Got a offer in lubumbashi is this safe to work there ??

Yes it is.  Where are you from?  I see your name is Maneesh.  Don't to Jump to conclusions but if you are Indian from Pakistan, Bangladesh or Kashmir, or if you are an Arab [Large Indian community there, large Lebanese community there] , you will have community there so don't worry.  There is No Ebola in Lubumbashi...  Also it is safe [within reason and common sense] but you have to be smart.  You would not likely live in a place that you need to worry about. 

Don't bring any old USDollars they must all be new!  If they are old they most likely will be refused.
The Best Hospital [ that expats go to] there is called Del Gado by locals.  The name of it is Fondation Vie Et Sante; Tel: 0814031246; e-mail: [email protected].

Lots of bribery in he airport [leaving the DRC you need to pay $100 [It as $55 a year ago] for a Go-Pass].

Bring your own malaria medications if you can, bring general medicines for yourself.

Food is expensive, so best you find community and see how they live/purchase food.

Can't think of anything else for now.

Thanks for the valuable reply.. what about the safety ? Medicines ??? I mean what kind of ?...


My only concern is safety , iam from india by the way... So what else you can share plz update

What about nightouts ?? You live in Lubumbashi ???
Company will provide meal and accommodation.

Do reply me

Of course you need a car but Lubum is not the type of place that you will walk around in at night.  Nights out there are some expat spots like Planet Hollybum and others...I have stayed there on and off for 2 years doing research.  So I have learned the place well.  Not there at the moment

Great [just came back from Gachiowli in AP, love the food and the people- Great Vegetarian food!]
If you are from India then you will be pleased to know that there are tonnes of well established Indians there.. They own the Grocery shops [Jambo mart], appliance shops and textile shops.  They are mostly Indians that have lived in Africa for some time so they know the local language [Local Kiswahili from Lubumbashi]  I lived across the street from Indians who commuted to work together and stayed in a really nice compound.  They lived near the Belgian embassy.

There is plenty of Indian grocery in these shops and you should be fine.

I would say bring any sort of medicine that you may anticipate you will need because the pharmacy situation in Lubumbashi is tricky...  They are really not pharmacies.  Bring malaria meds.   If you don't have it, get you yellow fever and typhoid shots.  They treat malaria well there but they also diagnose everything as malaria so the doctor-patient experience can be frustrating & expensive.

Also wanted to tell you this bring anything rechargeable, electricity can go off and stay off for some time so even if you have a generator it is good to have rechargeable and solar powered anything.  I don't know where you are in India but if you know of and can get to an IKEA store buy their crack flash lights and their solar powered desk lamps which you can pack like 2 each in a bag.  They saved may ass last time.

Sorry for the scattered responses but I am trying to be thorough.  To be honest, you are Indian and you belong to a class that is respected/feared [untouchable but in a good way] ...like no one will mess with you because they will assume you are Indian with lots of money and business connections so Indians pretty much have free reign, the police don't mess with Indians also.

I see Indians walking around in town at night with their wives, they ride motorcycles and own also a lot metals processing entities.  You will be safe and you will have community that will inform you way better than I could ever do so.  I trust you will be fine go with confidence.

Iam in new delhi... tell me if you know anything about the store.. Thanks for bringing confidence in me because iam really scared by some hebola virus and some safety concerned, Well i wud say big thank you for useful info

Lubum lets see what you got.. he he

Share any useful info plz.

Thanks

Tell me your name please.

Stay in touch... i need a coach 

DRC stands for ? Tell me the best place to visit there and any tips you wanna give ?

No ebola there don't worry.  This is central Africa close to Zambia [by the way lots of Indians in Zambia which is only a few hours away by road from Lubumbashi].  You will find many Indians there do not worry...In fact in the locations/ghettos some of the local women are wearing Saris because they are cheaper options for people and they also like to dress up in them.  I bought tonnes of Indian clothing there as well from street vendors.

My name is Nikki.  You will find many coaches upon your arrival.  Go to jambo mart and you ask around.  Many Indians there.  I just googled and found that there is no Ikea at all in India.  this does not matter bring a crank radio, crank flash lights and anything that can be recharged and stored.

Democratic Republic of Congo... You can go to Lattelicious, plant hollybum and I am not sure once you get in with the other Indian expats there you guys will have places to go that I don't know about.  I was so busy with research that I just worked most of the time and I really didi not go out.

Thanks nikki.. for your useful info... i mean there is no ebola virus there ryt ?? No

Howz the whether dr ??? Water facilities good dr ??

Thanks again !!

Do reply me.

Well would you like ebola to be in Lubumbashi? Because I wouldn't and I hope it does not become an issue there or anywhere else in the world .  So there is no ebola in Lubumbashi or the DRC for that matter.

Thanku nikki !!! Howz  the whether dr ???  Wt about water facilities ???

Thanks nikki for your time and reply...

Plz msg me when you online.

hot and then the rainy season is really rainy and the roads can become muddy and washed out.  It can literally be impossible to travel in too much rain as drainage is not the best also so...If you are living in town and beyond town that is o.k. but movement can be limited during this time.  It can get a bit cool also.

You will buy your water most likely in big 5 gallon jugs, you can get these from Jambo mart or Ma Maison markets [both owned by Indian expats] many people purchase like this.  I never consumed the tap water but that is just me.   It is weird like you will hear some people say that electricity is free [when it is being distributed and not cut off], but they will/ have implemented a system that I have seen in other parts of Africa where you pre-pay for electricity and use a card or pin number and register it to a meter until it runs out and you must replenish it.  I assume you will live in town or some part of Golf or Akara or one of the newer places that are coming up there.

No problem I wish I had someone to answer my questions before I went.  What will you do for transportation?

I meant to tell you the best bank there is RAW bank, and then they have ATM's in a few places.

Transportation company will provide us, and thank you for bank info because thats our major concern.

I. Heard that there is some group name "mai mai " what is it ?? The police is cooperative with the expat like us ??

I mean how long they cut off the electricity ?

Here are some sites you can check out:

http://priyasdomain.blogspot.com/2011/0 … glyam.html

http://www.expatistan.com/cost-of-living/lubumbashi

http://www.lubumbashicongo.com/

You also have VodaCom and Orange for cellular and wifi networks.  I think Vodacom may be more cost effective for Wifi.

Yes Mai Mai or Bakata Katanga [People who cut Katanga in Kiswahili] They are a secessionist group that has been around for a while ...don't worry about them.  They are just a bunch of youth and poor rural men who try to show power by showing up in town and they are bothering the rural inhabitants.  I was there when they entered town and were shot by police, they marched to the UN compound and surrendered.  do not worry.  Lubumbashi is safe.  It is the nations economic capital and they safeguard it.  There are Military police everywhere [because a new law does not allow he military to operate in town as some of the Mai Mai got a hold of military uniforms and were posing as military] and they have things under control.  I felt safe there and had no safety concerns. 

You have a better chance of being hit by a car [this was my gravest concern over anything else---and malaria] than you would anything else.  I take it since you are from Delhi you can navigate street traffic well so don't worry.

Yes police don't bother non-African foreigners.  you will be fine and yes the police work with the Indian expat community. India has power in the DRC trade and development policy relations.


Electricity can go off for 10 minutes to a day or 2  days even in town but most businesses have some sort of generator back up, although it may not be sophisticated like what yo have in India in terms of a backup generator system.

Yes I think the cost for maintaining an account with them is a bit exorbitant but they are the bast option there really is nothing more reliable, stable and connected to international markets.  You can also do moneygram transfers through them as well if needed.  they have a branch in town, a branch in Golf and a branch I think going toward Kisima. each have ATM's.

Ha ha ha..... okay...  else you tell me the everything. .. Now iam ready to go....

In the airport have all your documents ready, your yellow card and your passport.  Put your money away don't have your wallet visible.  Have someone meet you at the airport.  They will not be able to come in the airport but have a pre-arranged ride.  Keep your most valuable stuff in a backpack and be firm with the guards most often they play on fear and lack of knowledge if you just handle them a certain way getting out will be fine.  Act like you know what you are doing and where you are going even if you don't.  Learn a few Kiswahili words, it will help, English is hard to find there so if you can speak French great also.

Forget to mention this probably the most important thing..  DRC is largely a CAHS ONLY society using a card is rare you really can't use one.  I used my credit and debit card there 1 time and it was a long procedure [this was in Ma Maison].  They use Congolese Franc and USD.  USD is pretty much what you will be trading in at all times if not Congolese Franc.  Make sure you come with big bills $100 UAD and $50 USD.  Make sure it is new.  Also, If you come with small bills you will actually lose money.  If you need Congolese franc you can surely just buy something in a shop and get change but know the exchange rate first.  Also there are cambists [money changers] on the street, you will see men on the street standing or sitting with large sums of money and they trade in mostly any foreign currency I am not sure I have seen Indian rupees but they could possibly do so.  They have Euros and pounds also.

Tell me some useful kishawashi words ?

Oka.. so i. Think may be i use cong franc, not dollars its good to use franc ?

I must say you got a huge good knowledge.

Thanks nikki

If you have dollars you will convert them to franc anyway.  It is good to have both.  Always keep dollars on you and always save dollars.  Nothing older than 2008 I think.  Also, You will receive dollars when you go to the bank so they use dollars in the DRC.  You can pay for anything in dollars even in informal markets, IT basically can be used as regular currency but having franc makes it easier for you in terms of conversion and learning the value of the money.  I suggest you keep dollars and change-through a store some dollars into franc just for pocket money and spending, paying for transport etc...  By all means you need dollars and you should never convert everything to franc.  You'll see.  I spent about 2 years there on and off doing research, living there and my husband is from there so I had a bit of a cushion but coming from the states I had to learn a lot of things by experience.  Many things that mattered to me or that I took note of, my husband never cared less about so personal experience there will be your best guide.  In some instances town in Lubumbashi reminded of some places in AP like around Charminar...  You may see slight similarities.

Okass... so lumbu is a costly place to live nikki ???

Actually we will might get around 1500 usd thats our salary may be but as company will give accommodation, medical facilities, transportation so we will might save lil bit. Wht u say ??