About the interview

We sat down with Mukamba Watongoka Michel, Coordinator at the World Wide Initiative for Development / ‘Hands For The Little’.

This group helps to represent the Pygmies of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Pygmies are recognised as the first and oldest inhabitants of sub-Saharan Africa. Before colonisation, they occupied all of Central Africa until they were driven off the lands they lived. This continued, and the repeated forced removals have resulted in the difficult living circumstances the Pygmies face today. Mukamba shares the history and the actions his group is taking to help these original people of Central Africa.

We had some technical difficulties as he was calling directly from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, so for this call I decided to read some of the information Mukamba sent me and share his photos with you to help set up the conversation before we go to the video portion.

It’s a situation worth understanding. This group holds onto their cultural ways very strongly, which is inspiring to see, and at the same time, it has also caused difficulties as the world around them has changed very much. With the deforestation of forests, their ways of providing for themselves are also declining.

You can reach Mukamba at wwidhfl@gmail.com