1 / 30
enlarge
slideshow
Maiduguri's entrance Gate.
Much of the humanitarian aid is concentrated in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state. Maiduguri hosts one million internally displaced people
2 / 30
enlarge
slideshow
Biography of the Forgotten
2
Overpass construction in Maiduguri.
In times of relative peace, the city has attempted to rebuild its economy by building roads and infrastructures to stimulate growth in other areas affected by the insurgency.
The repeated destruction of power infrastructure by Boko Haram has left residents without grid electricity for months.
3 / 30
enlarge
slideshow
Biography of the Forgotten
A group of female students waits for the school bus near the school's exit.
As a result of the abduction of 276 girls in a Chibok school, and the subsequent daily kidnaps, girls live in fear of being kidnapped by insurgents.
4 / 30
enlarge
slideshow
Child in a Monguno IDP camp, a town in the north-eastern part of Borno State.
Boko Haram has often kidnapped children in IDP camps.
Girls are made into sex slaves while boys are recruited as militants.
Lately there's a significant increase on using teenagers and children as human bombs.
5 / 30
enlarge
slideshow
Biography of the Forgotten
A woman with her goats in Monguno city.
In Monguno, many NGOs work to treat acute malnutrition in communities by giving beneficiaries livestokes.
6 / 30
enlarge
slideshow
Biography of the Forgotten
An interior view of a tent in the Mafa displaced camp.
7 / 30
enlarge
slideshow
Biography of the Forgotten
Zainab, who lives in a displaced camp, is a survivor of a Boko Haram attacks.
She lost everything she had: her home, her husband, two children, and the use of a leg due to a gunshot wound.
She is looking after seven children.
Some are her grandchildren, others are orphans.
In order to escape the guerrilla fighters, she covered herself with leaves and waited hours in the bush before they left.
8 / 30
enlarge
slideshow
Biography of the Forgotten
A farmer collect wheat in the Mafa field.
As the dry season approaches, insurgents activity generally ramps up. Farmers can't get to their land during planting season due to security concerns.
9 / 30
enlarge
slideshow
Biography of the Forgotten
Women Support Center is a place for women and girls to come together and talk about gender-based violence, to support each other, and to help put an end to it.
10 / 30
enlarge
slideshow
In the city of Mafa a Nigerian girl follows a NGO's Psychosocial session.
A constant sense of uncertainty over the future, coupled with the fear and the desire to return home, adds to daily stress.
11 / 30
enlarge
slideshow
In the women's support center, a newborn baby sleeps.
Nigeria is currently the seventh most populous country in the world.
12 / 30
enlarge
slideshow
Within the displaced camp of Mafa, children rest under a tree.
13 / 30
enlarge
slideshow
In the district of Zilimari aid workers disinfects water by using chlorine.
The country is still plagued by epidemics such as cholera, typhus, and tetanus.
14 / 30
enlarge
slideshow
A former Boko Haram child soldier demonstrates how to shave the head during a "Life skills session.”
In 2011, Boko Haram fighters seized control of his village and after burning it to the ground, they kidnapped him. During the training, they taught him how to fight, shoot, and specially how to behead victims.
He was 11 at the time.
15 / 30
enlarge
slideshow
As a result of polio, Atu, has atrophied legs.
His belief is that a bad spirit entered him during the night when he was a baby and permanently damaged him.
The Borno State is finally Polio-free.
Nigeria achieved a monumental success on August 2020 when it became a polio-free country after completing three years without any wild poliovirus cases.
17 / 30
enlarge
slideshow
Football fans watch the training of a soccer team at the El-Kanemi Stadium, in Maiduguri.
19 / 30
enlarge
slideshow
At the maternal and Children Health Center in a IDP Camp, a pregnant woman has her baby's heartbeat checked.
20 / 30
enlarge
slideshow
In one of Maiduguri's most renowned restaurants, two young assistant chefs prepare the ingredients for the dinner time.
21 / 30
enlarge
slideshow
A family waits at the Maiduguri checkpoint.
Occasionally families decide to return to the bush when the assistance available in the overcrowded camps is not enough to provide a decent life.
22 / 30
enlarge
slideshow
An NGO provides hygiene kits to internally displaced women in Monguno.
Outside of Monguno town, the security situation remains adverse and civilians are under- protected due to military operations and frequent terrorist's attack.
23 / 30
enlarge
slideshow
A man selects beans for his wife, who plans to use them to make street food to sell to provide for the family.
24 / 30
enlarge
slideshow
A Ngo manager working in his office in Maiduguri.
in some sectors, Maiduguri has been hard hit by violent extremism, while in other sectors, the economy has boomed due to the influx of nongovernmental organizations.
25 / 30
enlarge
slideshow
A boy cleans off the volleyball court before playing with friends.
26 / 30
enlarge
slideshow
Outside the main market, a young tuk tuk driver waits for customers.As a result of the military and violent extremists blocking transport routes and making farms unreachable, food prices at the Monday Market - the largest in Maiduguri - skyrocketed. Extortion by security forces also played a role.
27 / 30
enlarge
slideshow
Before attending a wedding ceremony, a woman tries on her dress at a tailor's shop. Although Boko Haram has recently targeted wedding parties, weddings are still on the rise because they bring joy back to people's lives.
28 / 30
enlarge
slideshow
A woman in labor at a maternity center in Gylmeri's camp.
29 / 30
enlarge
slideshow
On an unpaved road in front of an NGO headquarters, young men play football before sunset.
30 / 30
enlarge
slideshow
In the EYN church, a group of Christians prays outdoors.
Boko Haram fighters burned down the Church in 2009, and it was rebuilt.