I know I said the previous post was my last for today but I could not end this session without thanking the Washington, DC "2nd Friday Breakfast Group."  With the "leader's" (Susan) encouragement, the group collected $560 for the CongoOrphans project at their meeting on Feb 8.  For those of you who don't know, the 2nd Friday Breakfast Group is an informal networking group that started many years ago (more than 10 for sure). It originally comprised primarily female professionals from the financial sector.  It's base is now much broader and includes women from diverse industries.  Our most heartfelt Thanks to the Women of the 2nd Friday Breakfast Group. This brings our "pledges & paids" to just under $1,600 -- we need $4,000 to do the work.

 

Odile & I ask for your help as well. Please note: this is NOT an Embassy activity; it is a private activity of a few foreign service spouses, foreign service officers and locally hired Embassy staff.   Please help however you can; send your tax deductible donations to:

 

Thank you to Embassy Spouse - Runda - for these photos of Grace De Dieu II (in another part of town but similar to the Masina GDD).  The first is "Learning the Spider Song." 

 

   

This was a busy week.  On Tuesday, I visited Hope Clinic with Becky, the Embassy's Self-Help Project director.  I have wonderful photos of the clinic and the newborn babies (at least 12) but I cannot download them from the camera since the cable is in our shipment (expected arrival APRIL).  In the materity ward the mothers & their newborns are two to a bed (i.e., 2 mothers & 2 newborns in a twin size bed).  There was a set of twins and 3 women in labor -- I'm sure they were happy to see me with a camera!  The Embassy Self-Help Fund (or "Ambassador's Fund") donated a generator and additional beds, which will be installed when the addition is completed (in process now).  The Clinic is clean, although somewhat primitive by our standards.  The pictures will speak for themselves ...I'll post them as soon as I can find a cable to buy or borrow.

 

Becky & I also stopped in at the Grace de Dieu orphanage; Hope Clinic is located very close to the Orphanage in the Masina area of Kinshasa.  When I walked in the children started sing-songing "Linda, Linda.'  They also broke into a lovely rendition of "Itsy Bitsy Spider" that I taught them on my last visit -- see Odile's and my diary at www.CongoOrphans.PledgePage.com. The children have the tune but not the words.  When I returned home, I wrote out the words, sent them to Becky, who passed them to the Orphanage's "tutor" who speaks some English.  The visit was delightful. 

 

Becky & I also stopped at the Foster Home Becky & her husband sponsor.  Becky & her husband provide a home, safe haven & education for 15 street boys ranging in age from about 7 to about 15.  This home is an example of a successful, well-run haven for street kids. 

 

On Wednesday, I visited the Kinshasa office of Jatukik Providence Foundation, the Alexandria, VA foundation Odile & I are using to collect funds to refurbish the toilets and showers for the Grace de Dieu orphanage.  Go to www.CongoOrphans.PledgePage.com, select "Donations" in the left column to learn how you can contribute. 

 

On Thursday, Bill & I had an official dinner at the French Ambassador's residence.  It was lovely & I really had to use my French (sad as it is).  Oh, on Tuesday I joined a weekly French conversation class hosted by the Norwegian Honorary Counsel - Hanne - who has been in the Congo for many, many years and is a businesswoman as well as president of the International Women's Association.  I'm working hard at French -- at my advanced age, it's not easy!!

I have this and one more posting to do today & I will be caught up on what I want to share with you for now.

 

Steele & Michael, two Political Officers who Bill & I met at FSI in Washington, completed their language & other training and arrived in Kinshasa on Tuesday, Feb 5. Now the whole FSI Kinshasa gang of Summer 2007 is here at Post. Their sponsors (Greg & Dephty for Michael and Reggie for Steele) hosted a lovely BBQ at our house on Saturday, Feb 9.  It was a Pot Luck with many great dishes!  We contributed the cassarole "Shipwreck," which I showed our chef how to make - we now call it "La Mama" since we used my mother' recipe. The event was scheduled for 2 to 4 p.m. but everyone was having a pretty good time, many stayed longer.  Some made good use of our tennis court -- including Bill; others swam in the pool. 

 

Oh, Sydney (choc lab) has now graduated form the fish pond to the big pool.  She loves swimming with her friend Lola (I think a Vizsla mix) and with her human friend James. 

I'm getting caught up on my postings. 

 

On February 7 I went back to Lubumbashi, again with the Public Affairs Officer, Katya.  The Embassy hosted a visit by a Jazz Quartet - the Ryan Cohen Quartet, based in CHICAGO.  Chicago friends -- go to see them if you can; they are terrific.  This visit was part of the collaboration between Lincoln Centre and the US State Dept.  Wynton Marsalia partipates in the selection of the artists accepted into "The Rhythm Road: American Music Abroad" program.  In December, Devon Phillips and the New Orleans Straight Ahead (HQ Portland, OR), another great Jazz group, played in Kinshasa.  In Lubumbashi the Ryan Cohen group performed at the scholarship awards ceremony for those secondary students accepted into the CALI language program.  They also gave a performance for a VIP audience on Thursday evening, including the Governor of Katanga Province.  He loved it!  On Feb 8 (Fri) the Group lead a workshop for local musicians and gave a second concert.  Their final concert was on Saturday (after I returned to Kinshasa).  They also worked with additional Lubumbashi musicians.  It is inspiring!  The Congolese, including the Govenor, love our Jazz!  The Quartet were excellent representatives of our country.

 

At the scholarship ceremony on Thursday (Feb 7), among many others, I met the 1st and 2nd wives of the Imam I met on my earlier visit.  They were dressed in bright colors and had shawls -- very similar to what we saw in Eritrea years ago.  They were delightful and very friendly.

 

The awards ceremony was held at the French Cultural Center in Lubumbashi where we also met a wonderful photographer - I'll have to add his name later -- who is going to be part of a show in New York later this year.  His work superimposes old photos (many very tragic) over modern photos, depicting the work & suffering that went into building roards, bridges and into extracting rubber and minerals from the Congo. 

 

Katya and I also visited another of the Embassy self-help projects -- a home for handicapped, mainly children but since it's been in business since 1980, some are becoming adults.  Mma Marguerite, the director/founder, has started building apartments for handicapped adults.  The Embassy funded a new metal working facility that the residents use and that also is used to make products that are sold to generate operating capital for the home.  Most of the residents are severely handicapped.  One young fellow, about 10-12 years, was recovering from surgery.  His family burned him in the street due to his mental handicap.  His calf melded with his thigh.  The doctors were successful in separating his leg again; he's relearning to walk.  Oftentimes the mentally handicapped are dubbed "witches" or "possessed" and driven out of their homes.  Although none of the residents are "orphans," most have been forgotten by their families.  Mma Margurite told us that sometimes the families pay a fee and visit for the first few months and then they are forgotten.  The girls' dorms are well separated from the boys' dorms.  The girls, most early adolescents, were in the midst of their sewing lesson during our visit.

 

Katya & I also visited the University of Lubumbashis where we host an "American Corner."  It includes Internet access, books & magazines in English.  I have a bunch of "previously read" English novels, etc. in our shipment some of which I will add to the American Corner's library.

 

Oh...I have to tell you about CAA (Congolese Airline), which I flew for this trip to Lubumbashi.  As I mentioned, there are no jetways. When I walked under the wing to board the plane from Kinshasa to Lubumbashi on Thursday, I noticed that the light at the tip of the wing was attached with Duct Tape.  Nevertheless it was an uneventful flight. 

Every couple of months the Ambassador hosts a roundtable of American businesses and businesspeople in the Congo.  Jan 30 was Bill's first roundtable and I participated along with various members of the Embassy staff.  The emcee of the event is the Economic Officer - Greg.  Because this was Bill's first roundtable, the purpose of the meeting was to introduce the new ambassador (&, in this case, his wife).  About 50 people were invited, about 30 were able to attend.  The group represented banks (always first on my list) and companies in the mining, transportation, manufacturing, hospitality, and other industries.  Representatives of the Congo KPMG and Deloitte affiliates were invited but not able to attend this meeting.  There is room for a Grant Thornton affiliate here!  This was an exciting event for me.  I've been meeting a great number of businesspeople in various settings.  It was delightful to listen to the concerns and successes of so many.  There are definitely very significant challenges to doing business in Congo but there are also many opportunities for rewards.