Concern Blogs

Feargal (left) on his last day with the team before taking up a new challenge with Concern in Kinshasa. Photo: DRC, Concern Worldwide

By Feargal O’Connell, Assistant Country Director of Programs, Democratic Republic of Congo

Today is World Humanitarian Day.  According to the United Nations, today is  ’a celebration of people helping people’ and the day ‘recognizes the sacrifices and contributions of those who risk their lives to give others help and hope.’

Today is when I started biting my fingernails again.

Today at 10.21 am local time Concern’s team was stopped at a checkpoint and refused passage until 11.27 am.  The team had decided that with rising tension in an area prone to conflict, it would be prudent to temporarily relocate to the nearest city.  Read the rest of this entry »

This is Ndoole who used 26 of her 28 vouchers on school fees for her children. Photo: Feargal O’Connell, Concern Worldwide, Masisi, DRC.

Trading vouchers for school fees is something we have integrated into the fairs here, and it is proving to be very successful, even among the poorest families. The person that I spoke to at the Cash Voucher Market that affected me the most used all but two of her vouchers on school fees for her kids.

Ndoole is 35.  She has seven children and has been living in an informal camp for seven months since she was forced to flee conflict and her home village.  She fled to a place called Bukombo where other displaced families were taking refuge.  We ended up chatting with Ndoole because one of Concern’s drivers, Eddie, was helping her with her vouchers – the Cash Voucher Market is a new experience for all those participating, so some need a helping hand. Read the rest of this entry »

Cash for Work beneficiaries (and local partner staff in green t-shirt) preparing rocks for rehabilitating the Loashi-Masisi road. Photo: Reka Sztopa, Concern Worldwide, Masisi, DRC.

Four continents, five countries, six flights, four lines of latitude, eight time zones, an early Christmas lunch in London with my family, a 90-minute wait for baggage and three hour/75km journey along awful roads through stunning scenery brought me straight to a Concern distribution in Lushebere, Masisi, North Kivu, DRC.

When I pictured arriving in Masisi I imagined maybe a team meeting, unpacking my bags or maybe even a lunch.  I didn’t picture arriving in the midst of a distribution serving 600 displaced people but to be honest, it was exactly the reason I had chosen to come to DRC: the needs here are staggering.

Read the rest of this entry »

Feargal will be based in North Kivu, one of three provinces in DRC where Concern is working.

There are many pitfalls, bumps in the road and unexpected obstacles when you’re changing job and moving country all in one go.  That’s to be expected.  Especially when the country you’re moving to is the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  Canadian immigration, however, was not a hurdle I was expecting.

I knew I was in trouble when the border agent asked me what country I lived in.  I stuttered a little but the confused look on my face was the deal-breaker. Read the rest of this entry »