The First Weeks in Kinshasa
After a short layover first in Vienna and then in Addis Ababa, we finally arrive in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The airplane doors open and, as I step out, the hot, humid air suddenly wraps around me. Christian says it reminds him of Salento in August, hahaha. Finally the sun, finally the warmth I had missed so much in Denmark.
My legs are shaking with excitement, I can’t stop smiling, my heart is pounding so hard it feels like it has climbed up into my throat. I was finally in Africa—I made it!!!
After the long lines for passport control and checking the mandatory vaccination booklet, we leave the airport. Davide, the driver from Humana Congo, comes to pick us up and take us home: and so the adventure through the streets of Kinshasa begins.
Kinshasa is pure madness: chaotic, overcrowded, noisy, unruly, polluted—but so ALIVE.
My senses awaken: horns, shouts, whistles, and music fill my ears; the smell of smog invades my nose. I listen to the stories Davide tells us and observe the people—thousands of people everywhere—trying to imagine their lives, meeting their eyes, and noticing as much as possible of what surrounds me through the car window.
I wonder, maybe a little scared: “Where have we ended up? This place is absolute chaos.” And I think that if my mom had seen me in that situation, she would have taken the first plane to come and get me.
We arrive home and slowly get to know the other members of the Humana team we will be living with. Everyone welcomes us warmly, but the most intense welcome comes from Nathan, a five-year-old boy who, as soon as he sees me, runs toward me to give me a huge hug. Needless to say, my heart melted instantly.
He’s a little hurricane, but also the soul of the house: tireless, the one who never sleeps. He’s a child who makes you burst out laughing—curious, generous, super cuddly, a little gentleman (he even prepares fruit salad for me… he discovered my weak spot, hahaha). We spend hours playing, running, and coloring mandalas.
Little by little, I get used to my new life in Congo: I learn to wash clothes by hand, to shower with buckets of water, to always drink from bottles, to live with daily power outages, to go to bed early with Congolese rumba blasting from the neighbor’s speakers, and to wake up to the sound of roosters crowing.
Speaking of food, I find myself in FUFU paradise!!! And consequently, in my own personal paradise. Here I eat it EVERY single day, at every meal… and I never get tired of it! It’s like a polenta made from semolina or cassava flour, eaten with your hands and served with beans, pondu (cassava leaves), cabbage, fish, and more.
And of course, fruit is the other great star. Ah, the fruit… what a dream! Pineapple tastes completely different here, just like the mango you find EVERYWHERE. And then bananas, watermelon… I even tried the first passion fruit of my life and it’s absolutely wonderful.
Yes, my stomach is happy here too.
During the first week, we go back and forth between the office and the house—the NHQ of Humana in Congo. We are always in the car or accompanied by someone. Our supervisors don’t let us walk in the streets, perhaps even too concerned about our safety. But after waiting so long for Africa, I can’t end up trapped inside a glass bubble: I want to discover, to look, to talk to people, to explore the city on foot, to live it with my whole body and not just through a car window.
Fortunately, the weekend arrives and we manage to organize a day at Parc de la Vallée de la N’Sele, and little Nathan comes with us.
I find myself face to face with the extraordinary beauty of the country—its vibrant nature, the towering lush palm trees, the light air, the endless stretches of green… I think Pachamama did a beautiful job everywhere in the world, but here in Congo she was truly generous.
And then there are the animals: rhinoceroses, hippos, crocodiles, zebras, wildebeests, antelopes, macaques, snakes… Nathan looks at everything wide-eyed, and I feel a bit like him.
But the animals in the park weren’t the only ones I had to deal with… One night, woken up by deafening gospel music and singing coming from the neighbor’s house (for a funeral), I realized I was covered in red bites all over my body—far too many to be from a single mosquito. From several clues, I figured out that my room was infested with bedbugs… How lovely!
The next morning they changed my mattress, disinfected the room, I put my clothes in boiling water to sanitize them, and I hoped I would never have to deal with those insects again in my life.
And speaking of animals… we also have a new member of the family: a five-month-old piglet!
It all started when Christian and I came home and saw him tied up and suffering: he was supposed to be killed the next day to be eaten. It hurt too much to see him like that. We asked for him to be untied, gave him food and water, and little by little he started walking again. He’s just a baby—sweet and scared. We named him Mundele, “the white one” in Lingala, just like Christian and I are often called in the street.
Thanks to Christian’s powers of persuasion, we managed to change everyone’s mind: they wouldn’t kill the piglet, but instead we would keep him and raise him together with the chickens in the yard. Now we see him happy, content, and wagging his tail as he wanders around everywhere.
The following weekend we went to the church of Pastor Davide, our driver, who has now become a dear friend. He has a pure, selfless, and generous soul: motema malamu, “kind heart” in Lingala. In his church he also welcomes children who live in difficult conditions and whose parents cannot take care of them. He offers them a safe space. His dream is to found a center that can host them, educate them, and provide them with training that will allow them to find a job in the future. He took us to his church, and there we met the children.
The next day we returned to the same church to prepare and eat pizzas together with the kids. Then we all sat in a circle and talked and played; they asked me lots of questions about Italy and even about the Roman Empire (and I admit that sometimes they put me on the spot and I tried to dodge the question, hahaha).
They are a true force of nature, full of life and hope… the most beautiful part of Congo, in my opinion
The weekend is long because it marks the anniversary of the assassination of former President Kabila and that of Lumumba, the “father” of Congo.
We also manage to go to the Congo River, from where you can see Brazzaville, the capital of the other Congo, very close by. On the riverbanks, however, piles of plastic and trash accumulate and are burned, and the scene is truly sad.
In the afternoon we go to the Marché des Arts in Kinshasa, where artists, painters, and sculptors gather to sell their works. It’s full of color and beauty: wooden sculptures and paintings that convey all the energy of Africa. Going to that market is an adventure that takes at least three hours—not so much because of its size, but because of all the time spent talking to vendors who swarm around you trying to sell you something. You need a lot, a lot of patience.
During the week, we are informed that in just a few days we would leave Kinshasa to finally begin the project in Kimpese, in the province of Kongo Central. I’m extremely happy and excited to start, but at the same time the influence of Saturn makes itself felt and leaves me feeling very melancholic. I wish I could pack all the children I met here into my suitcase.
The day before leaving, we insist on going to say goodbye to the children from Pastor David’s church and spend a day with them. So we go to a playground: we are 11 people in a 5-seat car… but don’t worry, it’s the most normal thing you can see on the streets of Kinshasa, hahaha. We say goodbye. I will miss them—and I will miss Elienne, my child of the heart, so much.
The next morning, someone knocks on the door and wakes me up. The driver has already arrived and they’re waiting for me to leave. Here we go again… I’m late once more and I haven’t even packed yet! I’m too slow even for the African concept of time!
There are still so many things to tell, but I’ll share them in the next article.
For now, Bayooo.
Marty🌻🧡
