Recently I spent a week in Kinshasa observing our talented Girl Researchers. They were analysing their first sets of qualitative data collected as part of DFID DRC’s programme for adolescent girls, La Pépinière. Sixteen girls aged between 16 and 24, from …
The 134 years since Kinshasa was founded have witnessed many people coming and going. Nowadays it is mostly development workers, peacekeepers and, encouragingly, an increasing number of businessmen and women who flock to Africa’s third-biggest city. I am one of …
It had rained solidly all night, and was still raining at 6:30 as we assembled at the Pakistani Company Operating Base outside Walungu to assess whether the road trip was possible. The Burhale to Shabunda road in South Kivu is …
The Girl Summit 2014 was a big deal in the UK. It was the culmination of months of hard work by DFID, UNICEF and Girl Hub. It was attended by Prime Ministers, Presidents and Cabinet Ministers. Hundreds of young people …
Having arrived in DRC just over a month ago, I was incredibly lucky to be taken with Alastair and Mischa - colleagues from the DFID DRC humanitarian team - to see our programmes in the east. Having seen that special security …
Goma in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) must be one of the most difficult environments to deliver clean water. The city is built on the lava flows from nearby active volcanoes (the last major eruption was …
A highly addictive substance with strong stimulant properties is being grown in the conflict torn hills of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Between 50 and 80% of the harvest is then smuggled by boat and by road across the …
Nsimba is a 3 year old girl living in Masi Manimba, in the Bandundu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). With no real livelihood or consistent source of income, her parents struggle to feed her and her 5 …
A few weeks ago I saw an article in Foreign Policy about Primus, the ubiquitous beer of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The authors, Jason Miklian and Peer Shouten, explore some of the social, cultural, and conflict dynamics of …
When I was a teenager, I lived in a city called St Albans. At the entrance there was always a sign showing that it was "twinned" with a number of other towns or cities around the world. It's twinned with …
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