Democratic Republic of Congo - Nyiragongo Volcano

At the base of the volcano getting ready for the hike.

The "bungalows" at the top of the volcano where we stayed for the night.

At the top of the volcano looking down into the lava lake. 

The lava lake at night (at the top of Nyiragongo Volcano).

A closeup view of the lava lake.

A view down the volcano to Goma.  Lake Kivu is on the right.  In 2002, the lava blew from the side and filled up this crater with lava, then flowed down to Goma (in the distance) and destroyed a big portion of the city.

A view of a church destroyed from the 2002 eruption. 

The Congo is dangerous, but also gorgeous.  Mt. Mikeno (still active) is on the left and Mt. Karisimbi (dormant) is on the right.

A typical street in Goma.  The city is built on lava rock and is extremely poor, but based in a beautiful setting. 

            

            This past weekend I traveled to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to visit the major Congo city of Goma and to hike one of the most active volcanoes in the world – Mount Nyiragongo. 

            Nyiragongo is famous in Rwandan history for two major recent eruptions – 1977 and 2002.  The 1977 eruption had lava traveling at speeds up to 60 miles an hour killing thousands of residents in the nearby city of Goma, while the 2002 eruption killed few people due to the slow speed of the lava and readiness of citizens from previous eruptions.  However, Nyiragongo has erupted over 30 times in the past 100 years, and is considered very active and dangerous.

            The trip takes about five hours to get to the top.  It’s a difficult, steep climb comprising mainly of loose lava rocks.  At the top there are bungalows to sleep in for the night, but the top of the volcano is extremely windy and cold.  The big attraction to this volcano is the lava lake at the top.  You can see lava in a sort of mesmerizing, natural state exploding and moving in a random fashion. 

            After the hike we took a tour of the devastation that Nyiragongo did to Goma in 1977 and 2002.  Over 50% of the city has been taken by lava that has caused much of the city to exist 8 feet higher than it historically has sat.  Congolese now live on top of lava rocks in a slum-esque style.  The Congo ranks 187 out of 187 countries on the United Nations Human Development Index for good reason: there are no paved roads, education is terrible, health care is non-existent, and women are raped at an unparalled rate.  The Congo has huge obstacles to overcome to have a stable, forward moving country.  Nevertheless, it was great to travel to the Congo to see the beauty of the countryside and travesty of everyday life. 

Kigali Convention Center

The hallway at the top floor of the hotel, where all suites will be situated. 

The large building in the back is the hotel, the small building in front is the convention center, and the dirt area (soccer field) will be the IT center.

Excavation of up to 50 feet was done to place these large rain water tanks for the convention center.

A view of the convention center from the top floor of the hotel.  The circular area is the base of the dome.

Standing at the top of the hotel in front of the Kacyiru roundabout. 

A view inside the hotel from the roof.  The hotel pool will be placed where the crane currently sits.

At the sewer plant with Leo, my collegue from the Chinese construction firm.

The architct's rendering of the hotel, convention center, and IT park upon completion. 

Last October I left the Peace Corps and began work with a British firm to help project manager the Kigali Convention Center.  The center is planned to be a crux of the Rwanda and the East Africa Community for events and conferences.  Currently all major conferences and events (including President Kagame’s state functions) are held at the Serena Inn in Kigali, so the Kigali Convention Center would replace the Serena Inn as the go-to place for high profile events.

The center will be a 300 room, 5 star hotel connected to a convention center and IT park.  There is currently proposed a museum that will bring further tourism to the center.  The convention center is designed to have a clear dome (similar the Reichstag in Berlin) that will become the iconic image of the country.

At $360 million, it is also one of the largest projects in Africa too.  The entire project is slated to finish in 2014, and is being design by German architects and built by a Chinese construction firm.  Due to the variation of cultures on site (Germans, Chinese, Rwandans, Brits, Americans, Indians) the business language on site is English.  This is due to the contract being written in English.

My role is project manager, where I overview the construction site daily and report to the board of directors and client on the progress and any potential issues with the project.  Due to the size and complexity of the project, it is a great job to learn about various aspects of engineering, design, and procurement.  

Volcanoes National Park



The intore dancers and drummers before we head out for the hike.

One of the many gorgeous trees in the rainforests of Volcanoes National Park.

The dangerous buffaloes watch us from a safe distance.

Time to eat!

The big silverback looks over the Kuryama group of gorillas.



Eating in the trees.

Being herbivores of a prodigious size, gorillas spend a lot of their day eating.



When people think of tourism in Rwanda, the number one destination is Volcanoes National Park.  It has a lot of the elements that make a successful park: only two hours on a paved road from the capital of Kigali, located amongst gorgeous tropical volcanoes, and (most important of all) has some of the last rare mountain gorillas in the world. 

Volcanoes National Park is an extremely small park, and shares a national park boundary with Virungas National Park in the Congo and Bwindi Impenetrable Park in Uganda.  These three countries have combined with various other organizations around the world to preserve the last mountain gorillas in the world.  Current estimates state that there are less than 800 mountain gorillas left.  If it wasn’t for the efforts of Dian Fossey’s studies and conservation efforts between 1967 and 1985, it is possible that the gorillas would be extinct today.  Most of Fossey’s time was spent in Rwanda at Volcanoes National Park, at a camp between Karisimbi volcano and Visoke volcano (the camp name was a combination of the two volcanoes, called “Karisoke”).  She raised awareness through her research and book “Gorillas in the Midst” which details her time and research with the gorillas.  Her death changed her novel into a movie about her life, and (combined with the poaching of other gorillas) raised further awareness for conservation efforts of these amazing animals.

The conservation is a daunting task for several reasons: poachers, land encroachment due to gorillas living in a country with a density of 600 people per square mile, and gorillas having 97% of the same genetic makeup as humans.  When visiting the gorillas, tourists can only stay for one hour due to the stress of humans being in the gorilla’s natural environment.  Tourists cannot take flash photography, must turn away and sneeze due to the fear of transmitting viruses/colds to the gorillas, and cannot eat, drink, or bring anything unnecessary around their habitat. 

My family and I visited the gorillas at the beginning of January.  It was a long climb through villages and rainforests to get to the “Kuryama” group (“kuryama” is Kinyarwanda for “to lie down”), but was well worth the $500 ticket, harsh dirt roads, and long hike.  We had a great time, but were exhausted afterwards.  Attached are pictures of our day which took place on the west side of Visoke volcano.

African proverbs

You better be running!

Proverbs are the palm oil with which words are eaten.  – Nigerian proverb

Every culture has words of wisdom, metaphors, philosophies, and proverbs.  I thought I would share with you some famous Africa proverbs (parentheses indicate where this is generally said):

Health is the body of prosperity.  (Africa) 

A village without elders is like a well without water.  (East Africa)

If a child washes his hands, he could eat with kings.  (West Africa)

Between true friends even water drunk together is sweet enough.  (Zimbabwe)

You think of water when the well is empty.  (Ethiopia)

A hippopotamus can be made invisible in dark water.  (West Africa)

Who digs the well should not be refused water.  (East Africa)

One who loves you, warns you.  (Uganda)

Every morning in Africa a gazelle awakens knowing it must today run faster than the fastest lion or it will be eaten.  Every morning a lion awakens knowing it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve.  It matters not whether you are a gazelle or a lion, when the sun rises you had better be running.  (Africa)

He who loves money must labor.  (Africa)

If relatives help each other, what evil can hurt them?  (Africa)

It takes a village to raise a child.  (West Africa)

What an old man sees while sitting, a small child cannot see even standing on top of a mountain!  (Nigeria)

Knowledge is like a garden: if it is not cultivated, it cannot be harvested.  (Africa)

Don’t insult the crocodile until you cross the water.  (Africa)

Not everyone who chased the zebra caught it, be he who caught it chased it.  (South Africa)

Until the lion tells his side of the story, the tale of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.  (Zimbabwe)

 In the city of the blind, the man with one eye will be king.  (Nigeria)

Burundi

The "traditional huts" at the National Museum in Bujumbura.

The nice beaches of Lake Tanganyika.

Emmy posing on the beach of Lake Tanganyika.

A crocodille getting ready to eat a guinea pig at the National Museum.



Emmy and I enjoying our New Year's out on the beach.



            “Without peace in Burundi, there is no peace in Rwanda.  Without peace in Rwanda, there is no peace in Burundi.” – common proverb on the relation of the two nations

Last month I took a trip with my Rwandan friend Emmy to the country of Burundi, where we stayed in the center of Bujumbura, the capital of Burundi.  The capital is only a six hour drive south of Kigali, so we finally decided to take a long weekend and visit.  I’ve wanted to travel there for quite some time because Burundi is a sister country to Rwanda.  In fact, before Rwanda’s independence from colonial Belgian rule, Rwanda and Burundi were jointly administered as the Rwanda-Urundi colony.  It’s great to see two very similar countries (similar climates, similar people, similar history) and observe how they turn out with different governments.

First of all, Burundi has a different, laid back culture.  Burundians are not on a clock and productivity is low.  Corruption is much higher, and government involvement in the basic aspects of Burundian life is missing.  The result: Burundi was rated 185 out of 187 countries on the United Nations Human Development Index (only the Congo and Niger rated lower).  It’s obvious everywhere: the money is torn to pieces, roads are in terrible shape, few nice places to stay or eat, garbage everywhere, etc.  It’s simply depressing.  Compared to Burundi, Rwanda is making vast strides in development.  Visiting these two countries side by side shows how effective government can make a country grow and develop, while a bad government brings countries back in time. 

This is a startling contrast to how things were.  In 1995, Rwanda was the worst country in the world with the average Rwandan living on 20 cents a day.  The infrastructure was in tatters, and security was very fragile.  Burundi beat out Rwanda on every level of quality of life.  Since that time, Burundi has gone backwards and Rwanda is moving forward quickly. 

Another main interesting difference between Rwanda and Burundi is the ethnic classifications.  In Rwanda, there are no Hutus and Tutsis, just Rwandans.  It’s illegal to speak in ethnic terms.  However, in Burundi you can speak openly about Hutus and Tutsis.  Both countries have had horrible times of ethnic-based violence since their independence in the early 1960s.  One country wants to move forward without these labels, while the other chooses to openly discuss it. 

While the countries may share a common thread, their futures seem to be laid on very separate tracks.  Enjoy the pictures. 

Malaria 101

Plasmodium falciparum up close.

A map of Africa showing where malaria is prevalent.  The red indicates high likelihood of malaria parasites.

The mosquito net hanging above my bed during the day.  One of the methods of vector control. 

             Malaria is a disease that killed 650,000 people in the world in 2010.  It’s estimated that 560,000 of those deaths occurred in sub-Sahara Africa (including Rwanda).  While not as prevalent as AIDS (2 million deaths per year worldwide) or tuberculosis (1.8 million deaths per year worldwide), it is a very serious issue in sub-Sahara Africa. 

            The actual malarial disease is a parasite that infects and reproduces in red blood cells.  There are five types of malarial parasites, but the medical community is general only concerned with one of the parasites, named plasmodium falciparum.  This parasite is associated with comas, renal failure, enlarged livers, and death.  While the other four parasites can cause medical complications, they rarely will induce life-threatening illness.

Malaria is transmitted by a female mosquito sucking parasitic blood from an infected person and transferring it to a new host.  The mosquito is not the disease, but the vector that transmits the disease.  Therefore, when combating malaria we try to do “vector control,” which is limiting a mosquito’s access to humans.  Vector control is done by mosquito nets, bug repellant, removing standing water near homes and businesses, and wearing white clothing. 

There is no vaccine for malaria, but there are three very common prophylaxes used when living (or visiting) a malaria prevalent country:

Mefloquine – A drug taken once per week, this drug is cheap and highly effective against malaria.  The downsides can be mood swings, vivid and wild dreams, and is not recommended with people with psychiatric problems or heart issues. 

Doxycycline – A drug taken daily, “doxy” is cheap.  However, the drug must be taken at the same time daily and not before lying down due to possible heartburn-like symptoms and users must avoid prolonged sun exposure. 

Malarone – The Cadillac of malaria drugs, malarone can also be used to treat infected people.  This drug has basically no side effects (except possible canker sores, but these are rare).  The downside: malarone must be taken daily and costs $5 per pill.

Lake Bunyonyi

Hanging out on the deck of the geodome.

Canoeing back after a trip to the island to swing on the rope.

The open aired geodome where we stayed.

Flying through the air on a rope swing. 

A morning view of the lake from our room.

Swimming out by the dock and trying to get in some sun.


Two weeks ago I traveled with a few friends to a lake in southern Uganda called Lake Bunyonyi (bunyonyi is ikikiga [the local language] for “little birds”).  Lake Bunyonyi is now known as the premier lake destination in Uganda and in the past several years has raised their tourism profile with new and beautiful places to stay, eat, and have fun. 

            We stayed at a great place called Byoona Amagara, a resort owned by an American that is famous for the open aired geodomes.  The geodomes have solar paneled hot showers and a great view of the lake. 

            Lake Bunyonyi is a kind of alpine paradise where you can relax, canoe, hike, or even jump off a rope swing.  It was a great time, and sometimes hard to think that you are in Africa when you are in these paradises.  In addition, the people were very friendly and had great names such as “God” and “Apollo.”  Enjoy the pictures.