The Congolese Cloth

Ice Breaker by Nicole Komen

As the sun was setting, a woman made her way through the market out to the main street, toward the missionary’s compound. It was extremely dangerous to travel after dark in Goma, DRC, and her two children were with her, but she had a package that must be delivered tonight.

When she arrived, she was met with worry – was she ok? Was her husband drunk? Had he tried to hit her? Did she need a safe place to stay? She was ok. She was here for an entirely different reason. She took a parcel out of her bag, and handed it to me.
DRC. The Democratic Republic of Congo. I was a senior at UW when I heard the name of this country for the first time, not knowing what a big impact it would have on me. I hadn’t heard of it before, and didn’t know where it was. So, as my typical millennial self, I googled it when I got home that night & read. I read, and I read more.

I came to find that the DRC, or Congo, was a large country in central Africa – often referred to as the heart of Africa. But if it was a heart, then it was breaking. While DRC was one of the richest countries in the world in terms of mineral wealth, it is one of the poorest and most war torn. The DRC has been in conflict for over 20 years – resulting in the death of over 5 million people. This was a conflict of near-holocaust proportions, and some of the horrors were just as real. The counties’ rebel group’s favorite weapons of choice were child soldiers. These militia groups would pillage, slaughter, recruit children and gang rape women to terrorize communities.
I became horrified with the implications that I hadn’t ever so slightly as heard of this conflict and started to feel that I must go. I wanted to understand this world tragedy and meet the humans that had endured it, while the West had largely ignored. It took some looking, but I round an organization that would take a young girl, fresh out of college to come, learn & volunteer.

While in Congo, I learned and experienced so much. It was a huge culture shock, not only going to an undeveloped nation, but a war torn one. People carried their country’s conflict in their eyes, demeanor & stance. It was hard to look into the eyes of a toddler, to see that they were glazed over from the trauma of malnutrition, displacement, rape or extreme violence. There are a lot of things that are hard about Congo, but there are also so many glimmers of hope.

We visited Kalonge, a small village in the mountains. The townspeople had pooled together resources to buy & reproduce Ginnea Pigs, as a means of nutrition. They used small, grass roots projects like these to send their town’s orphans to school.

I made friends who, though they weren’t being paid, created after school programs for their city’s high schools, to help raise up a new generation of leaders.

I heard hymns & chants that were so heart shatteringly beautiful, that you would have never imagined they were being sung in a trashed slum.

And I met so many people, who loved me & gave so generously to me, that I would not have suspected their pasts, nor their current state of loss.

On my last night in Congo, this woman and her two children arrived at the compound where I was staying. I was surprised when she took a wrapped parcel out of her bag and handed it to me. It was a present. Not for me, but for my mother. She said, “Congo is a very dangerous country. I am a mamma. I know it must have been very hard for your Mamma to let you come here. Please, give this as a thanks to her, for letting you come & be with us.”

Teary eyed, I accepted the gift of a beautiful cloth with a Congolese design.

Eastern Congo, where I went, is still very much affected by conflict. But I found that the people there are working to make paths of hope. I have Learned from them, and these lessons still impact me today. They drive the work I do for REST, an anti-trafficking organization. They remind me to persevere when things seem hard, to be thankful for what I have. Congo reminds me to be innovative, like the people in Kalonge, and giving, like the mamma with the cloth gift. That cloth still sits on my mother’s table. And the gift of these lessons from Congo, still sit in my heart.

Thank you.

About Nicole

Nicole grew up in the Seattle area, and has been working at Expeditors for 3 years, this month. She is a graduate of UW where she majored in Business and Information Systems. After graduating, she spent 2 months in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Eastern Africa traveling, volunteering (http://www.rallyintl.org/) & practicing her French. Nicole enjoys traveling, so far she has traveled to 16 countries!  She is a strong advocate for REST, an anti-trafficking non-profit (https://iwantrest.com/) and also enjoys reading, and learning new things.