TheDemocratic Republic of Congo formerly known as Zaïre.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a country rich with natural resources. The Congo was at one time the number one producer of diamonds, copper, and colbalt. The Congo remains today in one of the top five countries who provide these natural resources to the world. With a country this rich in natural resources, the Congo remains today one of the poorest economic and civil disasters in the world. Child soldiers are being recruited for a myriad of political civil wars, women are being raped and tortured, two thousand people die daily of starvation and disease. The plight of this nation is inconceivable to many people, and the Mwamba Family Foundation intends to enlighten as many people as possible to the many hardships that the Congo faces on a daily basis.
Facts about DR Congo.
The DR Congo is of vital strategic importance because it’s size (2.5 million sq. km) and the fact that it is endowed with 50 per cent of Africa’s forests. The rain forest has been unexplored since the 1960's due to civil unrest, and now 6 new species have just now been discovered in Congos' rain forest.
The DR Congo ranks among the world’s largest producers of industrial diamonds.
The Congo River at 2,720 miles long is one of the world’s mightiest river systems. It could provide hydroelectric power to the entire continent. It is the fifth-longest river in the world, and the second longest in Africa - second only to the Nile River in Northeastern Africa. It has recently reopened and it is the biggest transportation source in Central Africa.
The DR Congo contains 80 per cent of world reserves of columbite-tantalite (coltan) used in cellular phones and computers.
The average life expectancy is 42-47 years. In 2003, approximately 2.5% of the population were 65 years old or older.
Poverty is an overwhelming problem in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In 2002, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita was only $600. In contrast, the GDP per capita in the United States was $36,300. Nearly 20% of newborn children die before their fifth birthday.
In 2001, there were eight times as many HIV/AIDS related deaths in the Congo (120,000) than in the United States (15,000), despite the fact that the population in the Congo is 1/5th the size of the U.S. One out of every seven deaths is HIV/AIDS related. According to health ministry statistics, five percent of the 4.5 million people infected by malaria last year died of the disease. In the mid nineties, the Congo had the biggest polio epidemic of the 20th Century. There are 150,000 new infections of tuberculosis each year.
Population: 65,751,512
Geography: The DRC is situated in Central Africa bordering Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia
Size: 2,345,410 sq km, slightly smaller than one-fourth of the U.S.A.
Languages: Congo Swahili, Kongo, Lingala, Luba-Kasai, French
Religion: Kimbanguist 10%, Muslim 10%, Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 20%, Indigenous beliefs10%
Ethnic Groups: Over 200 groups; four largest tribes—Mongo, Luba, Kongo and Mangbetu-Azande—make up about 45% of the population
General information about the continent of Africa.
Geography of Africa
To the north lies Sahara, the largest desert in the world. Equatorial area is covered by tropical rain forest. Farther south there are areas of grassy flat highlands giving way to coastal plains. Major mountain ranges include Atlas in the north and Ruwenzri on the Uganda-Zaire border. Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain, is a dormant volcano in Tanzania. To the east is the Great Rift Valley containing several huge lakes. Some of the world’s longest rivers drain the continent, including the Nile, Niger, Zaire, and Zambezi.
History of Africa
Africa's ancient historic period involves the rise of Egyptian civilization, the further development of societies outside the Nile River Valley and the interaction between them and civilizations outside of Africa. In the late 7th century North and East Africa were heavily influenced by the spread of Islam, leading to the appearance of new cultures such as those of the Swahili people. This also lead to an increase in the Arab slave trade that would culminate in the 19th century. Pre-colonial African history focuses on the time between the early 16th century with the forced transport of African peoples and cultures to the New World in the Atlantic slave trade up to the beginning of the European scramble for Africa. Africa's colonial period lasted from the late 1800s until the advent of African independence movements in 1951 when Libya became the first former colony to become independent. Modern African history has been rife with revolutions and wars as well as the growth of modern African economies and democratization across the continent.
Languages in Africa
The languages of Africa are a diverse set of languages, many of which bear little relation to one another. European languages, especially French and English and, to a lesser degree, Portuguese and Dutch were influenced by the African languages.There are an estimated 2000 languages spoken in Africa. About a hundred of these have been estimated to be major languages, and usually a visitor to a linguistic area can find someone who speaks the area's major language . African languages such as Swahili, Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba, Ibibio language of the Ibibio/Annang/Efik people Ibibio, Annang and Efik are spoken by millions of people.
The equatorial sun sets over the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The country is dominated by the Congo River—its forested basin occupies some 60 percent of the nation.
Waterways are highways in the depths of the Congo rainforest, where transportation moves at a relaxed and contemplative pace.
The Congo rainforest is crucially important for regulating the local and global climate. As the world's second largest rainforest, the Congo rainforest is also home to some of Africa's most iconic wildlife including gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos and forest elephants.
A young miner pans for gold in Kamituga, South Kivu, Eastern Congo. Thousands of miners work here in muddy pits, extracting sand, mud and rocks in the search for gold.
The Sake health center, Goma, Eastern Congo. A young woman, a victim of rape, waits to give birth. Rape is frequently used as a weapon of war. Tens of thousands of women and girls have been raped since fighting broke out in 1998.
Himbi beach, in Goma, Eastern Congo. A popular place where people come to take a bath, do their laundry or collect drinking-water. As the water is contaminated, there is a high level of cholera infection.
Goma General Hospital, Eastern Congo. Health centres and hospitals across the country are crumbling through lack of maintenance, and in the east, a large number have been destroyed in the fighting. Of those that are still functioning, many lack clean water, qualified staff, drugs, and basic equipment. Severe malnutrition rates among children under five has reached 30 percent in some areas.
The Sake health center, Goma, Eastern Congo. Over 4 million people have died in DRC over the past 6 years, killed by violence, disease and malnutrition, by-products of a war that has destroyed much of the healthcare system and economy. Mortality rates are highest in the troubled eastern provinces, where vast numbers of people have fled continued harassment and ongoing violence by armed men.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a country rich with natural resources. The Congo was at one time the number one producer of diamonds, copper, and colbalt. The Congo remains today in one of the top five countries who provide these natural resources to the world. With a country this rich in natural resources, the Congo remains today one of the poorest economic and civil disasters in the world. Child soldiers are being recruited for a myriad of political civil wars, women are being raped and tortured, two thousand people die daily of starvation and disease. The plight of this nation is inconceivable to many people, and the Mwamba Family Foundation intends to enlighten as many people as possible to the many hardships that the Congo faces on a daily basis. 
The DR Congo is of vital strategic importance because it’s size (2.5 million sq. km) and the fact that it is endowed with 50 per cent of Africa’s forests. The rain forest has been unexplored since the 1960's due to civil unrest, and now 6 new species have just now been discovered in Congos' rain forest.
The DR Congo ranks among the world’s largest producers of industrial diamonds.
The Congo River at 2,720 miles long is one of the world’s mightiest river systems. It could provide hydroelectric power to the entire continent. It is the fifth-longest river in the world, and the second longest in Africa - second only to the Nile River in Northeastern Africa. It has recently reopened and it is the biggest transportation source in Central Africa.
The DR Congo contains 80 per cent of world reserves of columbite-tantalite (coltan) used in cellular phones and computers.
The average life expectancy is 42-47 years. In 2003, approximately 2.5% of the population were 65 years old or older.
Poverty is an overwhelming problem in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In 2002, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita was only $600. In contrast, the GDP per capita in the United States was $36,300. Nearly 20% of newborn children die before their fifth birthday.
In 2001, there were eight times as many HIV/AIDS related deaths in the Congo (120,000) than in the United States (15,000), despite the fact that the population in the Congo is 1/5th the size of the U.S. One out of every seven deaths is HIV/AIDS related. According to health ministry statistics, five percent of the 4.5 million people infected by malaria last year died of the disease. In the mid nineties, the Congo had the biggest polio epidemic of the 20th Century. There are 150,000 new infections of tuberculosis each year.
To the north lies Sahara
Africa's ancient historic period involves the rise of Egyptian civilization, the further development of societies outside the Nile River Valley and the interaction between them and civilizations outside of Africa. In the late 7th century North and East Africa were heavily influenced by the spread of Islam
The equatorial sun sets over the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The country is dominated by the Congo River—its forested basin occupies some 60 percent of the nation.
Waterways are highways in the depths of the Congo rainforest, where transportation moves at a relaxed and contemplative pace.
The Congo rainforest is crucially important for regulating the local and global climate. As the world's second largest rainforest, the Congo rainforest is also home to some of Africa's most iconic wildlife including gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos and forest elephants.
The Sake health center, Goma, Eastern Congo. A young woman, a victim of rape, waits to give birth. Rape is frequently used as a weapon of war. Tens of thousands of women and girls have been raped since fighting broke out in 1998.
Himbi beach, in Goma, Eastern Congo. A popular place where people come to take a bath, do their laundry or collect drinking-water. As the water is contaminated, there is a high level of cholera infection.
Goma General Hospital, Eastern Congo. Health centres and hospitals across the country are crumbling through lack of maintenance, and in the east, a large number have been destroyed in the fighting. Of those that are still functioning, many lack clean water, qualified staff, drugs, and basic equipment. Severe malnutrition rates among children under five has reached 30 percent in some areas.
The Sake health center, Goma, Eastern Congo. Over 4 million people have died in DRC over the past 6 years, killed by violence, disease and malnutrition, by-products of a war that has destroyed much of the healthcare system and economy. Mortality rates are highest in the troubled eastern provinces, where vast numbers of people have fled continued harassment and ongoing violence by armed men. 
