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BUKAVU


Bukavu is about 1500 km away from the capital Kinshasa (reachable only by air), at the border of Rwanda and Burundi. River Ruzizi separates these countries. Bukavu is the capital city of South Kivu, one of the 11 provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Its position on the west banks of Lake Kivu helps the city enjoy a good climate and each season, this climate colors the city with flowers.

A beautiful view of Bukavu on the banks of Lake Kivu.

 

The soil of the region is particularly rich in copper, cobalt, coltan, diamonds, gold and zinc. Coltan is a metallic mineral from which niobium and tantalite can be extracted. Tantalio is used in fabricating phones, DVD players, computers, etc.

A civil war broke out in North Kivu in 2008, which led to massacres and unprecedented violences. Therefore, thousands of people looked for a shelter in the outskirts of Bukavu.

A boy, sitting next to his stand full of products. He sells these products to the workers of a gold mine near Bukavu.

In a rural place in south Kivu, a young girl carries used jugs in order to get some water.

In this remote village, which requires one day’s trip to the nearest bazaar on foot, a young girl helps her older sister to grind the flour.

Darlene Confiance, 18 years old, works as an embroiderer. She needs to support her youngest sister, the only survivor in her family.

This is why the management of this area remains difficult due to many factors, one of which is the political interference of the neighboring country, Rwanda. The desire to exploit the natural richness of this territory has led to deadly wars depleting the population of Bukavu, making this area remain insecure.