On Ian MacKay's previous international aid trips, his only motivation was to help. This time, he's aiming to bring awareness to a "forgotten" country.
"The Second Congo War, beginning in 1998, devastated the country, involved seven foreign armies and is sometimes referred to as the 'African World War,'" the 樱桃视频resident said, reading from Wikipedia.
Despite the signing of peace accords in 2003, fighting continues in the east of the country and in eastern Congo, the prevalence of rape and other sexual violence is described as the worst in the world.
The war is the world's deadliest conflict since World War II, having resulted in the deaths of 5.4 million people.
"In Congo, Africa's third largest country, one in five children now die before they turn five years old," states an article about the situation in Forbes magazine.
According to MacKay, most people are unaware of the massive problems in the Congo - and until recently, so was he.
Not surprising considering the 20-year-old's devotion to helping those in need, MacKay left his third stint in Haiti and is heading to the Congo to see what he can do to help.
In fact, he arrived in Kinshasa, the country's capital, on April 16 after a taxing two weeks spent in Ontario trying to get a visa to enter the country.
Because the visa's term is limited, MacKay's time in Congo is precious.
"I have a one-month visa so every minute counts for me," he said.
MacKay's interest in Congo stemmed from 10 days he spent working alongside Dr. Linda Mobula in Haiti. Mobula was born in the Congo and goes back regularly because her parents live there. Despite living in the devastation in Haiti, MacKay said her stories of the rapes and murders in Congo stimulated his sympathies and planted the seed for the trip he's on now.
"She said she was going and my immediate response was, 'Can I come?'" MacKay said.
He is meeting Mobula in Western Congo before heading to work with Action Kivu in Eastern Congo, where poverty and crime are said to be unchecked.
"The organization deals with child soldiers, war orphans, and abused women," said MacKay. "I hope to spend time working with them as well as with Panzu Hospital, which deals with victims of the ongoing wars."
According to the group's website, Action Kivu's mandate is to provide the Democratic Republic of Congo's victims of violence the opportunity to rebuild their lives on a foundation of hope, dignity and economic self-reliance.
"It seems to me that Congo is a place that's sort of been forgotten," MacKay said.
"It makes no sense that with the number of people who have died - the most since World War II - you never hear anything about it."
MacKay said his experience in Haiti made him realize that sometimes people don't want to know.
"Sometimes there are just issues people don't want to hear about," he said. "Particularly when there's no convenient way to help."
MacKay said the Congo was different from Haiti because there weren't many aid groups in the country and the notion of donating to the DRC wasn't as common as is donating to Haiti, and more recently, Japan.
The lack of coverage and lack of understanding is actually what inspired MacKay to go.
"I really want to expose the issues that are going on there," he said.
"It seems nobody knows they're there."
After his month in DRC, MacKay is headed to Zambia to work with the Sustainability through Agriculture and Micro-enterprises project, the same organization MacKay first worked with two years ago - and possibly where his humanitarian desire was ignited.
MacKay said volunteering in new countries doesn't reduce his love and concern for the ones he left behind.
His last visit to Haiti was still wrought with emotional, heart-wrenching stories but interspersed with good, new and slow but steady movement toward rebuilding.
"The situation is improving," he said. "Being there for two months I was able to see improvement with my own eyes although there are many earthquake victims still suffering."
He said one particularly significant experience was revisiting the hospital he worked in on his inaugural trip for the first time since February 2010.
"When I worked there all the beds were full with people waiting and chaos all around," he said.
"When I went back, all my patients had gone home and several beds were empty."
He said progress is being made, but the earthquake is in no way forgotten.
"Many Haitians have moved on and tried to erase the horrible memories," he said. "But many are left with lifelong scars and constant reminders of how lucky they are to be alive."
MacKay is planning to attend nursing school in the fall and hopes to eventually attend medical school, but he doesn't think that will curb his desire to help on the field.
"This isn't the last trip," he said. "I'll be in Haiti in the future."
"At this point I'm ready to start my education my one year gap year turned into a three year gap year but I don't regret anything."
