- by Naomi Lako

Week 9. The capital of Central Africa is 'Bangui'. National languages are French and Sango (which is spoken in Congo and Chad as well). 

The climate is tropical, while we expected it to be very dry, even desert-like. This is the case in the northern areas, it is nearly impossible to stay there for a long period of time (especially at noon when the sun is high and the air is very hot and dry). It's exhausting. We're all dazed and knock-out by the continuous heat.. What we needed was a well deserved refreshment. We washed ourselves in the falls of Boali on the Mbali river, which were absoluty stunning and fresh. 

When we visited the locals, we were shocked about their health conditions, as life expectancy is very low (this must be around 45 years old, imagine this in Europe...). HIV is a serious problem in these countries, and Central Africa is not an exception. People are poor and forced to work on dry landscapes, while agriculture is so important. A good thing is the free education in Central Africa. But still the largest part of the adults can't read nor are they able to write.