Resource Assessment

Local Resource Assessment in Lubudi, DRC January 2008

Lubudi has been blessed with a wealth of natural resources. The task of our church leaders is to

find ways to make sure that all benefit from these gifts from God.

DS Kalenga Nsenpe Kalubika and his wife in front of Lubudi's main waterfall.

below: This hydroelectric power plant, leftover from colonial days, continues to power the community.

Standing at the bottom of a limestone mountain. Lubudi's land contains all the ingredients for cement production. Local engineers estimate it would take over 400 years for a cement factory running at full speed to to deplete the limestone in the site where we were standing. Cement is expensive (and the price is skyrocketing) and often must be imported. The right combination of investors, good management, community involvement and political stability could revitalize the old factory, providing living-wage salaries and affordable construction materials for the people of this region.

above: Medical student Kayembe Herggie admiring the height of the limestone mountain.

Kayembe was one of our trip lifesavers. He traveled down to Lubudi from Kamina days in advance to inform the community of our upcoming arrival (attempts at phone calls had failed).

above: The decades-old equipment at the old cement factory is barely functioning, and

production levels are at a tiny fraction of what they could be.

Its impressive that the factory engineers have been able to keep it going this long.

above: Just gotta show what we spotted in the factory's garage--it's for sale,

and Dad has been dreaming about helping the district purchase and restore it!

In addition to natural resources, Lubudi is rich in human resources. The doctor at the

local hospital gave us tour of the facility and showed us with wall charts/graphs their progress in various community health initiatives. (BTW- The doctor generously let the church borrow his vehicle so we could tour the district. He did not charge a rental fee, but when we asked he mentioned that all the hospital's motorcycles had broken parts and discussed many things they could accomplish if they were repaired...so we purchased the needed parts back in Lubumbashi as a thank-you and investment in his life-saving work)

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