Reflections on Africa

According to the United States Ambassador to the Central African Republic (We actually had lunch with him on the back patio of his home. He and his wife invited a certain number of Americans for a Labor Day picnic. We were among those invited.), the C.A.R. ranks #137 out of 138 countries on the United Nations Misery Index. Bottom line, that means living one's life does not get much worse anywhere on the planet than in the C.A.R. From what I observed, I am not surprised by the U.N.'s ranking.

For starters, the country has no infrastructure to speak of. There are a few paved roads in the capital of Bangui, but many of the streets are dirt. And given that during the present rainy season when it rains it pours, you can only imagine what erosion does to these roads! In addition, the paved roads are littered with cavernous like pot holes. All of this makes travel by car quite a challenge (eg: we traveled about 65 miles outside Bangui to the city of Mbaiki - it took us about three hours to do so). Along with a lack of infrastructure, the country faces other numerous problems such as AIDS, a lack of stability of the government (the government only has firm control on Bangui and vicinity), a 25% literacy rate, poor health care facilities (I asked the missionaries if there were any dentists in the city - they knew of one - and this is a city of 3/4 of a million people!), and rampant unemployment (perhaps as high as 75%!). Electricity went out every day for a number of hours each day (they cannot produce enough electricity to meet demand), and we lost water the day we were preparing to return to the States. To say life is hard in the Central African Republic seems to understate the reality.

Yet, not all is "doom and gloom" in this nation of 4 million people. This week, I will describe some points of light in this poverty stricken part of our globe. Until then, please join me in praying for this country and its people. I left part of my heart there in the C.A.R. and brought a part of the the country (and its people) home with me. More to come . . .

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj