Episode 28: Democratic Republic of the Congo

The DRC remains an enigma to many in the West, and for a variety of reasons. Whether it’s the lack of coverage, the singular focus on violence and poverty, or the silent bigotry that informs many Western attitudes towards the fortunes of Africans more generally, many of the roots causes of the people’s suffering continues to go ignored while aid money pours in, resources pour out, and little changes to improve the lives of the people. Murhula Zigabe is one example of many stories that we don’t hear about much in the Congo. He’s from the easter part of The Democratic Republic of the Congo, and by recycling organic waste into eco-charcoal for cooking he has found a solution to multiple problems faced by his community, including environmental degradation, unemployment, poverty, lack of education, autonomy for women, and more. In our conversation we set his work against the backdrop of the DR Congo’s recent history, in particular the wars of the mid 90’s and early 2000’s that claimed approximately 5 million lives, and the ongoing use of rape as a weapon of war on a scale that sees a woman raped nearly once every minute. However this conversation is not a catalogue of miseries and grievances. Murhula is an optimist, and perhaps after listening to his story you will be too, and perhaps you’ll be inspired to look at the DRC and Africa a little differently: 

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