Congo Kinshasa: Fish supper ends busy day at the centre in Basankusu

“Who will buy this wonderful morning? Such a sky you never did see!” go the words of the song from Oliver. A succession of people passes by my house each morning, in Basankusu, deep in the Congolese rainforest. They call out their wares, just like in the song. “Vegetables, green leafy vegetables!” “Sweeping brushes, brushes, brushes!” “Soap is passing, soap is passing!” “Oranges!” “Bread! Freshly baked bread!”

The massive sky, with its powerfully sculpted clouds reflects the early rays of the sun, cutting through the morning’s sticky cool, giving a hint at how hot it will become as the day progresses. School children, clutching their exercise-books, walk purposefully in one direction, their heads down, still half asleep. Today is la rentrée scolaire – the return to school!

Children at the centre waiting to be fed

A lot of children at the malnutrition centre are too young to go to school. In the Congo, you have to pay to go to school. Some school-age children at the centre can’t afford to go. We convince parents that getting their children back on the road to health is more important for the moment. They’ll stay with us for a couple of months.

Francis Hannaway at the Basankusu centre for malnutrition

After breakfast, Judith arrives, and we start to look for two passing bicycle-taxis – you sit on a cushioned luggage rack behind the rider. Then we’re off across town on the bumpy dirt-tracks to our main centre.

Library photo of a "Toleka" taxi-bicycle
(c) 2014 Congoleselady.blogspot.com

The taxi-bike drivers race against each other – one minute I’m in front and the next Judith’s driver has overtaken me. (It’s quite rare to see a car in Basankusu). We arrive at the centre to see around sixty children eating their special porridge. Mama José, our nurse, welcomes us. “The mothers have been collecting edible caterpillars from the trees,” she enthused. “They’re full of protein, so we’ll soon see the numbers going down!”

Judith Bondjembo talking to volunteers and parents

Once the volunteers had served the main meal, we were able to call all the volunteers for our monthly meeting. Around one o’clock Judith and I leave. We have more people to see. Some of the children are in hospital and we need to follow their progress. Not far from the centre there’s a man who became disabled after suffering from meningitis – we’ll visit to make a video appeal to find funds for a wheelchair for him. It will be the twenty-fifth wheelchair we’ve had made.

Young girl selling "Kwanga" or cassava bread in Basankusu

After our visits, we headed back across town on foot. We instinctively opened our umbrellas as the midday sun started to bite. School children laughed and jostled each other along the road – the school day was over, and they were now in high spirits. Another street-seller came into sight.

“Fresh fish is here! Straight from the river! Fresh fish!”

“I think we can buy your supper,” smiled Judith. And that is what we did.

Fresh fish for my supper - Francis Hannaway, Basankusu