Conditions In Kinshasa, Congo

KINSHASA, CONGO - FEBRUARY 28: (.) A young women talks on a mobile phone after a church service while her friends are chatting on February 28, 2002 in Lingwala district in Kinshasa, Congo. Mobile phones have been available since 1999 and has made a tremendous difference in the Congo. The mobile phone is the ultimate status thing in Congo and people can be seen clinging their cell phones looking important. People can now reach friends and relatives in some of the cities in Congo or make appointments and business meeting in Kinshasa. The local telephone system is non-existent. A phone costs around $100, local phone calls are about 35 cents U.S., and international calls about $ 1 per minute, a bargain compared to earlier about $10 per minute for overseas calls from a local phone. (Photo by Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images)