"I arrived in the D.R. Congo in 2015, during the troubles in Burundi. We were told people were getting killed, so when I saw my neighbours leave, I decided to flee as well."

Rosary did not live in the same town as her family, and so she came to the Congo alone. She was placed in Lusenda refugee camp, on the shores of Lake Tanganyika.

"Life at the camp is good, the healthcare is good and we eat well. But we have no land to cultivate. Now that the rainy season is coming, I need to go back to Burundi to tend to my crops."

Rosary volunteered to be part of the first repatriation convoy organised by the UNHCR since the camp was set up in 2015.

"When I think about home in Burundi, I feel nostalgic. Today, I want to go home. I don't know where I will go, of even if I will have a house, but I will go back and rebuild my life".


Photo and Story by: Clara Veale / © UNHCR 2017