Restoring the Foundations
Rehabilitating infrastructure, clearing debris, and restoring essential services.
Across some of the world’s most challenging humanitarian crises, millions of people are finding ways to recover.
They clear rubble, repair hospitals, restore farms, reopen businesses and create safer places for their families.
These photographs from Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar, Palestine (Gaza), Syria and Ukraine capture everyday acts of determination as people build back what was lost and shape what comes next.
Early recovery is the bridge between survival and long-term recovery. It means children returning to school, families living safely and earning a living, communities reconnecting, and people looking ahead with confidence. Recovery cannot wait until a crisis is over. It must begin from day one.
R.E.V.I.V.E. (Relief, Employment & Vital Infrastructure for the Vulnerable Emergencies) is the Republic of Korea’s flagship global partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to advance early recovery in crisis-affected countries. It highlights the commitment of those who are rebuilding their lives, as well as the power of investing in early recovery.
Giles Clarke is a UK-born visual storyteller documenting the lives of people living through crisis. His work reveals strength and dignity amid extraordinary challenges. For R.E.V.I.V.E., he travelled to Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Syria and Ukraine.
Luke Soe Moe Tun is a Myanmar-based photographer whose work focuses on the humanity behind conflict. His intimate portraits highlight communities often overlooked.
Saher Alghorra is a Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist from Gaza documenting everyday life amid conflict. His photography captures moments of loss and endurance, offering an intimate view of communities living through crisis.
Other photos provided by UNDP.
Rehabilitating infrastructure, clearing debris, and restoring essential services.
Afghanistan
Interview
After the 2025 earthquake in Afghanistan, villagers in Sutan build a protective wall along a riverbed to reduce the damage caused by seasonal flooding and safeguard homes, farmland and livelihoods.
DR Congo
Women celebrate the opening of the Rusisiro Bridge in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Rebuilt after years of conflict, the bridge makes it easier for farmers to reach their fields and markets, helping reduce crop losses, increase incomes and reconnect communities.
Syria
In Aleppo’s Old City, a cash-for-work labourer removes debris left by years of conflict in Syria. The work provides income for families while helping restore streets, homes, and businesses.
Ukraine
Interview
Dr. Maria Koida in a children’s cancer ward in Kharkiv, Ukraine that is being renovated. As the war continues, the rehabilitated facility will help young patients receive specialized treatment in a space where families can remain close throughout their care.
Ukraine
After 18 months of treatment for leukaemia, eight-year-old Platon prepares to leave the Regional Children’s Clinical Hospital in Kharkiv. Expanded oncology services are helping more children access specialized care in the middle of war.
Palestine
In a displacement camp in Gaza, a mother washes her son outside their shelter on a newly paved pathway. Restored access to water supply networks provides families with clean water for daily life and supports small-scale gardening, improving health, strengthening food security and helping restore everyday routines.
Myanmar
After landslides damaged farmland following the 2025 earthquake, residents repair an irrigation canal in Myanmar. Restoring the irrigation system helps farmers return to work while providing income during recovery.
Syria
In Aleppo, a worker processes rubble into construction materials at the Al Ramouseh recycling facility. What was once a symbol of destruction is being transformed into a resource for rebuilding, while providing workers with income and new skills.
DR Congo
Cibalonza Matabaro Esther helped build the Rusisiro Bridge in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo through a R.E.V.I.V.E.-supported cash-for-work initiative. The bridge reconnects communities, while the work itself provided income that helps support her family and send her three children to school.
Palestine
Outside her family’s temporary shelter in Gaza, a young girl waters a basil plant. For displaced children, the newly provided shelter equipped with solar power, water, and sanitation systems offer a safer and more secure sanctuary than before.
Afghanistan
Shepherd Noor Jan from Mufti Qala village, Afghanistan. Built after years of seasonal flooding, a new protection wall will protect homes, farms and the livelihoods of families in his village.
Syria
Interview
Maria Ali, a mother of five, found a way to support her family and contribute to the recovery of Homs. Leading a team of debris removal workers, she helped re-establish access to neighborhoods and create safer conditions for people returning home.
Supporting shelter and housing, restoring sources of income, and revitalizing local economies.
Palestine
Interview
Amna stands inside her family’s transitional shelter in Gaza. After living in a damaged tent, the new housing unit gives her family greater privacy and protection, creating a safer space during prolonged displacement.
DR Congo
Community members celebrate outside newly built homes in Rutshuru Centre, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. After years of displacement, improved housing is helping families return and find stability.
Myanmar
Interview
After the 2025 earthquake disrupted livelihoods in Myanmar, many women sought new ways to earn an income. Home-based businesses are expanding economic opportunities, enabling women to build livelihoods while working close to home.
Afghanistan
In Noorgal district, Nangarhar, Afghanistan, a farmer holds a goat that supports his family’s livelihood after the 2025 earthquake. Restoring livestock and other sources of income helps families recover after losing homes and assets.
Syria
In Homs, Syria, Ahmed El Saeed stands in his home after years of conflict left it inaccessible. Clearing the rubble made it possible for families to return, restoring access to homes that provide safety, dignity and the foundation for rebuilding their lives.
DR Congo
Interview
After returning home in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Solange Sebazira Justine trained as a tailor and opened her own workshop. The business now supports her family and keeps her children in school. “This sewing group has changed my life,” she says.
Palestine
Amid the ruins of Gaza, transitional shelters provide displaced families with a safe place to begin again. More than just temporary accommodation, they create the conditions for families to restore daily routines, rebuild a sense of security and take the first steps towards recovery.
Myanmar
Ta Thin Nu plays with her young child inside her newly rebuilt home in Myanmar. Five months pregnant when the 2025 earthquake destroyed her house, she spent three months sleeping beneath a tree. Today, her family is home again in a safer house she designed.
Afghanistan
After the 2025 earthquake in eastern Afghanistan, a resident of Dar-e-Nor district, Nangarhar, builds his new home. Rebuilding with his own hands, using new earthquake-resistant building techniques he learnt through R.E.V.I.V.E. support, he is helping his family move from emergency shelter towards a more secure future.
Myanmar
Women laugh together during a livelihood group meeting in Nyaungshwe Township, Myanmar. After the 2025 earthquake, they are regaining their income through farming, saving together and investing in new opportunities for their families.
DR Congo
In eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kacha Zawadi Maombi, a mother of five from an indigenous community, in her newly rebuilt home. Replacing a house destroyed by bombing, it provides her family with safety, privacy and dignity.
Afghanistan
For years, floods threatened to wash away crops before they could be harvested. In eastern Afghanistan, riverbanks strengthened through cash-for-work initiatives are helping protect farmland, allowing families to harvest wheat and secure an essential source of food and income.
Building recovery capacity and shaping futures with communities
Syria
Interview
Hassan Telfah of the Syrian Civil Defence (White Helmets) lost his leg clearing explosive ordnance in Syria in 2014. Today, he helps make communities safer by raising awareness of explosive risks among debris collectors, children and returning families.
Palestine
In Khan Younis, Gaza, children take part in a drawing activity in a safe space after months of war. Activities like these help them reconnect with routines, creativity and a sense of security amid ongoing uncertainty.
Ukraine
Andrii Kashtanov, 15, trains at the Children’s Sports School in Ukraine as he prepares for his next competition. Restoring the sports hall will provide safer, more reliable training conditions, helping young people continue to pursue their dreams despite the challenges of war.
DR Congo
When Mount Nyiragongo erupted in 2021, farmer Chantal Furaha lost her land to lava. Today, she grows what she can on the volcanic terrain. Reconnecting her community to markets is helping her sell produce and sustain her family.
Afghanistan
Faqirullah, 35, survived the 2025 earthquake in Nangarhar, Afghanistan. “It was a hard night, and I barely managed to save my children,” he says. Months later, he and his neighbours came together to rebuild their homes and their communities.
Ukraine
Maksym Tomko leads the Pyrotechnics, Underwater and Humanitarian Demining Unit of Ukraine’s State Emergency Service in Kharkiv Oblast. With improved equipment, deminers can clear explosive hazards, helping communities return to the places and routines that define daily life.
Afghanistan
In the aftermath of the 2025 earthquake in Afghanistan, community kitchens provided meals for villagers who had lost their homes and livelihoods. The support helped families through the first days of crisis as they took their first steps towards rebuilding their lives.
Myanmar
A young boy prepares for his Shinbyu ceremony in Nyaungshwe, Myanmar. Following the 2025 earthquake, the revival of this cherished ceremony brings families together and marks a gradual return to community life.
Ukraine
Interview
Yurii Sviatiuk has trained children at the Children’s Sports School for more than 30 years. Restoring the sports hall will help young athletes from host and displaced communities reconnect, build confidence and find a shared space for sport and friendship during the war.
Palestine
Two young men carry water through a destroyed neighbourhood in Jabaliya, Gaza. Debris clearance is helping remove barriers left by the war, making streets safer and allowing communities to reconnect with essential services as life gradually returns.
Myanmar
Interview
Khaing Thuzar harvests pumpkins from her floating garden on Inle Lake, Myanmar. After the 2025 earthquake disrupted livelihoods, she and other women in her community resumed crop production, restoring incomes while preserving the farming traditions that sustain life on the lake.
Syria
In Aleppo’s Old City, specialists train debris removal workers to identify and report explosive hazards. This knowledge helps local teams work more safely and strengthens community capacity to manage the dangers that remain after years of conflict.
Ukraine
A girl plays near the ruins of Kharkiv Specialized School No. 134, destroyed during the early days of the war in Ukraine. Restoring schools and essential infrastructure helps families return and gives children spaces to learn and play.
Relief, Employment and Vital Infrastructure for the Vulnerable in Emergencies