DRC 8, Joseline Walungu, Democratic Republic of Congo May 25, 2003

copyright: Lori Waselchuck

Joseline Ndagano, holding her one-year-old child in the center of the bed, sits with 8 teenage girls who have sought refuge in her home in Walungu, DRC. The girls have fled their village, Mshesha, fearing abduction and rape by the soldiers involved in the DRC's ongoing war. As women flee their homes, food production for a community is severely diminished, triggering hunger and starvation in one of the most fertile countries in Africa.

Hunger also affects Joseline's home now that she has extra mouths to feed. She gets help from the girls' families who send food when they can, but it is a struggle to feed everyone. Joseline could not turn them away, saying "One day it could be me."
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