Zaïre (now known as Democratic Republic of the Congo)
 

Why this page about this African country?
Because when i was a child my parents worked in this country. Since 1981 they were missionaries for the Christian & Missionary Alliance (C&MA). As I was born in 1979 i travelled with them. We lived there for about 10 years. Though every 2 or 3 years we came back to Holland for furlow (vacation), to see our families and friends again. Meanwhile my 2 brothers and 2 sisters were born.

The last time we went to Zaïre was in August 1991. Our plan was to stay there for about 2 years. But unfortunatly after a few weeks being there, the civil war started. We had to flee from Zaïre back to Holland.
This was a very ugly and incomprehensible sitiuation. While my parents were looking at what to do in the future it became more clear not to go back to Zaïre again. Several things pointed to that conclusion. One of them being the fact that the C&MA needed a new director. In may 1992 my dad became that new director. And because the headoffice is in Maarn, we found a house near there. Veenendaal it became.

To make this little story complete. I moved away from my parents on january 1st 2003. I found an appartment also in Veenendaal.

- Pictures of the past!

2005
Going to Zaïre again........read more about this new trip
06-12-2005: The pictures are now also online !

2004
Now (February 2004), more then 12 years later, I am going back to Zaïre!
- My trip to Zaïre from - 2004!  (Last update 17-02-04)
   Mijn verlag kun je nu online lezen! (a diary i wrote in dutch)
   Pictures of the trip!

- Common Knowledge
- Message from the president
- The 219 languages spoken in Congo
- Maps of the country

Quote from Lonely Planet, about the Democratic Republic of Congo
"The problems that have beset the DRC have led nongovernmental organisations to label the situation as the worst humanitarian crisis in the world today, with 16 million people suffering from severe famine and two million displaced from their homes. Their misery was increased by the January 2002 eruption of Mt Nyiragongo near the city of Goma, which destroyed local infrastructure, killed scores of locals and led to thousands crossing the border to Rwanda."

Other resources:
News from Congo:
Kinshasa Daily; news and current events
Top news Congo-Kinshasa and also Latest News
Conflicts in Congo
Rally for a new Society
   (Peace Deal Ends Years of Conflict and Opens Prospects of A New Era for the Congo and Africa)
Congolese Rally for Democracy
News in french Union for democracy and social progress (from 1998 until now)
Convention Of Democratic And Social Institutions

History of Congo:
BBC: country profile
World Report 1991
Human Rights Watch
Zaïre: A Country Study
American Museum - Congo Expedition 1909-1915
Congo-Kinshasa (german site)
Flags of Congo and also World Flag Database
Regents of Congo
Worldstatesmen

About the war:
Conflicts in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Human Development Report (by United Nations Development Programme)
Global Policy Forum
CNN Focus: Conflict in Zaïre
Amnesty International about Congo (frequently updated)
Freedom in the World and page two
Permanent Mission to the United Nations (hardly updated)

Other website about Congo:
CIA The World Factbook
World travel guide
Lonely Planet World guide (their advice: don't go to Congo)
Political Resources
Afrika.no
American University of Kinshasa
Inter-Church Coalition on Africa
The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition.  2001
Two volcanoes in Congo: Nyiragongo and Nyamuragira
Rainforest Portal
World Rainforest Movement
Minerals of the country
Birding and systematics of the Democratic Republic of Congo
Bird Stamps from Congo
Congo2000 Portal
Some pictures of the coast town Muanda
Democratie Chretnienne (french)
Governments on the WWW: Congo (Democratic Republic)
Congo Pages A virtual safari filled with many images from all over the country
Lots of links about Congo
And more (some already mentioned on this website)
some more links

Contact me by email: LVerduijn@hotmail.com

Now go see my personal website