Busuma, Burundi camp
Updated: Apr 29, 2026
• 24 files
Justine Yalara Nyegamo, a Congolese refugee in the Busuma camp, poses for a portrait with her granddaughter.
3rd March 2026, Busuma, Burundi
Notes:
My son-in-law was killed on December 9, 2025, on the Kavimvira bridge. My daughter was with him, she got very scared and ran away.
My 15-year-old granddaughter arrived at my house with the baby, Rehema Bonidé, just as I was preparing to flee, and they have been with me ever since. Two days later, we heard gunfire and bombs started to fall on the hills, so we headed for Gatumba, where there was a transit center on the border. We were then transferred to Busuma. Conditions in the camp are harsh. We don't have enough to eat, our shelter is very small, there are many diseases, and when it rains, water leaks through our shelter. At first, we received a little food, but that has stopped now.
Due to lack of funds, she would prefer the children to return to the DRC, and she would like to as well, but she does not have enough money for the trip.
Photographer: Hugh Kinsella Cunningham
Copyright: Hugh Kinsella Cunningham for the ICRC
Shooting Date: 03/03/2026
Location: Busuma, Burundi
Justine Yalara Nyegamo, a Congolese refugee in the Busuma camp, poses for a portrait with her granddaughter.
3rd March 2026, Busuma, Burundi
Notes:
My son-in-law was killed on December 9, 2025, on the Kavimvira bridge. My daughter was with him, she got very scared and ran away.
My 15-year-old granddaughter arrived at my house with the baby, Rehema Bonidé, just as I was preparing to flee, and they have been with me ever since. Two days later, we heard gunfire and bombs started to fall on the hills, so we headed for Gatumba, where there was a transit center on the border. We were then transferred to Busuma. Conditions in the camp are harsh. We don't have enough to eat, our shelter is very small, there are many diseases, and when it rains, water leaks through our shelter. At first, we received a little food, but that has stopped now.
Due to lack of funds, she would prefer the children to return to the DRC, and she would like to as well, but she does not have enough money for the trip.
