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Tshilomba, Congo. 1975

Dr. Jerry Galloway (left-center) and Miguel (center) next to an overturned jeep.

Road conditions such as this were very common throughout the Congo.

Mary Kate (Schmidt) Pung shared the following story with me:

Tshilomba was a truck stop where the Peace Corps Volunteers would catch a ride back to Mwene-Ditu after they visited Dr. Jerry Galloway in Kalenda. On one Sunday afternoon, the volunteers went to the stop to wait for a ride. Along came a truck. It was jam-packed. The truck had 25 people crammed in the back. They held chickens, babies and items from the market. On top of the truck were sacks of flour and rice. Another six or eight guys were sitting atop of the sacks. The driver of the truck did not stop to pick them up.

After a 45 minute wait, a less crowded truck came along. The driver stopped, and they paid him to take them to Mwene-Ditu. About 15 minutes outside of Tshilomba, they came upon a steep grade, that then descended down to a small river. A rickety bridge spanned the river.

When they arrived at the bridge they saw the truck that had not stopped for them. The truck had flipped over the side of the bridge and was lying in the water. People were scattered everywhere, and they could hear their moans and cries. They saw that at least one person was killed, possibly more. It was a devastating sight.

Mary Kate noted that travel in the Congo could be hazardous because the roads were in such disrepair. After that incident, whenever the volunteers were in a vehicle and approached a steep incline, they would get out and walk. Once they got to a sturdier part of the road they would get back in the vehicle.