Geography- Africa
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is the largest country in the sub-Saharan Africa region, with a population of about 80 million. Its capital city is Kinshasa, and they use Congolese Franc as their currency. DRC has over 250 ethnic groups with Bakongo, Mongo and Luba being the leading groups. The level of literacy is at 77% with a majority of people aged 15 above able to read and write Lingala, Kingwana and French. This paper will focus on Bakongo ethnic group that makes up about 46% of the population in DRC. The Bakongo group speak in Kikongo and are among the first people who adopted Christianity.
Most Bakongo are living in poor states. Their water sources are contaminated that cause infectious diseases. These diseases are the cause of half the deaths in DRC. These living conditions can be attributed to the fact that there has been a constant war in the country that has left people homeless (CFR.ORG, 2020). Despite these challenges, the Bakongo community always has accessed education through European missionaries, and some who can have gone an extra mile to advance their education. Most Bakongo community members are small-scale farmers who plant cassava and vegetables, and others have fruit plantations (Every Culture, 2019). The Bakongo communities watch and play football during their free time. They also love music and storytelling, as most of them have grown with no electricity. Besides, Bakongo are also artisans. They have excelled in painting, woodcarving, among other activities.
Social problems faced by the Bakongo ethnic group are poor health care structures, unpredictably economy due to lack of well-paying jobs. The Bakongo community is trying to preserve their culture, but urbanization is slowly taking that away.
References
CFR.ORG. (2020, March 5). Violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Global Conflict Tracker. Retrieved from https://www.cfr.org/interactive/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/violence-democratic-republic-congo
Every Culture. (2019). Bakongo. Countries and their Cultures. Retrieved from https://www.everyculture.com/wc/Brazil-to-Congo-Republic-of/Bakongo.html