Managing old and new tasks in the field

The tractor and driver were there and had all kinds of trouble making the leased piece of land arable. In the east of Congo, as in most parts of the country, the poorly developed infrastructure is a central problem, which not only makes everything one undertakes laborious, but also slows down or even prevents much of the country’s development. As every year, it was not easy for us to get the tractor at all, and then to bring it to the spot. The increased oil price and the international disruption of supply chains due to the war in Ukraine also created new challenges for the fuel supply. Once again, it is the poorer countries that suffer first and sustainably. Thanks to his good connections, Hansen was able to reserve 80 litres of diesel fuel and brought it to the tractor in jerrycans, one by one, by motorbike. Due to the heavy rain, the ploughing had to be postponed several times. But in the end everything worked out! The field is tilled, our agronomist René MBILIZI is satisfied with the result achieved and his students were also able to learn a lot.

A country with thousands of rivers but a population short of water

It sounds crazy: the Democratic Republic of Congo is a country to which the river has not only given its name. The Congo River, which encircles the country from east to west, is the second longest river in Africa with a length of 4374 km. Measured by its water flow of 41,800 m³/s, it is the continent’s most water-rich river and, at 220 m deep, even the deepest river in the world. In addition, the country borders the region of Africa’s great lakes, of which Lake Tanganyika alone is the length of Great Britain when measured from north to south. And here it comes: the population of Congo suffers from a lack of water, especially in the cities!

In Bukavu, the capital of the South Kivu region, and in Goma, the capital of the North Kivu region, two cities on the state border with Rwanda and separated by Lake Kivu, you have to walk more than two kilometres to find water. It is often the task of children to provide the family with water on a daily basis.

This leads to the children having to set out at dawn to fetch water. An arduous task, considering that a filled jerry can weighs more than 20kg and cannot be ergonomically carried on the back. In addition, the children often miss valuable school time when there are unexpected delays at the water points, for example when once again only a little water runs out of the tap. And there is something else: the children are at increased risk of becoming victims of violent crime, especially in the early hours of the morning when it is still dark.

Since the supply of clean drinking water is a basic need, it should actually be one of the most urgent tasks of the government to ensure that the population has easy access to water. As it is so often the case in countries with great poverty and high corruption, people are left to fend for themselves.

Children’s place is neither on the street, nor in the factory, nor in mines, but in school and on the playground!

Somehow making ends meet is anything but easy due to the special situation in Congo. The many and above all long-lasting crises, often repeated displacement and above all the acute poverty leave many families no choice: they send their children out to earn a few pennies to provide for their families. And so they constantly catch your eye, the children selling small goods like fruit, eggs or peanuts. Some of them are out on the streets until late at night.

Many children tell us that they do this either because they have nothing to eat at home, because they are orphans and therefore on their own, or to pay their school fees, or because some parents do not care about them. In addition to their difficult fate, they are repeatedly victims of accidents or violent crimes.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child rightly ascribes not only the fundamental human rights to all children, but also explicitly names their special need for protection and their very own needs and interests. For example, the right to leisure time, the right to education and also the right to protection from violence.

The Congolese constitution has also explicitly enshrined these children’s rights. Articles 50-56 of the Law for the Protection of Children in the Democratic Republic of Congo make both parents and the Congolese state responsible for granting children these basic rights.

In Kamituga, there is no prohibition in this regard. And so we witness many children running around on the streets with small goods. The municipality let it happen. Yet the chances for a better future, especially for this region, clearly correlate with the number of children going to school.

A girl with a disability but without a handicap

Would you like to hear my story? I’ll be happy to tell you.

I am Madeleine Kasiba, I am 13 years old and the third oldest in our family. I was born with a weak hip, which is why I have a walking disability. This is sometimes hard for me because I can’t run and jump like the other children and often have to rely on help. But I have accepted this for myself: I am the way I am.

Unfortunately, I experience stigmatisation again and again, and I suffer the most when it comes from my own family. Especially the discrimination when it comes to whether I am allowed to be educated or not.

I always stay at home to look after the house and my younger siblings. Some of my siblings and my father didn’t want me to go to school either. But I wanted to go to school like other children my age. Fortunately, my mother always insisted that I should go to school too. So I was enrolled in a school near our house, called EP MASANGANO. The headmistress liked me very much. The school fees were a recurring topic in my family. My parents sometimes had difficulties paying the fees. Very often I was afraid that I would be taken out of school because of this.

When I was in fourth grade, we got in touch with Mr. Hansen Kaseke, the director of Tree for Hope and Life. He brought us school materials and paid the school fees for 25 children who, like me, came from families that were very poor and could not pay the money themselves. Since that day, the fear is gone and I could learn again freely and with the joy I always had! I was able to finish primary school without paying a penny. Today I attend secondary school in the seventh grade. I will continue as long as I have the opportunity and the support I need. I will one day become either an obstetrician or a computer specialist to help others like me be useful in the community. My thanks go to the friends and donors locally and in Germany who make it possible for us to learn and realise our childhood dreams.

Mady Kasiba

Our school children now get involved and learn in the process

Hansen has been annoyed for a long time that used plastic bags are lying around everywhere. Being a resourceful guy, he seized the opportunity right away: he started a project in the school class that tackles the problem and at the same time sensitises the children to the issue of environmental protection. The children, whose education is supported by TreeForLife, earn part of their school fees by making paper bags that are sold to local traders. The traders then sell their goods in the bags. And the children have fun making them!

Admittedly, the project is probably only a drop in the ocean – but it is as well widely known that even the longest journey begins with the first step!

Unfortunately, we currently lack the financial means to continue this project. Material such as paper, glue and parcel string have to be bought. But it will be quickly reactivated when there is money again.

Background:
In Congo, environmental protection was regulated by law and the use of plastic bags actually is prohibited, but the implementation is not controlled and alternatives do not exist. Thus, the Congolese use plastic bags for the daily transport of their shopping and other goods, which are then thrown away after use and dispersed by the wind in all directions.

To be fair, the South Kivu region has been a war and crisis zone for more than 25 years. The population is plagued by marauding rebel groups and state structures are almost non-existent. Often, local people are concerned with daily life and survival, and environmental protection is understandably not a top priority.

In addition, there is no waste collection or collection points where people can get rid of their rubbish, as in many European countries. Plastic waste is then often thrown into the rivers and thus the problem is only shifted.