New Life in Congo (2012)

The province of South Kivu in The Democratic Republic of the Congo, is one of the poorest regions in the world, despite the fact that it is very rich when it comes to natural resources. Plagued by (civil) wars, the region hasn't been stable in decades. 'Your child is only yours', so says a well-known Congolese saying, 'when it reaches it's fifth year'. Mother and child very often die during the labor. The documentary 'New life in Congo' shows that it doesn't have to stay like that. A new approach in the development assistance that does not give a bag of money to the failing government anymore, but instead encourages the local people to take faith into own hands, and more important to take responsibility, has already changed the health care system. The new method is called PBF, short for Performance Based Financing, and it implies that the payment for the work that has been realized, is made afterwards. In the documentary, Paul Hegeman follows two women. The 23-year-old Byenda who just gave birth to her third child, and the 31-year-old Aurelie, who is expecting her seventh child. Both women live a life that is threatened by lack of food, and the sexual violence against women in this region of the Congo. Nevertheless, they seem optimistic and continue to fight for a better existence. Now with the revolution in the health care system, the women are supported by doctors and nurses, and although much has yet to be done, they can at least bare their child in health.