The Decision.

I have been mulling over this decision about graduate school for what seems like a really long time.  But maybe that is just because at this time last year I thought I might be starting graduate school last fall, and then I came to Congo.  Moving to Congo has been a meaningful experience and a decision I will never regret.  Although deciding not to stay here another year might be another story.

I have decided to attend Washington University in St. Louis this fall to begin pursuing a Master's Degree in Public Health.  While I was excited about the possibly of moving back to the east coast, Wash U's program and financial aid package are too good to turn down.  So, Wash U wins!

Now begins all the logistical details and actually thinking about returning to the States, travelling, and moving.  I don't know if I am ready for that yet!!

The land of plenty

I was surprised to see how long it has been since I last posted.  Life has been a bit busier than usual here with my new aunthood and a trip over Spring Break to Goma in Eastern Congo. 

Firstly, let's just clarify that my niece is the cutest and best little baby one could wish for.  She is so precious and her parents are nice enough to let me snatch her up as soon as I walk in the door to their house.  I never get tired of hanging out with that girl!

Last Sunday I boarded a Hewa Bora plane (unbeknownst to my parents, for their peace of mind!) and flew to Goma with four teachers from TASOK.  Sara (who I wrote about a couple posts ago) was our ring leader and had helped to arrange most of our trip to Goma through the organization Heal Africa.  Heal Africa is an organization founded by Dr. Joseph Lucy, a Congolese orthropedic surgeon and his wife Lynn.  Heal's primary outreach is a hospital in Goma that specializes in orthropedics and fistula repairs but has services including an HIV/AIDS clinic, public health, labor and delivery, ER etc.  Because there are so few highly trained medical professions Dr. Lucy has made Heal Africa a teaching hospital which makes it quite unique.  I spent one day helping out in the public health department by giving vaccinations to lots of babies.  I think we saw about 70 kids that day! 

Heal helps to sponsor a school called the Mugunga school.  This is where Sara will focus a lot of her teaching and teacher development next year when she comes to Goma to volunteer.  I joined the teachers in visiting the school one day and then the teachers went back the next day to have some meetings and teach some lessons with the kids.  The school is about 15 km outside of Goma and serves many children from the former IDP camp close by. 

My favorite visit was out to a project called Grounds for Hope.  Heal helps sponsor this transitional home for women who are victims of sexual violence or who have had unsuccessful fistula repairs.  The home is located about 15 km from downtown Goma in a beautiful location along a little dirt road.  There are about 15 women living there along with probably 20 plus kids.  I spent the afternoon sitting on a porch with about 6 women whom all spoke only Swahili.  We tried to talk together using my little Swahili phrase book, and sang English and Swahili songs, some of which included dances.  The women tried to get me to spend the night with them that night, but unfortunately we were leaving for Kinshasa the next morning and I had to decline.  It's amazing what a positive attitude these women have under such difficult circumstances.  I truely felt inspired by their optimism and hope for the future.

I could go on and on about Goma and how much I loved it there, but I won't.  When I got back to Kinshasa I realized just how much I love Congo and how hard it will be for me to leave here in June.  One year is simply not enough time in a new place.  I can't dwell on this because it makes me sad already. 

Big time anticipation for Valentines Day...really!?

After my holiday break I came back to Kinshasa without my brother and his wife.  Why?  Because they were having a baby.  Baby Charlotte was born January 19th and is finally coming home to Kinshasa on Sunday!!  I can hardly wait to put my auntie skills into motion when the family returns this weekend. 

Adam and Sarah are the reason I came to Congo this year and so having them in South Africa for the past couple months has been rather strange.  I have had a furry little companion to take their place...well, not really take their place...but he does demand attention.  Falafel (Adam and Sarah's dachshund) has taken up residence with me.  He keeps me laughing with his little quirky behaviors.  For example, he loves to be wrapped up tight in a blanket and he doesn't even really want his head left poking out.

While Falafel has been great company I'm on the countdown to Valentine's Day! 

School Time

I know I have written before about a lovely little street bar (Mama Godelieve's) where I indulge in Tembo beer and rapid weight gain each Friday after work.  Mama Godelieve, the proprietor of the joint helps support two local sewing schools for girls divided based on age.  A couple Saturdays ago we planned a trip out to see one of the schools and visit with the students.  Our group included "the usuals" from Fridays at Mama Godelieve's and students from TASOK participating in GIS (Global Issues Summit). 

We boarded our "school bus" early Saturday morning and drove about 40 minutes to the school through small streets lined with vendors and barely big enough to fit our bus.  We pulled up to a big gate and the church ladies (the women who support the school) flocked the doors to greet us with kisses, smiles and welcoming words in French.  The group was ushered into a large room that can be split in half to make two classrooms when necessary.  The school girls (who go to school on Saturdays for a half day) filed into the wooden chairs in the back of the room while we seated ourselves in the front.  Following greetings and formalities we toured the campus.  The school consits of four classrooms, a teachers room, a home ec. room, and an office all on gound level.  Half of the rooms are water damaged from above where only walls have been built for additional classrooms as there is simply no money to complete a roof. 

Our students and the girls filled the narrow alley way between the classrooms to engage in get to know you games and activites.  Afterwards we were once again seated in the big classroom and given an assortment of snacks and Tembo after Tembo.  It honestly made me feel a little strange knowing that these women were giving so much to provide us with snacks and drinks that we really didn't need.  While guiltily eating my food I offered up many thanks for such hospitality.

Most of the girls that attend the school come from off the street.  The girls that can't read or write when they begin school meet in a separate class to get up to speed before joining the larger classes of girls.  The girls learn the art of sewing and also sell some of their goods.  The school is simple and has nothing more than classrooms with chairs and several sewing machines but they are making the difference for many young girls.  When these young women graduate they will not only know how to read and write, they will also have a marketable skill with which to provide for themselves, a treasure that is worth more than anything.

Project in Goma

Sara Rich, a good friend of mine here in Congo is planning a little something different for her life next year.  Sara is a middle school teacher at TASOK who has lived in Congo for the last three years and she has the privilege of being my next door neighbor!  Over fall break back in October while the rest of the teachers were off gallavanting in Zambia, Sara, the brave soul that she is, boarded a Congolese airline (about the scariest thing you can do in your life!) and went out to Goma in the east of DRC.  TASOK's Grade 5 conducted a Congo awareness campaign this fall and raised funds for an organization called HEAL Africa. HEAL Africa has an office in Goma and so Sara decided she would stop by for a visit on her trip. Little did she know that this would change so much...

After seeing and experiecing the extreme need in Goma, Sara decided that next year she would like to volunteer in Goma. Since Sara can probably describe her planned project better than I can I have copied some information from her website:

There are many educational issues that Goma faces, as does any city in the world. But one general need that I've identified is that solutions don't simply revolve around filling up building with kids and teachers. Problem solving must then be extended to incorporate community based and responsive solutions. Local solutions for local problems to ensure that the education offered in schools is relevant, effective, and student centered.

It is important to me that throughout this process of researching and working in schools that I am able to continue teaching in some fashion. There are a variety of options, including teacher training or teaching English. I highly value seeing school reform through the lens of a teacher, so it's critical that I continue to be an active participant in my profession.

Because a community based project lends itself to unpredictability and since at this point I have yet to fully understand the community's vision for their schools it's important that the project maintain a sense of flexibility. With that said, I hope that at the end of this volunteer experience, I'll be able to connect international educators with educators based in Goma, creating professional relationships and opportunities for discussion on how to create a high quality education.

Over Spring break I will be going with Sara back to Goma to continue exploring the area and assisting her to lay the foundation for her volunteer work in the fall.  There is one school (the Mugunga school) in particular that HEAL Africa works with which serves a refugee camp about 15 minutes outside of Goma.  This school is where Sara would like to begin her work with the teachers.  The school has over 300 students, grades KG-6 and 7 teachers.  Most of the students are Rwandan refugees or internally displaced Congolese.  I am excited to be able to help support Sara as she prepares for her volunteer work and see firsthand part of eastern DRC. 

Sara is an amazing woman, with determination, desire and the skills to suceed in making a difference in the lives of so many people in Congo.  Her project is innovative and needed and I am so happy to be able to let people now about her vision. 

I would like to encourage anyone reading this to please visit Sara's website and see if this is a project that you would be willing to support through prayer, financial resources or maybe even taking a trip yourself!  Because Sara has developed this project independently she is working alone to raise all of the funds needed for at least one year.  Please consider helping Sara!

Sara's website: http://web.me.com/sara.elizabeth.rich/Goma/Home.html
HEAL Africa's website: http://www.healafrica.org/cms/
An article about Sara in her home paper: http://www.alextimes.com/news/2010/jan/07/this-is-where-i-want-to-be/

If you would like more information do not hesitate to email me: amandamaust@gmail.com

I will be writing more about this project as details firm up and especially after I go to Goma.  Thanks already for your support!

Cockroach delight

I really did think I would blog in South Africa.  And I promise I had good intentions, but it just didn't happen.  Pictures will be posted on facebook and that is a guarantee.

I'm back in Kinshasa now and so happy to be home.  One way to tell you really are in Africa is when the plane touches down on the runway and everyone in the plane begins to clap.  The first time I experienced this I thought the people were crazy, but I admit that now I too find myself wanting to join the clapping in thanks for a safe arrival.  No one really clapped when we reached JoBurg or Cape Town.  While South Africa is an amazing vacation spot I found myself feeling like I just wasn't really in Africa at all.  I guess that really isn't a bad thing at all...

I had the most wonderful sibling vacation and didn't want it to end!  What a privilege it was to be able to spend three weeks hanging out with family and enjoying Cape Town together.  Some of the highlights included:

• Seeing a colony of  african penguins
• Touring Robben Island and not throwing up on the boat ride over!
• Touring the prison on Robben Island with a guide who was an ex-prisoner who had spent 11 years in the prison 
• Shuttling up Table Mountain and taking in a gorgeous sunset
• Visiting several townships and learning about apartheid past and present
• Eating broccoli at almost every meal
• Watching the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet at Cape Point (well, I can pretend in my head that there is a clear line...but really there wasn't)
• Spending time with Annika and Katie
• Failing at making mozzarella cheese
• Watching my niece-to-be flutter around in her mama's belly

And now it's back to cockroach delight.  My apartment felt like a sauna when I opened the door on Saturday afternoon.  I ran to quick turn on some AC and survey the ant and cockroach damage in the kitchen.  Not too bad considering I was gone for three weeks but enough to make me annoyed and throw out some cornmeal, sugar and flour that had been double bagged!  Those critters sure are persistent in their quest for food.

School started up today and the big highlight was that December mail was finally released from the airport strike and I actually got some!  Thanks to everyone for sending me mail, you are seriously amazing!