Today, DR Congo celebrated its independence from Belgium which happened on the 30th June 1960. The country has had two name changes since then. There were marches in town during the day and this evening there was a free concert featuring Koffi Olomide a popular Congolese musician. As it happened to fall on a Tuesday and we are still trying to get the children used to the rythmn of our programme (although they don't seem to be having too much trouble remembering as each day since we openned we have had between 40 and 50 children arriving) we decided to still go ahead and open today albeit with a reduced programme and eating together earlier so the volunteers could get away and enjoy the national holiday. The children enjoyed a 'special treat' of a fizzy drink with their meal. It was an eye openner for me to see that even some of the older children had no idea how to open the ring pull. Not that this is a sign of their ability or something that we would assist them to learn necessarily, but it is a likely indicator of the low level of income that they have experienced in their upbringing till the present time.
