Achor Meka is a member of the Nyalebbe CDA executive; seen here with his family.
In the back ground is their Post Office.
He now cares also for his orphan grandchildren.
The older grandchildren cannot go to school because they have to take care of their younger brothers and sisters.
There are also fees for school for which there is no money.
CDA's first target is to provide young people like this with vocational skills
to enable them to gain a living and build happier lives.
The people of Nyalebbe
Hello, my name is Vincent Ulargiw. I am the acting Coordinator of Nyalebbe CDA.
In this photo, I am at work in Nebbi, Uganda, just across the border from Nyalebbe DRC.
We have no power in Nyalebbe, Nebbi is the nearest connection point to you.
Let me tell you about our community and our people. This is a page of background - for latest news, please check our news blog.
Nyalebbe is a small village – less than 2000 people – in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. It is located in Mahagi Territory, Ituri Province, about 80 Kms from Mahagi Town along the road to Kasengu.
We are Alur people. In our part of Africa, over many centuries, there has been great migration. We are related to the Hamitic people of the Nile, part of the Luo speaking people, who settled in Kenya as Luo and in Uganda and Congo as Alur (three quarters of us in Congo). The common language spoken is Alur, Kiswahili, Lingala; also French as the official language.
Nyalebbe has long been one of the most forgotten rural villages in the Democratic Republic of Congo. We have no easy access to our national capital Kinshasa, on the Atlantic. Our road connections are through Uganda; the nearest international airport is Entebbe in Uganda, the nearest seaport is Mombasa in Kenya.
Nyalebbe used to be a commercial centre for the two “Collectivitės” of Mukambu and Angal. This role as a centre for trade and commerce was overwhelmed by the Second Congo War. Life has been just picking up in 2007: trade beginning again, mostly in agricultural products, plus commodities brought in from Uganda.
The five year conflict and civil unrest took a great toll on us. People died, mainly from disease, hunger and violence. Schools, health facilities, roads, and access to clean water nearly vanished.
Services such as access to the Internet, computer training and proper medical attention are nonexistent. HIV/AIDS continues to wreak havoc.
You can see in these picture of a community meeting and of children outside a house that children nurse and are responsible for orphans. Three quarters of the people in Nyalebbe are children.
The overwhelming list of problems has brought much fear and worry amongst community members regarding the future of the village and its youth. If nothing is done to bring about positive change, the youth, especially orphans, face a bleak future filled with instability, unemployment and poverty.
Now to tell you more about us as individuals:
This man below, Udok – commonly known as Japonjo Rufo – is a retired teacher. These days, he earns a living by weaving baskets. I did not get a photo of his baskets as it was the day after the market where he sells them. This photo shows him with material for weaving more baskets. He goes deep into the bamboo forest to collect his material. The basket he weaves out of bamboo materials is called “Katoko” in the local language (Alur). On market days he comes back with five or ten thousand Uganda shillings (we use this currency as we are next to Uganda border. This is about three to six US dollars. This money he uses for buying soap, sugar, salt, paraffin, food etc to take care of himself and his grandchildren.
OUR WATER SUPPLY
Nyalebbe is blessed with river Kakoi which runs throughout the year. It goes up to Lake Albert.
The Kakoi is the source of water for the community and serves for both domestic and livestock demand, both children and adults bathe and wash cloth in it.
In the picture to the left there are kids who have just been bathing
In the picture below a man is washing his cloths.
ARTS AND CRAFTS AT MARKET
We have various types of art & craft.
There is the famous Ndara, Adungu and Agwara dance.
We weave baskets from locally available resources (bamboo).
We manufacturing slashers, knives, pangas, axes, bows, spears etc using the old time black smith technology.
Alur people also known for having several art and design that are sold locally some are like those being prepared for market by the man in the picture.
THE STORY OF A WIDOW, A GRANDSON, A GOAT, AND A SCHOLARSHIP SCHEME
This widow, Angeli offered her grandson a goat for being very active and helpful to her — and most of all being very sharp at school.
She decided to buy and offer him the she goat so that it can produce and in future they will be able sell goat kids and get school fees for him to go to school.
Many women in Nyalebbe do heavy labour to support families. Angeli believes at her age she can not do hard work to make money.
In Nyalebbe goats are reared as domestic animals.
The man roasting meat
Ulonge does this job every market day (Wednesdays and Sundays)
On each market day he roasts one goat which he buys at 25,000 Ug X. When it is prepared and cooks he expects to get between 35,000 – 40,000 Ug X (about $US 23).
Ulonge has been doing this for a very long time and he is able to earn a living — while at the back of his mind he wants to save and move on to another business.
The market attract people from all over the territory (Mahagi) and the neighboring country Uganda
more stories to come!
some of those pictures may leave this page for a page on a project