The elections have already been wrought with irregularities.

// Photograph taken in Goma, DRC

Tomorrow are the second ever democratic elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo. There has been violence leading up to these elections and suspicions by the international community if they will be fair. This is a critical moment for the nation and the over 70million people who call Congo home. To read a few thoughtful analyses on the elections see below.

The Economist: That Sinking Feeling

The Guardian: Joseph Kabila tipped to retain power in Congo, but future looks grim

Congo Siasa: Who will win the presidential elections? A long, rough guess

// Photograph taken in the makeshift IDP Camp near Lac Vert, North Kivu, DRC

I had the privilege of going to New Mexico with Share Our Strength to document hunger in America. 1 in every 4 children in the United States is at risk of hunger or is food insecure. 1 in every 4. Share Our Strength is working to combat this figure by creating access to meal programs across the country. Hunger in America looks like hunger anywhere else in the world. Children are not getting enough to eat. Some of these children eat only once a day and might not eat at all if these programs did not exist. I was honored to be invited into the lives of these children and communities for a few days to glimpse this crisis and witness a solution.

// Photograph taken in Ruidoso, New Mexico

Today we welcome the newest nation to the world: South Sudan. After decades of civil war, this marks, hopefully, a beginning of something good and new in a place that so deserves it. I celebrate the Sudanese and this advent of freedom and hope for peace to last.

// Photograph taken in Nzarra, South Sudan.

The meandering waters pointed toward the quiet newness that slept next to me in the UN helicopter. A child, free.

// Photograph taken en route from Kindu to Kisangani, DR Congo

The LRA is in this region, spreading fear and pain and despair. I am currently working on a short piece sharing the brave words of Sister Giovanna who has lived in the midst of LRA violence the last 25 years. Her urge to celebrate each other’s humanity by protecting one another remind me of Desmond Tutu’s words. These couragoues leaders have tread the path to what true peace actually looks like, hammered out between the sorrow and loss of war.

“When we see others as the enemy, we risk becoming what we hate. When we oppress others, we end up oppressing ourselves. All of our humanity is dependent upon recognizing the humanity in others.” – Desmond Tutu

Who is your enemy? Do you see their humanity?

// Photograph taken on the road between Yambio and Nzara, Western Equatoria, South Sudan.

In April I spent three weeks in Eastern DRC. The first part of the trip I spent documenting both the effects and prevention of HIV/AIDS. We looked at how to prevent the transmission of HIV from mother to child and from sexual violence, as well as how to care for children living with the virus. I had the privilege of getting to know some of the bravest people I have ever met, facing obstacles too enormous and complex to understand as an outsider. I was welcomed into their lives and stories and given a glimpse of this additional consequence of war and what is being done to overcome it.

// The transmission of HIV/AIDS can be prevented from mother to child. Justine participated in a program run by Global Strategies implemented through Heal Africa and was able to prevent the transmission of the virus to her child who is now HIV negative.

// Kubou and her child, now HIV negative because of the program she participated in. The medicine necessary is quite reasonable, it is a matter of getting this medicine and training into the rural communities.

// Waiting for help at a rural clinic in Ishasha, North Kivu.

// Anastasia is a survivor of sexual violence. DRC has the highest rates of sexual violence in the world, rape being called a tool of war, with the ripples of this violence extending into all areas of societal life. Anastasia is HIV negative because of the post exposure prophylaxis she received and says that if she had contracted the virus, the stigma would have been too great to bear.

// On the road to Kiwanja, North Kivu.

// Lake Kivu shimmers.

// At one point, DRC hosted the largest UN mission in the world with over 18,000 peacekeepers. Today the UN is scaling back their mission with an exit plan in mind. The impact of both their presence in the DRC and their pending exit is widely debated.

// Photograph taken in Goma, DRC

// Photograph taken at Heal Africa in Goma, DR Congo. A street child waits for his friend outside the ER, who was beaten nearly to death minutes earlier.

// Photograph taken in a UN helicopter en route from Kindu to Kisangani, DR Congo. A man part of the Congolese national army surveys the Congolese rain forest below.

// Photograph taken in a village au bord du lac, North Kivu, DR Congo. A grandmother takes care of her grandchild.

// A woman carries a load of goods on her back at dusk. Volcano Niyragongo looms in the distance.

// Photograph taken on Lake Kivu, DR Congo. A fisherman paddles towards the storm.