew on to Isiro on Wednesday, my new base. Isiro really is the town the jungle overtook, the villages on the edge of town surrounded by the encroaching rainforest. Believe it or not, in the colonial days, you could once fly here directly to Belgium. Not anymore. the airport has become a symbol of the towns decline. Constantly flooded when the rains come and hosting only MAF, the UN and a handful of domestic airline carries, it has lost something of its former glory

The house and the team are great. I have experienced the famous bucket shower of the Medair Isiro house. The school next door is a bit special as well. As the majorty of people dont have alarms here the headmaster wakes up the kids by smashing a big gong at 5am every morning. I kid ye not. You can see the base above

The secuirty in Isiro is pretty stable but the LRA (Lords Resistance Army) are attaking towns not too far from here. A particularly brutal, nasty group they terrorise the local population.

A bit of background the LRA are lead by a guy called Joseph Kony. They were originally based in Northern Uganda. For various reasons they are now more concentrated in North Eastern Congo. Kony is a spiritual medium and wanted the people in Northern Uganda to live by the 1o commandments. Its a strange 10 commandments that now includes rape, abduction and the infliction of complete terror on the civilian population.

After several failed attempts by the governments of Uganda, Southern Sudan and the DRC to wipe out the LRA, they are now scattered across the NorthEastern region of the DRC. Many of the towns north of Isiro are not protected by the military and are completely vulnerable to attack.

Darfur gets a lot of publicity at home, and rightly so. The LRA are a vicious group though and have been guilty of committing massive attrocities in this part of Africa.

I will attach a few useful links below so that you can read a bit more

http://www.hrw.org/en/node/80769/section/9
http://www.petereichstaedt.com/

And so the adventure begins

So its been a hectic week. My friends and family gave me a great send off at home. Somebody said to me recently that there is always a cost of everything you do for God. Wise words!!! The lives of my family and friends will be moving forward, as will mine. I'm sure there will be quite a few things that I will miss out on.

I finally rented the flat out at the 11th hour. On Wednesday at 4pm i recived the confirmation that a girl would take it. I was leaving for the airport 2 hours later. Why does God always work like that? Ansers on a postcard

Anyway Im in Kampala now. Its been a great few days meeting the Medair staff here and geting to know the city. On Friday I recieved my visa for the DR Congo, so on Monday I will fly to Bunia and then on to Isiro.

It feels good to be here. For now this is the right place for me to be. There is nothing quite like walking in the will of God, even when you consider the costs that might be involved.

Boring admin details

A few people have asked me how they can send parcels etc out to me in the DR Congo. As you'd suspect the postal system in the Congo ain't the best so Medair have suggested sending anything to Uganda and it will get to me in the DRC. Ther address details are

Medair, PO box 33333, Kampala, Uganda

For giving financially I'd suggest using this site http://www.stewardship.org.uk/christian_workers.htm
That way I will recieve the gift aid. I won't be posting my bank details on here but if you want them either leave a comment on here, drop me an e-mail or look for the details of the mission partners on the Ivy website. Thanks

What im doing???

Ive just come back frm 4 days in Switzerland with Medair. I was there for my HQ briefing. It was pretty much information overload, but all very interesting. Specifically i learnt a lot more about my role as a Logistics and Finance Manager for the projects in Isiro. I guess my role is really a support role fot projectds which are mostly medical related, delivering mobile clinics, HIV projects etc.

So what am i looking forward to and what am i getting nervous about. The idea of working for Medair is very attractive I have no doubt God is calling me to a career in relief work. I think i really connected with the orgnaisation and the people there, it seems to be the right fit, hopefully for them and me. I am excited about the role, about renewing my French, about being part of the Medair family but most of all, about serving the most vulnerable people in the DR Congo.

Knowing what im like though, i need to be caerful about managing exectations, and thats twofold. Managing my expectations of of the other guys on my team, the local staff (i think i will have about 20-30 reporting to me) but also trying to understand their expectations of me. By nature, im a pleaser - I hate letting people down and don't like making mistakes. Ok, lets be realistic for a minute - in the first few months i expect to make a few mistakes but i guess im a little nervous about this aspect of being a relief worker for Medair.