In Pictures
Home
World
UK
England
N. Ireland
Scotland
Wales
Business
Politics
Health
Education
Sci/Environment
Technology
Entertainment & Arts
Video & Audio
Magazine
In Pictures
Also in the News
Have Your Say
Special Reports
21 March 2012
Last updated at
00:36
In pictures: Rebuilding the Democratic Republic of Congo
The Oubangui river forms part of the northern border between the Democratic Republic of Congo and its much smaller neighbour, Congo-Brazzaville. After clashes in 2009, some 100,000 people crossed the river, fleeing ethnic clashes in DR Congo. Photographer Jonathan Torgovnik has travelled with a team from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to deliver aid to the region.
The fighting was sparked by contested fishing rights and quickly spread to other areas parts of DR Congo's Equatoria province. This was completely separate from the more widely reported violence in the east of the country.
Today the area is relatively calm, though the scars remain. Here we see a school in Monzaya that was damaged during the fighting.
Along with the volunteers of the Red Cross of the Congo, the ICRC assisted families in five districts of the country, providing cassava cuttings, agricultural equipment and fishing materials.
The cassava is one of the most widely consumed staple foods on the continent, though a recent report stresses the need for more research to make it more resistant to pests and disease.
The ICRC has also been helping to reunite families separated during the unrest.
A health centre in Dongo reopened in 2011 and now serves the local community. "During my visit to Dongo, I was lucky to be on hand when a nine-year-old girl was reunited with her uncle after being apart for nearly two years," said Torgovnik.
In Saba Saba, volunteers of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Red Cross society exhumed the remains of civilians who, when returning from their fields, were killed by the roadside during the violence in 2009. The remains were left there and are only now being exhumed to allow families and relatives to have a dignified burial of their loved ones in their village.
"This was the most emotional part of our visit to the area," said Torgovnik. "The families of the victims were glad to have closure, but the process triggered a lot of emotions, and brought back sad memories of the armed violence, and of family members who were lost."
Share this page
Delicious
Digg
Facebook
reddit
StumbleUpon
Twitter
Email
Print
Services
Mobile
Connected TV
News feeds
Alerts
E-mail news
About BBC News
Editors' blog
BBC College of Journalism
News sources
Editorial Guidelines