Yngve, Daniel and Yapeco checking drawing of wood stove

We started the day with going through Bernt´s hotel budget with Nganga. We made some adjustments, and printed it on our printer. We hope that it will be useful when he meets the bank contact we arranged for him. Nganga´s hotel will be called “Guest House Nganga”. It is located in a visible spot at the center of Kimpese. If you are travelling westward through Kimpese, the hotel is on the right side of the thoroughfare. Nganga expects the hotel to open sometime by July or August this year. Another hotel builder in Kimpese is Dr. Philippe at the IME hospital. By now, the walls of his building are erected. His hotel is located close to the hospital and quite close to the thoroughfare. It is very interesting to hear how both Nganga and Philippe want to work for the development of Kimpese. I’ve heard the same sentiments in many parts of Congo about other villages or towns. When we had finished our porridge with sliced banana, fried eggs, bread and tea, we were all set to go to Kinshasa. We said goodby to Nganga, Nsiku and Julienne and left Kimpese at 9.00 am.

Our first stop was caused by the police. They wanted money, but this time,they didn´t get any. Yapeco knows how to solve situations like this. This time, he called his good friend, the police superintendent. The policeman who had stopped us talked to his boss, and everything worked out quickly. We witnessed an interesting means of transport at the checkpoint. A teacher jumped out on the road and stopped a big trailer truck. The trailer was completely open, without flaps. Soon 30 children, about 10 years old, turned up and they all jumped up on the trailer where they sat down in a clump in the middle of the platform. We thought that they might be going to Kinshasa on a school journey, but that was not the case. This was their regular school transport. Five kilometers down the road, the truck stopped and they got off at their school. This is one way to solve school transports in Congo, practical and inexpensive.

In Bansagungu we stopped and bought some soft drinks, and in Nkisi we stopped to meet one of the entrepreneurs, Aline. We informed her about the size of her loan, and we asked her for some additional information that she will hand over to Yapeco when he goes back on Tuesday. On our continued journey, we were stopped once again by the police. This time, the athmosphere was more easy-going. When the policman saw me and Bernt, he bid us “Good morning”, shook our hands and introduced himself, his name was Emile. We wished him success and happiness, and with that he was content. We could go on to our next stop in Madimba.

In Madimba, we had a meeting with Daniel Bimpe, workshop owner from Luozi, whom we were travelling with when we got an engine failure on the road from Luozi. He has characterized himself as the optimist who never has any problems, and if there are problems, they are never big. He is building a factory for processing manioc. He showed us his works and told us about the processes. He produces all the machinery himself. Unfortunately, I didn´t understand much of this complicated operation, thus no description of it. But at least I understood one thing. Manioc is a plant that can be refined into many different products. We also discussed wood stoves, and decided that he will develop three different models until we return this autumn.

By 5.30 pm, we arrived to the Nyambudis´ house in Kinshasa. Emma and her son Mersh were at home and welcomed us. Then she made som spaghetti for us, it was tasty and easy to eat in the heat. Today has been a hot day compared to yesterday. Yesterday, we had the temperature of a delightful Swedish summer day. Today it is around 30 degrees. Right now, we don´t have any current. I am writing in the light of the solar cell lamp. There is no broadband either. The broadband I have been using belongs to Julienne. I hope Tuto will be home soon with, and bring one that I can borrow.

Something just crept over my foot. I didn´t see what it was at once, it is too dark. But now I know it was a bat out on an evening walk. After crossing my foot, it started to fly and flew into my computer bag. But the enviroment wasn´t to it´s liking, and soon it crept up on top of the bag and flew away. These low levels are probably not suitable for bats. They usually inhabit the ceilings.