Scott Yess Rotary Talk Africa Project

Scott Yess served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) in 1981. He decided to return to his host site for a few weeks the last three years. He reported that the Congo is the third largest country in Africa located in the center of Africa. It is home to 70 million people but is extremely poor with an average annual income of $188/year. As a volunteer he taught farmers how to grow Tilapia in ponds that they built. This provided added protein to their diet which is largely vegetables. Our Rotary Club contributed $250 which he used to buy wheelbarrows for the villagers to use in their construction and gardening. Since his original stay in 1981 he found changes including satellite dishes used to watch football, cell phone booths, and many more cars and motorbikes. Scott also got contributions from others which he used to buy dictionaries for the schools and mosquito nets. He brought used eye glasses and baby clothes with him. The language of commerce is French.