Loss in election won't derail his campaign to restore Congo
Don't tell Oscar Kashala he failed.
The Westborough oncologist may have lost his bid to become the Democratic Republic of Congo's next president, but he vows to find other ways to transform this country long plagued by corrupt and incompetent leaders.
``To be where we are is a real accomplishment. The reality is that we won two states out of 11 states," said Kashala, a political newcomer who placed fifth in the election in June.
``I didn't expect to see so much joy," said Kashala, whose slogan ``Clean Hands" was often shouted by supporters during his speeches. ``People had tears in their eyes when they spoke to me."
Kashala, a political newcomer, campaigned for three months in the war-torn country, which held its first democratic election in more than 40 years early this summer. The top vote-getters, incumbent Joseph Kabila and Jean-Pierre Bemba, one of four vice presidents, will face each other in the final and provincial elections set for Oct. 29.
Kashala, who is both an American citizen and a citizen of his native Congo, returned to Westborough two weeks ago, only to go back to Africa a few days ago. He'll be shuttling back and forth several times before the election.
Married with five children, he feels torn between his family and the supporters who clung to him in Congo.
``It is hard because I made so many friends and I met so many people who put their lives in my hands," Kashala said. ``When I leave Congo, I leave these people behind. When I leave here I leave my family behind."
Kashala, 52, has set lofty goals for a man who won't hold formal office: improving education, stamping out disease, rebuilding the economy, making government accountable.
To achieve them, he hopes to enlist the help of Bill Gates and former president Bill Clinton and build a grass-roots organization to reform the country from the bottom up.
All this from a man who from outward appearances was a typical suburban father just one year ago. Every morning, he joined the stream of commuters on the Mass. Turnpike, heading to his job as senior director of oncology at
Now, Kashala is using his newfound name recognition to campaign for 800 candidates running in the provincial elections. In return, he hopes they will support his National Institute for the Development of Congo, a nonprofit organization he is in the process of registering in Massachusetts.
``We have a country that is at the bottom of the ladder in development," said Kashala, who left Millennium to focus on the Congo elections. After the voting, he expects to make the 6,000-mile trip at least once a month.
The travel is more than just emotionally and physically taxing -- it's dangerous. Kashala said he has been blacklisted by the current government.
``There is a list of people to be assassinated . . . and my name is on that list," he said with a soft chuckle.
Not that Kashala takes the risk lightly. During the campaign, his lawyer was arrested on trumped up charges and expelled from the country; his unarmed 30-member security team was thrown in a military prison and accused of organizing a coup; and several planes and helicopters he reserved never showed up, according to Kashala and his aides. Still, he said, the stakes are so high in this country of 63 million that it's worth the perils of tackling them.
`` I have no fear because my life is not more valuable than a life of a child that dies in my country because there's no medication," Kashala said. ``We are not afraid of anything because we know the plight of the people is huge."
Once a thriving country, Congo fell into despair after civil war erupted in 1998. More than 4 million people have died since then, with 1,000 dying each day from treatable diseases and the lack of clean water.
The institute will incorporate the already established Oscar Kashala Foundation for Global Health, which provides health training and equipment in Congo.
Dr. Robert Baratz , a Newton internist, plans to help Kashala 's medical efforts in Congo. The two met there 16 years ago when Baratz was working on a research program for Tufts Dental School.
``The amazing thing about Congo is information -- despite the fact that it's not a well-wired country -- spreads rapidly," Baratz said. ``Given that reality , I think it is not beyond belief that you can make rapid changes in a few years and see results."
Kashala hopes to cut the country's infant mortality rate of nearly 100 for every 1,000 live births -- as reported in the 2005 World Fact Book -- by 30 percent the first year and 60 percent the third year. By 2016, he hopes Congo is free of violence.
``I see a stable country," Kashala said while looking down at the red coffee cup cradled in his large hands. ``In 10 years we must be there. It's a lot of work that needs to be done."
That's evident by all the lists and notes on the bulletin boards surrounding his wooden desk: reminders about recruiting drives; committees to form; reports to write.
``What happened to my country is unbelievable," Kashala said. ``We have the right plan for getting Congo out of its misery . "
Kashala's website is kashala.com. 
