In 2025, people around the world have faced droughts, conflict, displacement, and food shortages. CARE has been on the ground, helping communities survive and rebuild. These photos capture moments of courage, resilience, and hope — showing the real difference CARE’s work makes in people’s lives.
A safe start to life in Democratic Republic of Congo
Midwife Sifa, 25, cradles a newborn baby, just three days old. Not long ago, half of the babies delivered in this remote area didn’t survive childbirth. Since CARE began supporting the local health centre, the once-empty facility now hums with life — with delivery beds, trained midwives, and free maternal care. Sifa delivers up to 35 babies each month and lives across the road so she can respond at any hour. “My favourite moment,” she says, “is when mothers leave with their healthy babies and all is okay.”
Life-saving water in Bougainville
Women carry relief water from a boat to shore at Mantoia Village, Nissan District, amid one of the worst droughts to hit Bougainville in years. Since November 2024, lack of rain, saltwater intrusion, and damaged fishing grounds have left communities struggling for food and clean water. CARE, with support from the Australian Government and local partners, is delivering emergency water and supplies while building longer-term solutions like water tanks. For these families, each jerrican is more than water — it is health, hope, and a lifeline.
Growing independence in Chad
Marceline packs freshly harvested peanuts with her farming group in Southern Chad, supported by CARE’s PROSECA project. With training, seeds, tools, and their own land, Marceline and her fellow farmers have turned peanut farming into a reliable income while enriching the soil with trees. Beyond the harvest, the project has reshaped roles at home: men now share domestic work, and women like Marceline are gaining independence and confidence. “Sometimes, I feel so grateful, I just want to carry my husband on my back everywhere,” she laughs, reflecting on the freedom and stability her work has brought.
Life amid famine, Gaza
At CARE’s primary healthcare centre in Deir Al-Balah, a mother holds her baby close — one of thousands of families fighting to survive amid famine and conflict. Since January, CARE has screened over 5,000 children and nearly 3,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women for malnutrition. Over one in ten children and more than a third of women are acutely malnourished. With UN support, CARE has provided life-saving nutritional supplements, offering a fragile lifeline where food, water, and safety have all but disappeared.
Clean water, fresh hope in Sudan
A young girl washes her face with clean water — a simple act now possible thanks to renewed access. In Darfur and other states, CARE has delivered water by truck, rehabilitated systems and latrines, set up community water committees, and integrated gender-based-violence protections into WASH programmes. With millions displaced and water infrastructure damaged, each functioning tap is a symbol of dignity, safety, and renewed health.
Growing hope in Syria
Yara*, 29, tends her crops in a greenhouse that has transformed her ability to farm despite relentless droughts. In Syria’s shrinking breadbasket, falling yields and rising food costs forced many families to sell assets or abandon farming. With CARE’s support through the Building Local Resilience in Syria project, Yara received tools, seeds, and training to improve her harvests and income. The greenhouse now allows her to grow vegetables year-round, providing food security for her three children and a renewed sense of independence.
* Name changed to protect identity
Strength in survival, Democratic Republic of Congo
Esther carries a jerrican of water back to her village — the only source of water for miles, though it often makes people sick. After losing her husband to armed violence and fleeing her home for over a year, Esther returned to find her village destroyed and without clean water or electricity. Now, with CARE’s support in the local health centre, her community can once again access free medical care close to home. But every day, Esther still makes the long walk to fetch water, a symbol of both hardship and resilience. “We have learned that survival is not about waiting for safety,” she says. “It is about doing what must be done, even when it is difficult.”
