Broken

No other word seems to more adequately describe the condition of this country of Congo DRC than. . . broken. From east to west, north to south, every aspect of how this place exists is in a state of brokenness. Let me just give a few examples:

1.       Police - There is no competent police force to speak of. Anyone who is somehow allowed to wear the uniform of a policeman sees it as a means of making his living by ulterior means. Multiple times on this trip, the car I was driving in was stopped at a check point that was set up simply to give a uniformed policeman a reason to check over our papers after which he wanted to know what we would pay him for performing his “important” task.

2.       Power – There is not a single city or large village that has any reliable, 24-hour electric power. In most of the bigger cities like Kinshasa and Lubumbashi, the power is on more often than not, but will come and go with no dependability. In places like Gemena, these is no longer any city power grid at all.  All this despite Congo DR possessing the most plentiful hydro-producing electrical energy in the entire continent. In fact, South Africa is negotiating with DRC for the rights to build out the rest of the Inga dam across the Congo River and install enough hydro energy to power all of southern Africa.

 Mineral Resource – Many countries of central Africa have few resources on which to build a national economy. Not Congo DR. Vast mineral pockets of copper, gold, tin, titanium, uranium and, of course, diamonds are found across the land. But unlike Botswana, were national policies allow all citizens to benefit equally, in Congo it’s a free-for all. Now international agencies are attempting to set rules for tracking and processing “conflict metals” similar to the agreement for precious stones made famous in the movie, Blood Diamonds.

4.       Taxes and Fees – As with any uncontrolled nation, everyone has to fend for themselves dreaming all sorts of taxes and fees. Besides my $200 visa for entering the country, I also had to be $40 to be stamped in and $20 to be stamped out.  I even had to pay $5 just to have my health card verified that it was up to date. Notorious among fee-mongers are the RVA airport officials.  An MAF flight from Bunia to Entebbe costs around $120.  The total Bunia airport departure tax? $140!

5.       The Church – Unfortunately, leaders within the church have tended to be more influenced by politics and tribal favoritism than truly caring about the growth of God’s Kingdom. Following the pattern of Africa, as soon as someone gets into a position of authority, the idea is to use it for personal and family benefit as quickly as possible – while the chance lasts. This poor example of leadership has significantly kept the church from becoming all it can be.

The scene is not totally pessimistic, however. I discovered a number of key people whose vision for improving life and conditions in the country were exceptional. They each deserve mentioning:

With Dr. Khato head of
University Shaloam Unversity

1.       Dr. Khato, Director of the University Shaloam Bunia (USB) truly desires to see a new kind of practical education available that will help the next generation of leaders bring a Christian worldview to all areas of life including business and agronomy. Accepting strong criticism from his missionary mentors, he transitioned the former ISTB Theological Bible School with 70 students into a full university with a student body of 800 all focused on holisticly designed courses.   

With David Kasali of the
Congo Initiative

2.       Dr. David Kasali, Founder of the Congo Initiative. With a PhD from Trinity Seminary, Illinois and a remarkable ten year history of leading the renown NEGST seminary in Nairobi, David left all of that behind to start remarkable training experiment in his home town of Beni. Focused around six major themes, the Initiative includes a Bi-Lingual University (French & English), a Center for Church Renewal and Ministry of Reconciliation. “Instead of pumping more facts and knowledge into people’s heads,” David says, “I want to help bring about a whole new mindset among my people that will truly transform they think and act.”

Dr. Mike in front of new surgery wing

      Dr. Mike Upio, Medical Director of the Centre Medical Evangelique. After multiple rebel attacks destroyed the famous Nyankunde hospital back in the late 90’s, Mike is back rebuilding it and designing a new style medical support center that will serve virtually the whole northeastern province of the country. Thanks to some help from Samaritan’s Purse, a surgery wing is almost ready for operations, complete with solar panels and new generator. What is most impressive is that Mike is today doing what it took a whole team of expats to do before.

It will take a long time before DRC’s broken nature is turned around—especially in the political sector. But I’m so encouraged to find some of Congo’s own “sons” who have put despair aside for now and are striving to model some ways of doing things right.