A blog by an Indian Nicaraguan Canadian in Congo (DRC)
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A trip to Leuven, Belgium
Home to a large university (KU Leuven), Leuven is mostly a student town situated east of Brussels (It is a 20 minute train ride away). It is on the Flemish side of Belgium, in Flanders, so don’t expect to speak French! Use your English skills or try to learn a few words of Flemish. It…
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A Sunday on the Congo River
Photographs of the Congo river near Kinshasa and sandbanks
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Sunday evenings in Kinshasa
Everything is quiet The streets are empty The taxis are gone Sellers have gone home One or two cars zoom past A few beggars roam the streets
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Sitting in Kinshasa traffic is tiring
The rain has made it worse. We are waiting for hours to move 1 m. Everybody pushes for an inch. Everybody waits for an opening but there is none.
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Congolese folklore storyteller, Roland Verbiest
Roland Verbiest is a Dutchman who arrived to the Democratic Republic of the Congo 15 or so years ago. He has a trucking company called Grand Pousseur in Kinshasa and used to travel frequently on the Congo river to the interior to deliver beers for the local breweries.
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Photographers of the Democratic Republic of Congo
Here is a list and tribute to many great photographers who came to or from the Democratic Republic of Congo and made it part of their lives and work. Alice Seeley Harris (1870-1970) (Photojournalism) “Lady Alice Harris (born Seeley; 24 May 1870 – 24 November 1970) was an English missionary and an early documentary photographer. Her photography helped to expose…
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C’est pas le Congo!
Le Congo et l’Europe, les différences
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Traveling out of the DRC
What it feels like to leave the DRC
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Meeting the Pope
My handshake with the Pope. I was somehow invited to meet the Pope during his visit to the DRC.
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Another year in the DRC gone by
Since the 1950s our family has been in the DRC, since the 1950s things have gotten harder for most Congolese. Seeing a country get worse and worse for 73 years can be heartbreaking. From the 50s there have not been many families that have stayed in the DRC for so long.
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A city stuck in traffic
Nowhere to go. Stay in your seat. Watch cars squeeze left and right. Watch motorcycles slide between you and your neighbours. You’ve got AC at least Yellow taxis on the left, military 4x4s and politicians jumping the queue. Everyone is hitting their horns. Your driver is also losing patience. “What on earth is stopping everyone?”you…
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Visiting Jaune Congo, a farm outside Kinshasa
Jaune Congo is not an ordinary farm near Kinshasa. They grow fruits and vegetables and soon, palm trees for oil production in a unique and sustainable way, hand in hand with local partners and employees. It is located here. Take the Cico cement factory road after Lukala to get there and ask for “Antoine’s farm”.…
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A Kinshasa shopping guide
A quick guide of shops to buy food, electronics, appliances, etc… in Kinshasa
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Rains and rains and rains
Rains and plastics are ruining the lives of millions in Kinshasa
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Discussion on power in the DRC
A quick guide to power generation issues and projects in the DRC in 2022.
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Remote life
Everything is remote these days Remote jobs Remote friends Remote girlfriend Remote dancing Remote life Remote sleep Remote fun Remote families Remote death Remote birth Remote holidays Always working and messaging Always on the phone Always distracted Maybe you are now your phone’s remote? When will we realise that remote means far and disconnected Be…
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On the road from Matadi to Kinshasa
Photographs of a drive from Matadi to Kinshasa
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Hotel Metropole in Matadi
The Hotel Metropole in Matadi was built between 1925 and 1930. It seems to have officially opened in 1930 according to Wikipedia. It is a gothic revival styled building (Wikipedia) and apparently designed by architect Ernest Callebout.
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Mama Lufuma, a single mother and child shelter in Matadi
I recently went to Matadi to visit a non profit organisation helping young mothers and their children called Mama Lufuma (Website is in Flemish. A translation to English is in progress). There are 15 or so kids that are between 6 months old and 10 years old. Their mothers also live in the shelter. There…
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Israel (Tel Aviv and Kfar Hanokdim)
A complicated place but worth a visit if you can stand the questioning at arrival and departure.
Got any book recommendations?
Emilio in Congo (DRC) 