The sheer size of the Democratic Republic of Congo could be dizzying: Africa’s second-largest country (and the eleventh-largest in the world) with its 2,345,410 km2, a population estimated at over 105 million, with 9 neighboring countries, and inestimable wealth, particularly in mining resources. However, the DRC is also one of the world’s poorest countries, and the scene of bloody wars: the first from 1996 to 1997, which ousted Zaire’s President Mobutu Sese Seko from power, and the second, from 1998 to 2002, involving 9 neighboring countries. The latter claimed nearly 6 million lives, mainly from famine and disease. Since 2004, the Kivu war has been ongoing. The country is home to over 140 armed groups.<\/p>\n
For this 4th project, we decided to set down our suitcases in the province of South Kivu, one of the 3 provinces most affected by armed conflicts involving child soldiers. One of the most devastated provinces in the DRC.<\/p>\n
The population lives in permanent insecurity. More than fifty armed groups occupy the territories (Fizi, Shabunda, Kalehe, Kabare, Uvira, Mwenga, Walungu).<\/p>\n