I took this photo on my first visit to Tunda village,
which is located in a very isolated corner of Maniema Province, Democratic Republic of Congo. It's so remote that it's accessible only by helicopter or motorcycle. I was with a team conducting a humanitarian evaluation to determine general problems and needs of the province regarding health, poverty, education, and infrastructure.

Methodist missionaries built this church in the 1920s. In Congo, I was often struck by how even rural areas had beautiful churches. Our plane ran off the runway as we attempted to leave Tunda, and the pilots, evaluation team members, and I stayed for another two days until the United Nations sent a helicopter for us. This view of the palm-lined dirt avenue leading to the church made quite an impression on me.

Likewise, our group also made quite an impression on the villagers by walking away from the damaged plane with no injuries. When I returned to the village five months later, the head nurse exclaimed loudly, "Mamma Sarah cannot die in Tunda!" She said that I should live there for this very reason.
—Sarah Bailey


Read more about Sarah's Africa adventures >>




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