The Sports4HOPE team has been in Congo now for over six weeks and Africa for over seven. There have been highs and lows. A couple times where I thought, “This could be the thing that makes it impossible for me to stay here.” And other times where I have thought, “I can see myself here for the rest of my life.” Despite the times when the work seems to just flow right out of me and the times when I don’t think I have anymore to give, my general outlook has been the same. The Lord has big plans out here and I feel very strongly that He wants me to be part of them. This blog entry is a list of the top three encouragements and discouragements that I have experienced since arriving in the country.
Encouragement #1: The excitement and hope that is seen in the eyes of the villagers. This is the number one most encouraging and motivating factor that is keeping me in Congo. In our Vilo committee there is a young man in his late 20s named Ndrusini. His profession is teaching, but he is also the local soccer coach and captain of the only two teams in Vilo. Stevo and I had a chance to play with him and his team a couple weeks ago and he is a pretty good player. We hear the kids of the village calling Ndrusini coach. And in turn Ndrusini, along with most of the other members of the committee and village, call me coach. Coach Scott. But their words tell more that just my role in within Sports4HOPE. Their words tell of the high level of respect and esteem they have for me. Their words express their inner hope. “Coach Scott is a coach from America. Coach Scott has had top level coaches training from different organizations. People in America pay him to coach. He has coached under a professional organization. And he has come all the way from America to teach us to play soccer.” When I hear these words I realize not only the potential I have but also the responsibly that comes along with it. This is just one example of the countless signs of hope we see from the villagers every time we set foot in the communities.
Encouragement #2: Meeting and developing relationships and a social life with other expats here in Bunia. Volleyball every Saturday at Medair, Scrabble at Samaritan’s Purse, swing dancing at the Rasmussens, coffee, chocolate, board games, slacklining... the list goes on and on. I can’t tell you how big a role this has played in helping me to see myself living in Bunia for an extended period of time. When I am invited over to the Medair compound to sit and relax on the porch over a cup of delicious coffee and a bar of chocolate while playing a good ole American board game, moving to the lowest ranked country on the UN’s Human Development Index, doesn’t seem like quite so much of a sacrifice. While they are still surrounded by 10 foot walls capped with coiled razor wire and broken glass bottles, some of the NGOs here in Bunia have beautiful garden like compounds filled with flourishing trees and flowers. And in a city with 330,000 people, that has no parks or visible greenery, having a place like this to set up your hammock and slackline goes a long way. I don’t have too many expats from here in Bunia on my email list but if you are one of them, you can be sure that I am talking about you. Thanks.
Encouragement #3: The overwhelming need of Congo. This fact alone is what convinced me to come to Congo to begin with, and my understanding of this need has only increased since I have arrived. As I mentioned in the earlier paragraph, the Democratic Republic of Congo is now ranked dead last on the United Nation’s Human Development Report. Basically this means that in Congo, quality of and opportunity in life is the worst in the world. The UN bases their rankings on health, education, income, inequality, gender inequality, poverty, and sustainability. To let you know how Congo ranks in some of these categories, the average life expectancy is 48.4 years. The average amount of schooling a Congolese person will receive is .356 years, and the average gross national income (GNI) per capita is $280/year. If stats aren’t enough for someone, just send them out here. Visit any one of the surrounding villages and see the hundreds of children without shoes and the dozens of people whom have lost their legs due to Polio and war. Have a conversation with the village chiefs for more than five minutes and you will learn of the building crescendo of tension between the Hema and Ngiti over the same issues that caused so much bloodshed less than a decade ago. The atmosphere in Bunia is grim, the need is great, and the current support is only a band-aid for this bullet wound.
Discouragement #1: Sickness has definitely been the most discouraging part of being in Congo. Forget about the fact that we work in a country that closes all land borders three days before and after presidential election periods due of the country’s history of violence and insecurity surrounding election time (elections are Nov. 28th and the Mission Aviation Fellowship has already started evacuating non-essential expats). As long as find myself healthy, I also find myself happy, and able to survive. However, twice in my first three weeks here, I found myself in bed for entire days at a time. I had a fever, my stomach was very upset, I was dehydrated, achy body, headache, the whole package. There was nothing I would have like more than to take a long hot shower, and curl up on the couch or in my bed with an oversized down comforter and have my mom take care of me. But alas, this is Congo; we don’t have hot running water, I sleep on a foam pad with a single sheet, and my mother is on another continent in another hemisphere. When you are sick you don’t feel like doing anything, you feel as if you have no control of your state of being, and all your thoughts go toward how you can prevent this from happening again. Luckily, for the past month I have stayed healthy and free of sickness. This is a relief, because if I were to be sick for two or three days at a time every couple weeks, my time here would be much less enjoyable, and I would be much less enthusiastic and productive in my work.
Discouragement #2: The complete lack of infrastructure. Regardless of geographic location, in a city the size of Nashville you might expect paved roads, stop signs, parks, grocery stores, street lights, public restrooms, and public transportation. Or at least a couple of these, right? Well you will not find any of these things here in Eastern Congo. The lack of infrastructure does not just affect the public sector. If you are able to afford it, you will have a house that is set up for internet, electricity, and running water, but that doesn’t mean you always have internet, electricity, and running water. In the house where we live it is not uncommon for the water to be off for days at a time. We have two back-up sources of energy (solar panels and a generator) because the city electricity is about as reliable as the city water. And if the generator is out of fuel on a cloudy day or at night, we light oil lanterns and play cards to pass the time. All these affect the work we are able to do. When you are working with slow internet, which it always is here, what takes you five minutes in North America or Europe, will undoubtedly take you an hour here. When people talk about African time, this is what they mean. Patience, patience, patience. The bigger-better-faster mentality of North Americans must be thrown out the window here because all those ideals hinge on reliable infrastructure.
Discouragement #3: Insufficiency of funds. Sports4HOPE had proposed a budget before departing for Congo that we believed would sustain us for a year. However fundraising was a bit of a catch 22. Without experience in the field and proof of what we were able to do, people and companies had a tough time justifying a donation. But without money we were unable to get out to the field to acquire that experience and prove what Sports4HOPE is capable of doing. Therefore we were left asking people to donate based on their belief in us as individuals. And many people did. Thank you. All in all we have secured about 25% of that initial budget, which was enough for us to get out here, get settled and start our work. Now that we are here and making waves we are seeing how much more we could do with supplementary funds. Having our own source of transportation would allow us to be out in the villages more often, instead of in the office, here in Bunia. However, transportation is just one of the funding issues we are juggling in this startup project here in Congo. Some of the others include building a soccer field on the side of a mountain, dealing with high cost of living, renewing our visas in the coming months, acquiring supplies and equipment for our sports and peace education programs, providing a stipend for our local liaison, and the selfish thought of returning home once or twice a year to see our family and friends. Ultimately it’s not the money, it’s us implementing the project that have the biggest impact on it’s success, but adequate funds do allow us to push their project to the fullest potential.
Some look at being out here as a sacrifice, and in some ways it is, but the bottom line is this: If I didn’t want to be here I wouldn’t be. This work is rewarding, and there is nothing in the world I would rather be doing. Funds or no funds, hot water or cold, slow internet or no internet, sick or healthy, Bunia is my home now. This is where I live.
