Andrei Engstrand-Neacsu* in Kinshasa
Only one hour’s drive from the agitated life of Kinshasa’s city centre, the set-up is completely different. The earth road towards the commune of Kisenso is separated from the railroad by piles of garbage where children play oblivious to health risks. It gradually narrows to become a path flanked by shacks, cardboard houses, barber shops and kiosks selling mobile telephone cards.
The N’djili River is first revealed to the visitor by the specific smell of mud and bamboo, and a somewhat accentuated humidity in the air. The sun is crushing.
In front of their neat houses made of mud-bricks, farmers labour on their subsistence manioc and rice plantations. This is a flood-prone area. People know the risks but live with the hope of surviving the annual catastrophes. The earth is fertile and, as waters recede, post-flood agriculture gives good results. The Kisenso community stretches on a plateau that follows the river stream for some two kilometres. The 400 parcels of land are trapped between the elevated rail road structure and the N’djili River. Every year precious lives were lost when the furious waters of this tributary of the Congo River hit the village at night.
“We used to wait for disasters to fall on us. We felt so helpless until the Red Cross came to our help”, says Papa Albert, a dignified man carrying a file with documents listing his community’s new problems. Three years ago the 3,000 people of Kisenso started to construct a dam.
“People were encouraged to work for the benefit of their community while the Red Cross provided solid sacks and technical advice,” explains Ferdinand Matumene, the man in charge of disaster preparedness and response at the Congolese Red Cross.
The work was conducted through the Programme Initiative Congo, a framework that favours the development of community-based activities based on clearly identified needs.
Down by the river a group of girls is busy washing clothes. They greet the visitor with open smiles and the typical Lingala expression “mboté”, or “have a good day”. Some of them are swimming. A pirogue is slowly approaching the shore. Further down the river youngsters are filling more bags with sand to extend or reinforce the dam.
The construction of the dam was the entry point for many other activities. Some 540 youngsters received training first aid and have clear roles during emergencies. Some of them are trained peer educators and conduct basic health education, HIV and AIDS prevention activities under the guidance of a Red Cross specialist.
The Congolese Red Cross has similar projects in Kinshasa, Mbandaka, Kisangani, North and South Kivu, Bandundu, Kasai and the Bas-Congo (lower Congo) regions. Through the International Federation or on a bilateral basis, a number of National Societies are committed to supporting the development of the Congolese Red Cross.
Not far from the N’djili river banks, representatives of the Belgian, British, German, Swedish and Spanish Red Cross joined by Danish and French colleagues – who intend to initiate activities in the coming months – came to Kinshasa for a Cooperation Agreement Strategy (CAS) meeting organized by the Congolese Red Cross. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the International Federation were also present. Their aim was to confirm the determination to strengthen the Congolese Red Cross by adhering to the CAS process.
The long and sometimes tedious consultation process that stretched over two years was driven with support from Aurelia Balpe, a Federation Movement Cooperation senior officer. The debate was taken to key Red Cross branches and involved most of the participating national societies.
At a recent meeting in Kinshasa, the accent was put on strategic priorities for the Congolese Red Cross such as ensuring a division between governance and management. The completion and distribution of guidelines for financial management to branches was yet another important point discussed.
In a male-dominated culture such as the Congo, an animated debate took place around the issue of gender equality. Participants agreed that the revised statutes would include a section specifically mentioning the aim for equal representation by men and women at all levels within the national society. The plan of actions for the coming years should ensure the progressive implementation of this aim.
The executive committee of the Congolese Red Cross was quick to meet and turn into decisions the recommendations that emerged from the CAS meeting. The most significant is the request for partner national societies to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the Democratic Republic of Congo Red Cross prior to the implementation of a project in Congo.
“The signing of a CAS-related memorandum by all partners will be the best proof we can give as a Movement, of the respect for the National Society’s development strategy and priorities,” says Mathieu Kalombo Tshasuma, President of the Congolese Red Cross.
The ICRC and the Federation as well as other partner national societies – among them the Swedish Red Cross - have no reservation as to the need to see this first ever CAS process in Central and West Africa formalised during the upcoming Federation’s General Assembly in Seoul, this month.
*Andrei Engstrand-Neacsu is a Swedish Red Cross international coordinator covering Sudan and Central Africa.