Clement Albert M. KANKONDE, MD, was born and raised in RD Congo as the 12th of 15 children. His father, a dedicated teacher, wanted his children to succeed in life and pushed them to strive for success. Clement Albert M. Kankonde attended the Universite of Kinshasa and graduated in medicine in 1983. His first post was as a physician at Bibanga Hospital where he performed all medical procedures and where he had to handle all types of emergencies.
In 1986, he moved to the United States where he first learned the language before he completed a Master’s in Public Health Administration at the University of South Carolina. He later took the Medical Board Examinations and completed a Residency Program at Saint Agnes Hospital in Baltimore in 1994. He completed a Fellowship in Medical Oncology at Washington Hospital Center in 1996. He is now a practicing oncologist.
Clement Albert M. Kankonde always had a specific interest in Public health and preventive health care and wanted to contribute to the development of these areas in his home country, the Congo. Other projects include nutritional education and the optimal consumption, harvesting and processing of locally and naturally available foods and resources.
As a cancer specialist, Kankonde faces with his patients every day the battle of life over death. To keep his energy and happy nature intact, he finds solace in writing books and creating songs that convey the emotions from his life and work experience. But it is the challenge of his two children to publish his creative work that pushed him to take his writing and singing a step further. He was determined to prove to his children that anything is possible if one is only determined enough, open minded and willing to learn along the way.
His writings are meant to help the world outside of Africa understand the crossroads at which Africa stands today, the crossroads between ancestral traditions, colonial history, current economic crisis and the outlook for a bright future for this continent so young and abounding in natural riches and ecological diversity.
His songs speak of love – lost, found and renewed, of betrayal and friendship, trust, wisdom, sorrow and pain, and always of newly to be found joy of life with each new morning that is granted us. Kankonde’s music teases the imagination of those who have been or are in love or would like to fall in love again, his music invites you to join your own voice into the emotional melodies or to clap your hands and wiggle your hips to the warm rhythms of his joyful and energizing music.
By the nature of his profession and the ongoing training requirements, Clement Albert M. Kankonde has the opportunity to travel extensively, in the United States and Canada, but also all across Europe where he has visited France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Austria, the United Kingdom, Poland, The Czech Republic, Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland. Clement Albert loves to learn about the cultures and traditions of the places he is visiting.
When time permits, he enjoys playing a game of tennis or attend Karate classes. He has a keen interest in colorful classic paintings from the 20th century artists and is an avid collector of glass vases, porcelain cups and African sculptures and masks.
He lives with his wife in vibrating El Paso, Texas, USA, but calls himself a “man without a country”.
The proceeds of the sale of his books and music CDs all go towards educational projects, preventive health care programs and a pilot project to start building wooden houses, using only local timbers and building materials, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. New cultural projects such as a play for the stage and a contemporary dance performance are on the way and will be announced in time.