LIVES OF DESPERATION IN A LAND OF PLENTY

Despite being one of Africa's most fertile nations, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is rich in human suffering. Following a devastating legacies of colonialism - where Belgium's King Leopold II raped the nation of diamonds, timber, rubber and gold - and a brutal dictator, the country spiraled into what has been the deadliest war since WWII. Since 1998, it is estimated that 5.5 million people have died in DRC. The majority of these deaths have not been combat related. Instead, many of them stem from a "collapsed healthcare system and devastated economy." The people of eastern DRC, long ignored by the government forces that make their stronghold in the far west of the country, face the most difficult obstacles. Against the wave of all the country’s problems, the people of eastern Congo desperately struggle to get by in this land of plenty.