DR Congo day #5

Today we went to the spring source 18 miles away. 

At the beginning of the day, Howard, Elder and Sister Moody and I waited for the second vehicle to leave and the others left before us. The driver went to pick up a "couple" of people and when he returned he had 9 people with him. We thought, "where are we supposed to sit?" We had the entire District Presidency, members of the water committee, the chief of the province and his body guard (armed with a machine gun), so we turned African and everyone squished together and off we went. 1 1/2 hours in a cramped vehicle on an extreme four-wheel drive road. How could we say no to those who wanted to come? They've invested so much time into the project and getting a vehicle drive to the water source was just plane exciting. It would have been the equivalent of us having a group charter a plane to California and back and getting a chance to ride with them for free.

The road was really rough, in fact in some places the holes in the road were deeper than the height of our Landcruiser. In other spots where water gathered in tire ruts pigs would be bathing and thinking the road belonged to them. 

It was great to see the water source that I've seen so many times in pictures. It is a total blessing for the people and I'm so grateful we were able to capture it and let gravity feed it down to the villages. We had some great interviews there and tried to make everyone feel important by taking a couple of big group shots that we'll never use in publications, but it went a long way politically.

We ran out of bottled water so the last couple of days we've been drinking the water from the spring source. So far so good and it's nice to know we stand behind our water 100%.:)

On our way back down we stopped in the upper most village of Tschabobo to get some photos of women getting water from our new water points. When we pulled up they had a meeting of 300 people waiting for the provincial chief that was in the vehicle ahead of us. It was a total surprise to all of us but we've learned that things come out of the blue in Africa and you have to always keep flexibility as one of your top priorities. They greeted us with a mob and escorted us into the building and had us sit up front as their dignitaries. They have been having problems buying into the thought that they should have to pay money for their water. They've never paid money for their water and the men can't quite get it that there is a fee to be paid in order to maintain the system. It's a new concept for them so we've been working on helping them to see this new concept.

A little side note. I'm currently typing this in my bed which is covered with a mosquito net, so I'm not too worried, but there is a very large moth and a bat flying around in my room.

Anyway, as our site monitor handled the meeting and spoke in their local dialect you could feel there was tension in the room. Interestingly it is only the men that have problems with paying the fee, all the women are happy to pay it because in their words it "free's them from the slavery of fetching water long distances." The water fee is 200 francs a month which is the same as one cola drink, so we know it is in a doable range. This is the real hard part of the project. Helping to change behaviors and not just building water systems.

As soon as kids hear a vehicle they run to the side of the road and start waving. They yell "white man! white man!" and then continue to chase our vehicle through their village, challenging us to a race of speed. It was amazing to get in the rural part of the rural part and see small villages of 25 or 30 people in their mud homes and grass roofs as so many of the homes are here.

On our way down to the water point we saw another African Albino. We've seen 4 or 5 this trip. I grabbed him and as I did with the other albino I met last year I tried to make him feel special because they are the outcasts in their society. We were surrounded by 50 kids so I grabbed his shoulder, pulled him next to me and kept my arm around him the whole walk to the water point, about 5 minutes away. I grabbed another young man and put my arm around him and we all walked together obviously with me hoping that this would help tear down some social walls with albinos in their community. We ended up getting some great pictures at the water point and on the way back to the vehicle I suggested to Eric and Geneva (our film and sound crew) that they walk back up with our white friend. They did so happily and made his day.

We arrived back to the monastery around 3:00pm, took a nap, and headed back to the local market to grab some more footage. As you could guess kids swarmed us again so much so that Eric couldn't even film. They asked if I could create a diversion and draw the kids over to me so they could have space to film. So, here I was in the middle of the market keeping 40 - 60 kids entertained and not knowing their language. I pulled out my camera and started taking pictures and showing them the LCD screen of them on it. They went crazy. Moms were asking for pictures and then studying how they looked in the LCD screen. It was as though they were seeing themselves for the first time. I had a grandma with a large growth in her neck want a picture and I felt for her when she saw herself and what the large growth looked like to others. Sometimes ignorance is bliss.

I don't know where they learn it but I've had so many kids greet me and then start rubbing their fingers together and asking for money, my watch, sunglasses, wedding ring. This happens in every African country but it's more so here. I ignore them and spend time with those who want to just talk or play. I'm so tired of it now that sometimes I'll respond in English and tell them, "I'm not a dollar bill, I'm a human being and you should treat me like one." None of them understand me but it still helps me a little to get it out.

Poverty can create some ugly mindsets that are hard to break. There's no doubt there are judgements and mis understandings from the top looking down and from the bottom looking up. I truly believe that Christ is the master craftsman who mends the two sides together into one beautiful tapestry.

Love you all,

Matt