Geography
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is a large country in west-central Africa and is the size of the US east of the Mississippi River. There are mountains in the east and forested highlands in the south. The Congo River basin in the north and west drains 1 million square miles and is made up of hot and humid tropical rainforest. The country is rich in natural resources like minerals, forests, and hydroelectric potential.
Few roads exist and river transportation dominates the Congo River basin. However, airplanes account for a major amount of the transportation of people and goods around the country.
History
DRC was explored by Henry Stanley in 1877 and eventually become a Belgian colony after being under the private direction of King Leopold of Belgium for many years. During that time, massive amounts of resources like rubber, ivory, and minerals were brutally taken from the country using slave labor.
In the early 60’s, the country was given independence and within a year the head of the military named Mobutu took control of the country. During his rule he became one of the richest men in the world. He changed the name of the country to Zaire and ruled until 1997. After that, many nations joined in an international war for control of the wealth of the country. In 1994, eight hundred thousand people fled from the genocide in Rwanda to DRC, many of them being the perpetrators of the genocide.
Although fighting among rebel groups continues in the east, the year 2006 brought the first peaceful elections since 1960. However, 5 million people died in the war over the past 10 years - most from disease and starvation. That is the largest death count since WWII. Rape, murder and the use of child soldiers has given DCR the worst human rights violation record in the world over this period.
Current Conditions of the people
In January 2008, it was estimated that 45,000 people are still dying every month from starvation and disease in DRC and 1.1 million people are still displaced from their homes. Rebels still threaten to take control of the eastern part of the country while seventeen thousand UN soldiers try to hold together a fragile peace.
The vast majority of the 60 million Congolese people still exist in utter poverty, while foreigners and corrupt officials harvest the vast wealth of natural resources in the country. Although French is the official language, Lingala is prevalent in the west and Swahili in the east. Over forty percent of the population is illiterate.
DRC is a country of children, with half of the population under the age of 16, having an average life expectancy of 46 years. It has the third highest birth rate in the world and one in five children will die before the age of five. Health conditions are pitiful and basic health education is unknown. The people eat mostly cassava and are generally malnourished. In the northern jungles of the Congo River basin in the north, malaria, sleeping sickness, typhoid, and cholera are prevalent. AIDS is spreading rapidly due to poor education. Drinking un-boiled water is standard, and this brings worms and amebic dysentery.
Religion
Although the country is predominantly Roman Catholic, pagan rituals still dominate the lives of the people. Bibles are expensive and few can afford them. Although the Seventh-day Adventist Church has had success in some parts of the country, the fourteen million people living in the vast Congo River basin of the north and west are virtually unreached with the truth.
