Jim Gourley has grown accustomed to a world where electricity is a luxury. He’s comfortable with water purification tablets as his closest allies. And the sound of chattering baboons and clucking chickens in the early morning? Well, that’s pretty typical.

The 65-year-old Gourley makes his home in Severn, but spends months out of the year in Africa, working to address the extreme poverty and health problems on the continent.

His first trip was to Zimbabwe in 2009. He went alone and stayed for more than five months, working with a community of United Methodist churches on projects ranging from building school blocks to handing out medicine.

Gourley has made four lengthy trips since, and will be heading back to Africa on Feb. 4. This time, he’ll head to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a nation about the size of Western Europe with more than 70 million people but less than 1,800 miles of paved roadway. The average family income is $300 per year, or less than $1 a day.

“I just can’t not do something,” Gourley said. “There is a feeling of ‘Wow, how can I make a difference?’ But then the focus narrows down, and then it becomes, ‘How can I help this child or that mother over there?’”

Gourley, who is married with two grown sons, got heavy into volunteering shortly after his retirement from the Navy. His “Honey-Do” list lasted about a week, so he began working with the Red Cross on disaster relief efforts, even traveling to Texas to help out after Hurricane Ike hit in 2008.

That year, Gourley attended a conference of United Methodist churches in the region and met two women involved in a sewing project to help families in Africa.

“I literally had a feeling in my heart,” he said. “I had a very strong feeling that I could contribute in some way.”

Gourley got the blessing and some financial support from Nichols-Bethel United Methodist Church in Odenton, where he is a member. A trip to Africa costs at least $10,000, he said.

It took more than a year to get clearance, due to civil conflicts in Zimbabwe, but Gourley made it over, flying more than 17 1/2 hours and then spending more than 20 weeks in country.

He tackled complex projects, including the construction of a clinic to support the state-run hospitals, building two school blocks for children and a hostel for 50 orphaned girls. He’s also done simple, but effective, things like distributing mosquito nets.

Gourley said the longer trips have allowed him to see projects through and find solutions that are sustainable.

If volunteers set up an Internet connection in a village, how will local people raise money to pay the monthly bill? If solar-powered windmills are constructed, who will maintain them?

“You see all these areas of the country with these carcasses of windmills,” Gourley said. “There was no one with the materials or skills to keep them going.”

While in Congo, Gourley will work to set up a camp to allow future volunteer groups to come. He will travel with a companion, Sue McCann, a Portsmouth, New Hampshire resident who met Gourley during Hurricane Ike relief efforts.

“He really does have a genuine desire to help people,” McCann said. “He’s a leader, and he’s very good at getting people to work, but he also works himself.”

After so many trips to Africa, Gourley said he is no longer bothered by the lack of creature comforts, or the spotty communications, limited food choices or long drives over rough terrain.

“It’s amazing how quickly you can adapt,” he said. “You get down to the basics. And there’s no greater feeling than looking at a child with a big smile and knowing you helped.”