Global Press Journal Connections: The World in Photos

Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo

Divine Adowa, 20, repairs shoes in Makiso, a commune in Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo. Adowa attributes her passion for shoemaking to her late father.

Photo by Nadia Kanyere Karasisi

Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo

Jean de Dieu Wasuku, 4, carries an empty jerry can to a nearby spring in the Kachuya neighborhood of Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo. Wasuku walks about one kilometer (.62 miles) to the spring early every morning. His mother meets him afterward to help carry the can home once it’s filled.

Photo by Nadia Kanyere Karasisi

Komanda, DRC

Jackson Kamate, who was displaced from his home in North Kivu, harvests beans at his job as a day laborer in Komanda, Democratic Republic of Congo. Jackson is paid 1600 Congolese francs (nearly $1) a day to harvest and carry the beans to be threshed. Despite record harvests, it’s hard for farmers in this area to sell crops since transportation is so difficult.

Photo by Pascaline Kavuo Mwasi Saambili

Kayna, DRC

Gloire, 8, holds a goat’s leash with Sifa, 10, (left) and Oscar, 4, (right) while they take the animals out to graze in Nyamiindo, a neighborhood of Kayna, Democratic Republic of Congo. Their legal guardian, Isabelle Kahambu Ngotsi (not pictured) taught them how to take the goats to graze. Kahambu Ngotsi, with help from Solidaritat Castelldefels Kasando, a group for children without parents, currently cares for 17 orphaned children.

Photo by Merveille Kavira Luneghe

Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo

Fataki Saidi, a traditional healer, stands in the house where he consults with and treats patients in the Kabondo commune of Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo. Saidi uses natural medicinal plants to make herbal remedies and treat diseases.

Photo by Françoise Mbuyi Mutombo

Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo

Bernard Lukusa (left to right), Fabien Kimoni, and Eric Kasongo, hold black belts to honor their fellow martial artist Francois Alauwa, who recently passed away. The friends of the deceased gather at Espace Boyomais in Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo. The provincial government provided the space for families to mourn their loved ones, pay their respects and perform karate demonstrations.

Photo by Zita Amwanga

Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo

Jean Matulu, 10, goes fishing in a canoe on the right bank of the Tshopo River in Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo. Jean practices fishing every day after school, hoping to catch even bigger fish to sell.

Photo by Françoise Mbuyi Mutombo

Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo

Farmer Sophie Mayaza travels by canoe to sell the produce she grows in bulk to resellers on the other side of the Tshopo River, commonly known as the “left bank,” about 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) from the city of Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo. The resellers sell the produce at various small markets in neighboring villages.

Photo by Nadia Kanyere Karasisi

Kirumba, DRC

Agatte Mapera collects some stones with her grandchildren in Kirumba, Democratic Republic of Congo. Mapera crushes stones into gravel to sell to local construction companies. She fills about one truckload per week.

Photo by Merveille Kavira Luneghe

Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo

Jean Rino Malondo crosses a small river locally known as Kikongo, transporting bamboo 13 kilometers (8 miles) from the area of Simesta to sell to customers in downtown Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo. Malondo uses a bicycle and a homemade bamboo boat to take the bamboo across the river. He has been collecting and selling bamboo for 19 years.

Photo by Françoise Mbuyi Mutombo

Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo

Farmer Jeanne Marie Esiso picks amaranth with her children Enock Lombale, 3, and Exaucé Lombale, 10 months, in the Kabondo commune of Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo. Esiso gathers the herb every day to sell at Kisangani’s central market.

Photo by Françoise Mbuyi Mutombo

Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo

Nadine Tshela (left), 9, and Thérèse Kingobe, 11, wash dishes and their laundry in the Konga Konga River in Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo. The girls do these chores at the river every day before school.

Photo by Zita Amwanga

Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo

Nathalie Bagega shaves Jean Musongela’s head at Loboko Ya Mwasi, a hair salon in Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo. The salon’s name, Loboko Ya Mwasi, translates from the Lingala language as A Woman’s Hand. Bagega charges 5,000 Congolese francs (about $3) for a haircut and does five to 10 haircuts per day.

Photo by Nadia Kanyere Karasisi

Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo

Enya people practice traditional fishing techniques, at Wagenia Falls in Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo. They use these wooden tripods to hold baskets and nets to trap Congo River fish, which are sold for about 8,000 Congolese francs ($5) per kilogram (2.2 pounds) at Kisangani’s central market.

Photo by Francine Ishay Mulumba

Kirumba, DRC

Graphic artist Christian Bahwere Songya (right) gives painting lessons to Divine Kavugho, a teacher, in the city of Kirumba in Democratic Republic of Congo’s North Kivu province. Songya has been drawing since childhood, and now he teaches art to keep people from turning to crime or joining armed groups.

Photo by Merveille Kavira Luneghe

Makiso, DRC

Benito Awazi welds windows at his workshop in Makiso, a district in Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo. Awazi says that when electricity is available, he is able to make four doors and four windows per day. He sells each door for 486,000 Congolese francs ($300), and windows are 162,000 to 242,000 francs ($100 to $150). To avoid having his work disrupted by power outages, Awazi buys prepaid electricity from SNEL, a national utility, for 32,400 francs ($20) per day.

Photo by Francine Ishay Mulumba

Kirumba, DRC

Hariette Kahambu makes a distilled alcoholic drink, known as rutuku or mangwende, with help from her children in Kirumba, a city in Democratic Republic of Congo’s North Kivu province. The drink is made from a mixture of corn and cassava flour. The family rents a hand-built machine for $1 per day to grind the corn.

Photo by Merveille Kavira Luneghe

Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo

Motorists struggle out of a mud hole that formed on Kisangani Road in Democratic Republic of Congo. The unpaved road, part of the Trans-African Highway, was built by Belgian colonists in the 1960s.

Photo by Nadia Kanyere Karasisi

Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo

Zuzane Makamako (center), 10, intensely plays a child brain game called “Chuka” with her friends Anton Kambilose (left), 11, and Clémence Mande, 9, at Zuzane’s home in Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo. Players take turns attempting to capture all the stones placed between them. The children say their parents don’t allow them to play when they’re in school, so they enjoy the game as often as possible during summer vacation.

Photo by Francine Ishay Mulumba

Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo

Theo Bakoko, 20, who attends a technical secondary school, plays a game called “cadra” in Kisangani, a city in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The two-player game costs 200 Congolese francs (12 cents) to play and is popular among students during their summer vacation.

Photo by Francine Ishay Mulumba

Goma, North Kivu, DRC

During school vacations, Nathalie Bahati, 10, learns sewing and tailoring from her mother, Francine Bushoke, a well-known seamstress in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo. Nathalie, who has been sewing for two years, makes some of her own clothes and also sells garments at her mother’s workshop at the front of their home.

Photo by Nadia Kanyere Karasisi

Komanda, Ituri Province, DRC

In Komanda village in Democratic Republic of Congo’s northeastern Ituri province, Georgette Mwasi, 42, repairs a jerrican using a heated metal tool and recycled plastics. Jerricans, which are important in the area for transporting and storing water, cost more than 5,000 Congolese francs ($3.10) each, while Mwasi charges only 300 francs (19 cents) to repair a broken one.

Photo by Pascaline Kavuo Mwasi Saambili

Goma, North Kivu, DRC

Joel Baguma (foreground) and others who belong to Promo Jeune Basket, an organization that teaches basketball skills to children, read books after practice in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo. Another organization, Books for Eastern Congo, lends the books to the children after their practice sessions three times a week.

Photo by Esther Nsapu

Goma, North Kivu, DRC

Catherine Mutokambali, of Himbi, a neighborhood in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, washes her clothes on the shore of Lake Kivu. After about 15 years of water shortages at her home, Mutokambali wakes up at 5 a.m. daily to do laundry at Lake Kivu, she says.

Photo by Nadia Kanyere Karasisi

Connected

Sort by

Location

Topics

Editor's Choice

Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo

Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo

Komanda, DRC

Kayna, DRC

Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo

Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo

Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo

Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo

Kirumba, DRC

Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo

Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo

Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo

Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo

Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo

Kirumba, DRC

Makiso, DRC

Kirumba, DRC

Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo

Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo

Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo

Goma, North Kivu, DRC

Komanda, Ituri Province, DRC

Goma, North Kivu, DRC

Goma, North Kivu, DRC