Delivering Hope is an exhibition of images taken by photographer Eddie Gerald on assignment for the UN World Food Programme (WFP). The exhibition, which is funded by CIDA ( the Canadian International Development Agency), focuses on the difficulties in delivering assistance to the troubled eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and the many problems faced by hundreds of thousands of Congolese who have had their lives torn apart by years of conflict. This exhibition is co-sponsored by CIGI and the Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS).
This exhibit will be on display at CIGI from Tuesday, March 10 to Friday, March 27, 2009. Open free to the public from 8:30am to 5:00pm on weekdays.
About the Exhibit:
The conflict and violence that has consumed the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for nearly a decade, has killed more people every six months than were killed by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Estimates place the total deaths at four million, although some experts say the figure is far higher. Misrule, dictatorship, corruption and conflict has left DRC among the poorest countries in the world, yet it has not received the attention it deserves, either from the media or the public.
Eddie Gerald took these photographs in May 2007, in North Kivu, DRC. The images document some of the experiences of displaced Congolese people in the eastern regions, where they have sought refuge in camps and received assistance from the UN World Food Programme.
Eastern Congo is one of the most expensive and complicated regions in the world to deliver aid. In DRC the World Food Programme pays particular attention to internally displaced persons and returnees, responding to nutritional requirements of the most vulnerable. WFP support victims of gender-based violence, people affected by HIV/AIDS and school feeding programs that give a full tummy and an education to young children.
For more information on WFP operations in DRC please follow the link : http://www.wfp.org/countries/congo-democratic-republic