MISSIONARIES’ VARIED WORK IN BELGIAN CONGO

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22569, 24 February 1948, Page 4

MISSIONARIES’ VARIED WORK IN BELGIAN CONGO

A circuit the size of the South Island, parts of which have no roads and only tracks and waterways. The ever-present fear of being “bogged down” during Ihe rainy season and therefore the curtailment of practically all travel during four months of the year. The constant fight against malaria and leprosy in the natives and the converting of the natives to Christianity.

All these are matters attended to by Mr E. J. Salisbury, a member of the Luanza Mission’s field organisation, who has spent the past 18 years in the Katanga Province of the Belgian Congo Mr Salisbury, who is a New Zealander, accompanied by his wife and four children, is on furlough in the Dominion. He was a visitor to Gisborne yesterday. With Mrs Salisbury, a qualified nurse, Mr Salisbury has for many years conducted the Dan Crawford Memorial Hospital at Luanza,with which is associated a leper colony, where good remits have been obtained by modern treatment of this disease. The visitor has his headquarters at Luanza, but in order to spread his misdnn teachings, travels an area nearly as big as the South Island. There are fairly good roads in parts of the province and an old car is used wherever possible Where roads give way to iracks, Mi Salisbury takes either to his bicycle or to foot travel, taking a few native porters with him to carry a tent and food stuffs. An extensive system of waterways also provides fairly easy means of transport through portions of the district. ’ Vast improvements have been seen by Mr Salisbury j n the Belgian Congo. Shyness Broken Down The natural shyness and superstitions of the Natives had to be broken down before they would allow themselves to be treated at the hospital, but once they had realised that they could be cured of disease, after their own witchdoctors had failed, they became enthusiastic attenders. Now the trouble was to keep many pf them a wav from the hospital, when they were well. Infant mortality had taken a terrible toll of life prior to the establishment of hospitals, but now Government officials expressed surprise at the large families evident in.the native villages in the vicinity .of the hosptal under his charge, said Mr Salisbury. The Belgian Government provided drugs and other necessities for the hospital and generally assisted as much as it could. The mission had to maintain its own schools, however, and the main one of these was at Luanza, where Mr Salisbury’s sister taught ISO of the more intelligent native boys. Schools were established in most of the villages and as soon as the young natives realised that, if they completed a certain amount of schoolwork, they were eligible for a certificate which would enable them to obtain a fairly good position in the mines, they were quick to attend.

Country Progressing During the war many of the natives had left the country to serve in various parts of the world and they brought back many progressive ideas with them. The country was definitely progressing, said Mr Salisbury, and copper and tin mines were being opened up. Near the mission is a Hn mine. The nearest big town to Luanza was Elizabethviile, about 400 miles away, which once could only be reached by boat and motor car. Modern means of travel had improved the lot of the missionaries considerably, however, and there was now a frequent air service between Luanza and Elizabethviile, With the introduction of airways, the transit time for a letter from New Zealand had been cut to one month instead of the three months formerly taken. Although Luanza was within eight degrees of the equator, it was 3000 ft. above sea level and this kept the temperature at a tolerable level, said Mr Salisbury. Mr and Mrs Salisbury and family intend to return to Luanza in about October