The Democratic Republic of Congo (D.R.C.), formerly Zaire is located in Central Africa . It is a vast country of dense forests traversed by the powerful Congo River.

On the East, the D.R.C is bounded by Uganda , Rwanda , Burundi and Tanzania.
On the North, by the Central Republican and the Republic of Sudan.
On the West, by the Republic of Congo and Angola , and
On the South by Zambia , and Angola.

The population is estimated at 60 million.

The Congolese began to arrive in the USA soon after their country gained independence from Belgium in 1960. While some arrived independently, most were students who come on scholarships. Hence, the community initially consisted of students and their families. Recently however, many refugees have arrived because of the war in the eastern part of the country. Others have fled persecution in the DRC and have sought political asylum in the United States.
It is estimated that there are 10000 Congolese in Massachusetts . Most live in Boston, Malden, Lynn, Framingham, Worcester, Lawrence and Brighton
French is the official language, with 4 intermediary languages : Kikongo, Lingala, Tshiluba, and Swahili.