DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
Solange is a homeless single mother. She lives at the decaying Tata Raphael Stadium (where the famous 1974 Mohammed Ali - George Forman "Rumble In The Jungle" boxing match took place) with some 70 other homeless youths. To survive, the boys work at odd jobs during the day and the girls work as prostitutes for between $5 and $15 a client around the stadium and in the city. The main mode of HIV transmission in the DRC is through heterosexual sexual activity. The most affected age groups are women between the ages 20 to 29 and men aged 30 to 39. There are an estimated 30,000 children living in the streets of Kinshasa. Years of dictatorship and conflict have destroyed the social fabric of the country.
Kinshasa, DR Congo. 12/06/2006
Photo © J.B. Russell
