Captions
Former child soldiers Mumbere, left, and Habyarimana, play football in the courtyard of UPDECO’s reintegration center in Rutshuru, Eastern DR Congo, on Monday, July 21, 2014. Many child soldiers spend years in various militia groups in the east of the country, sometimes leaving them on their own accord, or after being convinced by elders or militia leaders to put down their weapons. The road to reintegration into society again is often a long one, especially if the child's family does not wish for them to return. Many of the boys and girls have missed out on years of schooling, and if they are older than 18, are not legally allowed to be in transit centers run by NGOs where they can receive some type of assistance in reintegration. Even so, many of these reintegration centers severely lack funding and therapists to help counsel the children, and they return home to the same conditions as before they joined the militia group.