Pictorials

Independence

Crushing Gravel for a Living

I asked this boy why he did a job he hated. His answer reflected the toughness of having few options. He is paid by the amount of gravel he produces. He must collect the rocks he breaks as well as hammer them into pieces. He was concerned that I was not wearing protective glasses and I noticed that he didn't even own a pair.

The Road to a Mission

Security

Reconstruction

One of the greatest gifts a community can receive is access to markets to sell their wares. This is one of dozens of bridges we were able to build in Eastern Congo so that villagers could cross this river in flood season. For them, it eliminated the potential of seasonal starvation

Recording Their Stories

Everywhere we went, there was a story to tell. We took the time to listen and document hundreds of cases.

The Courage of a Mother

The fighting within Eastern Congo has left fear in the lives of all who live in the countryside. Many children have become victims of starvation as their mothers hide in the jungles. For every child whose mother was able to bring to this medical centre, 10 children did not survive. This mother walked for almost a week to get her baby to this medical treatment facility.

Figure Print for Food

When food is distributed to 1000's of people, each family is registered. Before they can take their supplies home, they must sign a release form. Most of these recipients did not know how to write so fingerprinting was the chosen alternative.

Lindsay Brucks

Lindsay is one of the most compassionate people I know. He also is somewhat fearless. To find out more of what he does you would want to visit the IMED site of Food for the Hungry Canada. He and his staff have been responsible for the shipment and distribution of countless supplies of medicine and hospital equipment. He is also one of the primary photographers on this site. http://www.fhcanada.org/IMED;jsessionid=0a010c451f43cc8c28820ad4490d88cbcd3837139bcc.e3eTaxiMa38Te34Lbi0

Gorillas in the Mist

If you ever wanted to see a silverback gorilla, this is the place to go. Regretfully their numbers are declining due to the other type of guerrilla with machine guns. Eastern Congo and Rwanda are the locations for most of the documentaries filmed.

Everyone Has a Job

Courage

This man is missing his right arm. His wife's friends told her that if she didn't leave him she would never own a new dress again. We supplied this man with seed for crops. His efforts produced a bumper crop from which he saved seed to plant next season, saved seed for food and then sold some seed for cash. With the proceeds, he promptly went out and bought his wife a new dress. He is telling that story as this picture was taken.

Innocence

Internally Displace People Camp (IDP)

Due to the violence within Eastern Congo, many have fled their homes. They live in these temporary camps for years. The shelters in the background house between 5 and 10 people. Apart from sleeping, virtually all other activity is conducted outside the huts.