What we are doing....

Chez nous

The wooden structure in front of the house is a drying rack, used to stand pots and pans which then dry in the sun. The large black plastic barrel collects rainwater which we use for flushing the loo. A real blessing!

We’ve been in Africa just over a month now and are feeling we are getting the hang of things. We’ve got a rhythm to our lives, but can still get caught out! We did have a bit of fun this last week when, it turned out, Gill’s blood pressure was very low which caused her to faint and – seemingly she had not been drinking enough water, so now Peter is force feeding her water. It took a couple of days for equilibrium to be achieved but she is now fine, lesson learned.

So what are we actually doing? Peter has been asked to help diocesan departments manage more effectively, in particular, help them avoid projects failing so often. He is working with the “Bureau Diocésain de Développement (BDD)” – the development department. The BDD has aims of:

·         Transforming society

·         Improving the environment

·         Achieving financial independence 

These may seem rather ambitious aims but they are doing some very good and effective work. The first aim, of transforming society, has two main branches, Ensemble Nous Pouvons (ENP) – Together we can, and Commission for Peace Justice and Reconciliation.

The ENP is working with communities, across the very large Aru diocese, to support them in their efforts to get above the poverty line and achieve self-sufficiency without external help. Many communities currently feel that they have neither the resources (Congo is very poor) nor abilities to achieve anything. This can, naturally, lead to despondency, powerlessness and dependency, waiting for someone else to solve the problem. The work of the ENP is to enable people and communities to discover what resources they do have and that they do have the ability to solve their own problems. This not only increases their prosperity but empowers and encourages people.

This work is backed up by the Peace and Reconciliation work. Where there is a problem that needs reconciliation (between individuals or communities) trained reconcilers work to achieve agreement between the parties. Once they have agreement this agreement is signed and has the status of law. Many of the issues concern land and can lead to people being driven away and there is strong evidence just locally, in Aru, of a vastly improved situation.

The overall context is still one of instability. Congo has experienced almost constant war and rebellions for years. There was a civil war that only finished in 2005 (we think – need to check) and the government does not appear to have effective control in many areas. Aru itself is fine, safe and stable. As a result the town is growing. However, north of us, near the border with South Sudan, there has been ‘rebel’ activity (not sure how much this is rebellion or just a band of armed thugs creating havoc and destruction). A report just last Friday described how the schools were empty because people, and all the children, had fled the area. The LRA can still be active near that area as well (a bit further to the West)! How do you develop self-sufficiency and look forward with anything resembling even a short-term plan, to build stability, in such a context?

The final area of BDD work is to try to achieve self-sufficiency. The above work is supported by charities and non-governmental organisations and the BDD want, sensibly enough, not to be dependent on external funding to do their work. It is these projects that have not succeeded as much as they would wish (one project, carpentry, has involved people returning from fighting, ex-soldiers/rebels, and was set up to provide employment and training for people so they can get money and be occupied). Peter’s work, at present, is to try to get to the bottom of why these projects are not working as they should and help turn them round. Many of the issues are cultural and Peter is still finding his (rapidly improving) French is not up to the job!

Enough of Peter!

Gill is working with the Christian education Department. She is translating and adapting some material we brought and helping develop a different approach to group study. There is little separation here between individual, community, church and work. Unlike the west, with its individualistic culture, people here do not compartmentalise their lives. This means that, in doing this work, Gill has met loads of people – which is what we wanted to do!

She is also about to embark on some IT work to support the diocesan nursing school, but just as she was about to start this she fainted – must be the thought of getting involved with computers again!

We were about to post this but heard the start of Aru Mother's Union vs Aruwarra Mother's Union football match starting, and went to watch - until it started raining. When we left the score was Aru 0, Aruwarra 1 (full report to follow - or perhaps not).