Children being fed at Bulape Presbyterian Medical Center, Bulape, Congo (Democratic Republic)

The Bulape Presbyterian Medical Center is remotely situated in the small Congolese village of Bulape located south of the equator, 380 kilometers east of Kinshasa, and 180 kilometers northwest of Kananga. Work in Bulape was begun in 1915 when missionaries came to bring the Gospel to the people of the Bakuba Kingdom. Twelve years later, a full time medical program was instituted but it was the late 1930's before the first permanent hospital buildings were constructed. Expansion continued throughout the 1940's and 1950's and today the Bulape Presbyterian Medical Center includes an operating theater, maternity unit, pediatric ward, laboratory, outpatient dispensary, and a pharmacy. While it has grown considerably, Bulape Hospital still struggles to provide services under difficult conditions. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon was on assignment for National Geographic and traveled to Africa from January 19, 1972 to mid April 1972.