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Separated by conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, tens of thousands struggle to survive in Burundi’s Busuma camp

Refugees transport supplies to the Busuma camp, home to Congolese communities who have fled conflict.
©Hugh Kinsella Cunningham for ICRC

Hidden among the hills of northern Burundi, a camp that did not exist before December last year has become a makeshift refuge for more than 65,000 people who have been forced to flee violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. 

Behind the tarpaulins, lives are turned upside down. Their gazes speak plainly of the harsh daily reality faced by these thousands of people: torrential rains, scarce food, limited access to safe drinking water and healthcare, as well as deep uncertainty about the fate of their relatives.

As they have lost sight of their homes, many have also lost contact with their loved ones during the anguish caused by the conflict. Efforts are ongoing to support displaced families, helping them reconnect with relatives and, despite the difficult conditions, maintain a vital link for their resilience.

Esperance Sakina Hatari, a Congolese refugee living at the Busuma camp since December 2025
©Hugh Kinsella Cunningham for ICRC

Esperance Sakina Hatari, a Congolese refugee living at the Busuma camp since December 2025. She now spends her days making charcoal near the entrance of the camp, hoping to earn a little money.

“It’s not easy for us refugees because we left everything behind when we fled. We left with nothing. We came with our children, that’s all. Some of us have no food, no shelter and no blankets. We sleep on the ground, and the children are dying of cold and hunger,” said Esperance.

Estelle Tilifoza is from Baraka. She travelled through the town of Rumonge in southern Burundi with her husband and five children.
©Hugh Kinsella Cunningham for ICRC

Estelle Tilifoza is from Baraka. She travelled through the town of Rumonge in southern Burundi with her husband and five children.

“To get here, we crossed Lake Tanganyika. I was scared because it was my first time on the lake. We lost all our belongings in the water during the crossing. I was sick. I’ll never forget that terrifying journey.”

A graveyard of recently deceased Congolese refugees is seen close by the Busuma refugee camp.
©Hugh Kinsella Cunningham for ICRC

A graveyard of recently deceased Congolese refugees is seen close by the Busuma refugee camp.

Anastasie Cubwa lives in the Busuma camp with her husband Joseph and their 4 children
©Hugh Kinsella Cunningham for ICRC

Anastasie Cubwa lives in the Busuma camp with her husband Joseph and their 4 children.

Already displaced multiple times, Anastasie had spent seven years in Bwagiriza camp before deciding to return home. Soon after, violence forced them to flee again.

“We heard bombs… then they came closer. One killed people, another landed behind our houses. I took the children and we left.”

A church service underway in the Busuma camp.
©Hugh Kinsella Cunningham for ICRC

A church service underway in the Busuma camp.

Fataki Zawadi fled violence in eastern DRC with his seven children,
©Hugh Kinsella Cunningham for ICRC

Fataki Zawadi fled violence in eastern DRC with his seven children, but during a chaotic relocation between camps in Burundi, he was separated from his 16-year-old daughter, Charlotte.

Now together again, the family faces many struggles “If I was offered to go back to the DRC now, I would go immediately. Here, there’s no school for the children. I know there is a health center in the camp, but there’s no medicine. And my son here he got diarrhea, but they couldn’t do anything for him."

Congolese refugees in the Busuma camp queue to use a water pump.
©Hugh Kinsella Cunningham for ICRC

Congolese refugees in the Busuma camp queue to use a water pump.

ICRC staff member Noemie Niyongere assists Congolese refugee Annuarite Yamwaka at a connectivity centre.
©Hugh Kinsella Cunningham for ICRC

ICRC staff member Noemie Niyongere assists Congolese refugee Annuarite Yamwaka at a connectivity centre. Annuarite fled fighting in Eastern Congo and was separated from 3 of her children during the displacement.

A Burundi Red Cross worker helps Maria Chakupwa, a Congolese refugee, place a phone call to her missing niece.
©Hugh Kinsella Cunningham for ICRC

A Burundi Red Cross worker helps Maria Chakupwa, a Congolese refugee, place a phone call to her missing niece.

In 2025, among other activities, the ICRC:

  • Facilitated almost 10,400 phone calls between refugees or asylum seekers with separated family members.
  • Provided free internet access to more than 27,000 people to restore and maintain contact with their families.
  • Registered 730 new cases of unaccompanied and separated minors.
  • Located 119 persons and clarified their fate.
  • Supported the exchange of more than 1,300 Red Cross messages between separated family members in Burundi and abroad.
  • Distributed 2,000 household essential kits (including blankets, mats, soap, kitchen kits, mosquito nets and buckets) and 500 hygiene kits (including cans, soap, buckets, basins, water purification tablets and reusable sanitary towels). 
  • Donated five 10,000-litre bladders for drinking water and financed water trucking activities.
  • Provided 120 sprayers, 120 personal protective equipment (PPE) kits and barrels of chlorine to support disinfection activities at the reception sites.
Burundi Red Cross worker Elyse Bitangimana oversees an ICRC connectivity centre in the Cishemere transit centre.
©Hugh Kinsella Cunningham for ICRC