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In pictures: DRC displaced camps grow around Goma

A recent surge in violence in eastern DRC has forced tens of thousands of people to flee to camps just outside Goma, the capital of North Kivu. In Kanyaruchinya camp an estimated 55,000 people fled the violence that has spread since the "M23" rebellion around Rutshuru in North Kivu.
(26 September 2012)

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Photo 1/10 photo by: Steven van Damme/Oxfam

A woman in her shelter - People in Kanyaruchinya are living in very basic shelters, like the one where this woman and her family now stays.

  • A woman in her shelter - People in Kanyaruchinya are living in very basic shelters, like the one where this woman and her family now stays.
  • Collecting water at a new tapstand - A woman fills her jerry can with clean water at a tapstand recently installed by Oxfam.
  • Displaced people in Masisi - While tens of thousands of people have fled to Goma, there are many other people affected by the crisis throughout the Kivus region. In the shadow of the hills of Masisi, people who have fled recent inter-ethnic clashes and attacks on villages are setting up new homes.
  • Harsh conditions in Mugunga - At Mugunga camp, the hard volcanic ground is unforgiving for those families who must sleep on it. There are now 20,000 people in Mugunga, with more arriving every day.
  • New latrines to improve sanitation - Oxfam has built latrines and showers in the camps to help improve sanitation and reduce the risk of disease spreading. The water points and latrines are run by a committee made up of people living in the camp. This man’s role is to keep the latrines clean and functional.
  • Setting up shop - Despite the difficult conditions in the camps, life goes on and people try to make a living to feed their families. Here in the centre of Kanyaruchinya camp, people are constructing shops.
  • Sheltering at the foot of the volcano - Kanyaruchinya camp is now a mass of basic shelters at the foot of the Nyiragongo Volcano, one of the world's most active, which can be seen smoking in the background. About 55,000 people are now sheltering here after arriving in the past few months.
  • Trucking clean, safe water - Every day Oxfam trucks 300,000 litres of safe water to the Kanyaruchinya site. The porous volcanic lava on which the camp stands means there is very little water available in the ground, so trucking water in is the only option. Here, an Oxfam truck is refilling the water reservoir so that people can continue to collect safe water. Dirty water is a major factor in the spread of disease in camps like these.
  • Young boy cleans his jerry can - Oxfam public health teams distribute soap and explain to people how to keep their jerry cans clean so as not to contaminate the water. This six-year-old boy in Kanyaruchinya camp is washing his jerry can at a tapstand, before filling it with safe water.