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Photo Essays

Young men sit outside. The IRC will help them find jobs with livelihood programs
A woman reads and uses a typewriter, part of IRC women's empoyerment program
Women pour murky water into a pot to boil it. IRC gives access to clean water
Women walk down a solitary road; IRC helps protect women against sexual violence
A woman with her baby speaks to a doctor in an IRC health clinic
An IRC staff membewalks through the streets, encouraging community participation
Three women address a group meeting part of IRC supported civil society
Ivorian refugees arrive in Liberia and are greeted by IRC staff and supplies
Refugees from Ivory Coast stand in their cramped, temporary home in Liberia

Inside our work in Ivory Coast

Ivory Coast
05.06.2011

Ivory Coast has been unstable for almost a decade, and since beginning our work there in 2003, the IRC has supported its citizens in times of peace and conflict.

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Children play on a dirty beach; the IRC helps improve health and sanitation
A mother bathes her child as part of health care, child protection programs
A health worker examines a child at a clinic; the IRC gives training, supplies
Children sit in school; the IRC supports teachers, provides educational material
A woman stands outside; the IRC supports survivors of sexual assualt, abuse
A woman stands near the auto shop where she works as a mechanic
A woman farms her land; the IRC helps farmers grow more to eat and sell
A boy waits to receive an immunization, part of IRC emergency response

Inside our work in Liberia

Liberia
05.06.2011

Years of civil war and unrest have left Liberia in a state of disrepair, but the IRC has been there to help Liberians restore education, health care and safety.

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A man sits outside his home listening to his radio for news
A woman stands to speak in a small community group outside.
Children fetch water from a well and carry it home on their heads
Young children carry containers of clean water on a path and smile
A woman and four young children sit together outside their small home.
<p>As Burundians moved within the country and crossed borders to escape the unrest, many young people were uprooted. Now as they return home, the IRC is helping them get back to work by teaching them job skills.</p>
A woman carries a heavy load of firewood in a bundle on her head
A woman addresses a large group of women outside

Inside our work in Burundi

Burundi
05.03.2011

As Burundians return home after twelve years of civil war, many are struggling to rebuild their lives without proper resources and opportunities. The IRC is encouraging renewal and providing support during this time of tenuous peace.

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Men holding guns stand against a wall
Two men lay bricks in a community rebuilding project
Mothers feed their babies with nutritious food from IRC emergency supplies
IRC staff with children in a Child-Friendly Space, part of child protection
Children in school as part of IRC education program
A mother sits near her baby in a health clinic.
A young boy sits near a murky river where he has walked to collect water
IRC staff sits with a woman as part of efforts to end and treat sexual violence
A woman sews for her small business supported by IRC's employment program
IRC staff member carries a baby in a health clinic

Inside our work in Central African Republic

Central African Republic
05.03.2011

The IRC is providing vital services to the people of the Central African Republic (CAR) as they struggle to survive in a time of uncertainty. We are also educating them about their legal and human rights and the importance of cooperation and community building.

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Distributing emergency supplies to earthquake survivors
Neighborhood in Ishinomaki, Japan that was destroyed in the quake and tsunami
Ground floor filled by Japan tsunami sludge and vehicles
Japan earthquake survivors help out in a soup kitchen
JEN staff distributing emergency supplies for earthquake and tsunami survivors
Two Peace Winds Japan workers distribute boxes of emergency supplies
Japanese earthquake survivors heat water for tea in a temporary shelter
Distributing aid supplies to Japanese earthquake survivors
A young Japanese quake survivor in an evacuation center

Aiding quake survivors

Asia, Japan
04.14.2011

The IRC is supporting the relief efforts of three Japanese aid groups assisting survivors of the earthquake and tsunami that  devastated northeastern Japan in March 2011.

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L to R: Principal Brad Sorenson, student Austin Emch, and IRC's Patrick Poulin
Patrick Poulin and Elyse Yerman at the check presentation event
<p>During the drive, students conducted fundraising activities ranging from odd jobs like shoveling snow, to singing on street corners, holding a kiss a llama event and staging a benefit concert.</p>
<p>&quot;What you have done has literally saved lives over the next several months,&quot; IRC director Patrick Poulin told the students. &quot;Even those of us who are humanitarians, you inspire us.&quot;</p>

Students raise $81,000 for refugees

US - Salt Lake City, UT
04.06.2011

Riverton High School outside Salt Lake City has rallied to the cause of refugees and the IRC with results that would put most professional fundraisers to shame. Students also volunteered with the IRC and went out of their way to learn about the refugee experience.

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Saywon Tarlesson braids a customer's hair in her salon in a Monrovia suburb.
Boy stands next to a burning garbage dump near some homes in a Monrovia slum.
Joezel Mompleh sells fish to a local woman from her stall in a Monrovia market.
Annie Grant in her market stall in a Monrovia, Liberia suburb.
Ruth Famah arranges greens at her produce stand in a Liberian market.
Laurina Tokpah behind the counter in her shop in Monrovia, Liberia.
Christine Jacobs in her drink shop in Monrovia, Liberia

Learning to succeed

Liberia
04.04.2011

The IRC is helping disadvantaged girls and young women in Liberia learn a trade or start their own business.  So far, all the program's graduates have gone on to build successful businesses, an achievement that is all the more remarkable given the country’s dire poverty and the lack of opportunity for women. 

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The day after their arrival, Uma accompanies the family to the Bronx.
Man Maya walks carefully down the stairs to the Grand Central Station platform.
On the subway, the new arrivals were surprised to see street performers dancing.
The family has another new experience - riding the escalator.
In the Bronx, Uma escorts her in-laws to their new apartment.
Dill Ram and Man Maya
Ama was most excited about seeing her grandchildren.
Man Maya adorns Uma with a necklace from Nepal.
In Nepali culture necklaces are a symbol of marriage.
As the youngest son, Om is his parents’ caretaker.
In Nepal, Om lived with Chet Nath, Uma and Kushal outside of the camp.
Om is happy to be in the United States with his family.
Arriving home from school, Pratiksha jumps into her grandfather’s arms.

A reunion in the Bronx

US - New York, NY
04.01.2011

In the fall of 2009 Chet Nath Timsina’s parents, Dill Ram, 66, Man Maya, 63, and his youngest brother, Om, 22, arrived in New York from the refugee camp in Nepal where they had been living for 18 years. Photographer Misha Cohen documented the family’s first few weeks in the United States.
 

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Meningitis vaccination in Chad:
Meningitis vaccination in Chad:
Meningitis vaccination in Chad:
Meningitis vaccination in Chad:
Meningitis vaccination in Chad:

Meningitis outbreak

Chad
03.25.2011

In March 2011, the IRC, its UN partners and the government of Chad vaccinated 40,000 people in four days as a deadly meningitis epidemic reached a refugee camp where the IRC is the sole health provider.

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The people of Shah Wasaye returned to their village in late February. More than six months after the floods, the community is still in ruins.
A resident of the village clears debris from the spot where his house once stood. Flooding destroyed an estimated 1.7 million homes throughout Pakistan.
The IRC's Dr. Abdul Jalil examines patients in the village of Shah Wasaye. Most communities were poor even before the floods struck. Now they are suffering from an upsurge in disease brought on by food shortages, contaminated water and poor hygiene.
Parveen Abro, an IRC nurse, treats a girl from Shah Wasaye. The IRC operates two mobile health teams in Sindh Province that provide services to some 50,000 people.
Some 170,000 flood victims remain in camps for displaced people, according to the United Nations. The number of homeless people is much higher, including those living in tents beside wrecked homes, like this family near Shah Wasaye.
This family built a makeshift structure outside Shah Wasaye. The village's farm land and livestock were destroyed by the flooding.
The IRC has launched a far-reaching project that will rebuild vital infrastructure in hard-hit Sindh Province and help over 150,000 people.
Food shortages are acute in some areas of Sindh Province. The IRC's new aid project will rehabilitate agricultural land and distribute seeds, fertilizers, poultry and livestock.
The IRC supplies drugs and equipment to rural health clinics such as this one in the village of Mianjogoth.
The IRC has installed water tanks, hand pumps and latrines across Sindh Province. In the village of Aitbar Brohi, a girl pumps drinking water from a well.
A boy enjoys a clean shower in the village of Aitbar Brohi.
Cases of diarrhea and scabies have dropped dramatically since the IRC installed a fresh water supply, according to Mohammed Alem, who lives in a tent in Aitbar Brohi.
Much of Pakistan's flood zone is in the same desperate shape as it was six months ago. Although the international aid effort has helped millions of people it is still struggling to catch up to the immense human need.

After the flood

Pakistan
03.22.2011

More than six months on, the humanitarian crisis brought about by the worst flooding in Pakistan’s history is far from over.   The IRC is providing clean water and health care, and helping hard hit communities to rebuild vital infrastructure and kick start their local economies.

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