Final Memoir de Kinshasa

Sadly, this is my final memoir from Kinshasa and it's truly been an amazing and life changing 3 months. I've fought hard to keep my idealism alive in the midst of conflict, poverty and oppression, and I've seen the beauty of the human spirit after conflict is transformed. I received so many blessings, from my voluntary work with Congolese orphans and women and especially from my colleagues A and D!

As I look back on my time in Kinshasa, I realize how much I've grown within these three months. I've felt the power of the divine spirit in all my work and I've witnessed a people here that I can barely describe. Their beauty and resilience in the face of conflict, poverty and disease deserves nothing but our utmost respect. The international community needs to reflect introspectively before it can even aspire to help these beautiful people. With conflict resolution and trust building, I am confident that the DRC can be a great country! Positive change is a reality. And I've learned so much about human nature. It's almost as easy to be led in our work by anger/ fear instead of love and forgiveness. But our intention impacts our result. So no matter how difficult it is to forgive, we always have to find the courage to do that. 

I landed in Kuwait early Saturday morning, after an unexpected stay in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, which gave me the opportunity to see a different face of Africa! Since then, I've spent quality time with mommy and friends:) I'm happy to have at least a few weeks of being a regular young person, since I seem to have lost sight of what that means! I'll continue to seek other opportunities to return to the DRC, Africa and to other conflict regions across the world and will definitely keep you updated on my next adventure:)

Coming to Kinshasa was a test of my faith and I feel so honored to have had the experiences I had here. When I think back of the DRCongo, I'll think of beautiful Congolese mamas, Lake Kivu, the fleuvre (Congo River), A and D, Kinshasa, fried plantains, beautiful smiles, M, Goma, Lubumbashi and Kindu:) Even in the midst of gross poverty and injustice, I know good can conquer evil. So I leave DRC a pragmatic idealist:) 

Many thanks from the bottom of my heart to each of you for your support and encouragement! A la prochaine! Until the next time:)