DR Congo is a vast country, almost as big as Europe, situated in the very heart of Africa; Joseph Conrad already called it "Heart of Darkness". 500 years ago Congo was not even a country. It only became a country after the area was attributed to King Leopold II of Belgium, who did not even attend that meeting. After that moment, the Congolese have suffered from endless violence, which still has not completely ended.
Even though the country is very rich of minerals, most of its population is extremely poor. The infrastructure has been devastated as a result of the war and it takes at least a week to travel from one side of the country to the other. Often, there is no electricity or hot water and the total absence of water is not rare, either.
The capital Kinshasa is situated on the border of the mighty river Congo, which separates it from the capital of the other Congo, Brazzaville. Small boats go up and down between the two Congos; you see many blind and invalid men, dragging large piles of stuff. They are used by exporters because war invalids can import and export goods tax free.