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Photo gallery
24-06-2016

Central African Republic: Life within a displaced persons camp

  • Central African Republic
  • Protected persons: Internally displaced persons
  • Economic Security
  • Water and habitat

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CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / Virginie Nguyen Hoang

Communitarian Hospital of Bangui

ICRC doctors and nurses perform a skin graft on a patient at the Communitarian Hospital of Bangui.

CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / Virginie Nguyen Hoang

Communitarian Hospital of Bangui

18-year-old Valer suffered gunshot injuries in Banbari in March. He is recovering after undergoing a skin graft operation.

CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / Virginie Nguyen Hoang

Bangui

ICRC is working with Sodeca to build a 3.5 kilometer-long water system. Michel (centre) is ICRC's water engineer, and he trains the workers from Sodeca.

CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / Virginie Nguyen Hoang

Mpoko Camp, Bangui

This water system in Mpoko Camp in Bangui can hold up to 70,000 litres of water. Water from this system is also pumped into 12 bladder-like containter within the camp which hold up to 15,000 litres each. Despite this the water is rapidly consumed by the people living in the camp.

CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / Virginie Nguyen Hoang

Mpoko Camp, Bangui

Royale waters plants in her family's garden in front of a tent. Her family has been living in the Mpoko Camp since December 5, 2013 after they fled their home following an attacked by armed groups.

CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / Virginie Nguyen Hoang

Mpoko Camp, Bangui

Rovaline (left) fetches water at a water station in Mpoko Camp. She has been living at the camp with her husband and three children for nearly three years. To get enough water for drinking, cooking, and cleaning she will have to make two or three trips to the water station each day.

CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / Virginie Nguyen Hoang

Mpoko Camp, Bangui

Gislain tends to his crops in a small garden close to his family's tent. He has lived at the camp for nearly three years with his wife Rovaline, and their three children. The family cultivates cassava, onions, and amaranth. They also own some pigs.

CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / Virginie Nguyen Hoang

Mpoko Camp, Bangui

The Central African Red Cross Society is devoted to ensuring that people living with HIV are healthy and independent. The organization facilitates activities such as sewing workshops in Bangui.

CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / Virginie Nguyen Hoang

Mpoko Camp, Bangui

An 8-month-old baby takes a bath outside his tent at the Mpoko Camp in Bangui. The baby has never known life outside of the camp.

CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / Virginie Nguyen Hoang

Mpoko Camp, Bangui

Alfred is a 71-year-old primary school teacher in Bangui. He sits outside his tent and prepares some examination questions for his pupils.

CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / Virginie Nguyen Hoang

Mpoko Camp, Bangui

Boukanga Blaise and Rosalie Barbo are husband and wife. They have been living in the Mpoko camp with their four children since the December 5, 2013 when the violence started in Bangui. They used to live in PK5 before their home was attacked. And since then, they have been too afraid to return to their neighbourhood because of the presence of armed groups. Their family makes a living within the Mpoko Camp by selling food and cultivating cassava.

CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / Virginie Nguyen Hoang

Mpoko Camp, Bangui

Virginie leans in and kisses her grandmother Rosalie as she washes the family's dishes. Love and hope remains strong within the confines of the Mpoko Camp.

Thousands of people in Bangui were forced to flee from their homes when violence broke out in the Central African Republic capital city.

With little more than the will to survive, many of these people ended up at Mpoko Camp where they have been slowly trying to rebuild their lives.

The CAR government, Sodeca, Central African Red Cross Society, and the ICRC have been offering assistance to the internally displaced people who have been affected by the violence that rocked the country nearly three years ago.

Help us ensure Central African Republic is never forgotten. Support our work today.

See also :

  • Central African Republic conflict
  • The ICRC in Central African Republic

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