The Congo was the most difficult shoot of my life but was also maybe the greatest adventure of my life.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I cannot forget the place that I come from. The Congo is much in need.
If I had not played basketball and made the millions of dollars that I had made, I would never have been able to build a hospital in Congo. It started in 1997, and 10 years later I was able to unveil the Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital, named after my mother, in my hometown outside of Kinshasa. It was such a blessing.
I took a decision that I wanted to be a long-term player in Congo.
There are places that I've always wanted to go. First I went to Africa, and when I was there I realized there were places in Africa I really to wanted to visit: The Congo, West Africa, Mombassa. I wanted to see the deep, dark, outlandish places.
I love travelling, and had the pleasure of being in the most developed country in the world and then parts of two of the most pristine natural areas of the world: the Galapagos islands and the Equador Amazon jungle. The contrast was incredible.
Africa is probably one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.
I fell in love with Africa and began helping people fix things there.
I had a lot of fun in Cambodia, much more so in Cambodia than Vietnam.
I can't quite remember the exact moment when I became obsessed with writing a play about the seemingly endless war in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but I knew that I wanted to somehow tell the stories of the Congolese women caught in the cross-fire.
Being in the desert was brilliant and it was hard.