Joseph Kay

ACDF members hang out in front of the office in Bandalungwa neighbourhood in Kinshasa before heading off on an organised walk to mark the international day of people with a disability.

Mick is the director of this ACDF orthopaedic rehabilitation centre in Kinshasa. ACDF has a presence in six cities across DRC where it provides free orthopaedic treatment. ACDF provides bracing and physiotherapy and covers the cost of pre-bracing surgery when required.

This centre was built in 2015/16 and has the capacity to house around forty patients and staff.

L'Association Congolaise "Debut et Fier" was set-up by disabled Congolese youth in 1998 and continues to be run by former beneficiaries of the bracing and education programmes.

Custom-fitted leg braces are made on-site from locally sourced metal and leather. The robust model means that the braces can be repaired without recourse to expensive and rarely available plastics.

Shouna (r) is a founding member of ACDF and a trained brace-technician.

Matumona (r) is a brace technician in the on-site workshop where Gedeon (l) - who also studies at school - is training as an apprentice.

Lievin has been a driver with ACDF for over ten years. He keeps busy ferrying patients to and from the hospital that ACDF uses for operations, sending transfers to the other centres in DRC or collecting materials from local markets for the workshop.

Espe has been a member of ACDF since 2012. Before receiving the brace, she had to crawl on all fours to get around.

The poor state of infrastructure in DRC means that wheelchairs are impractical. ACDF treats people who can walk with braces and crutches.

Dieudonné takes a rest during the walk.

In the centre young beneficiaries often look up to role models in positions of responsibility. Lubono (r) is the head of the workshop.

Lubono, Chef d'Atelier.

Gedeon leans back on his crutches while dancing. The Congolese rumba blasted late into the night.

Madova catching his breath during a rare pause in dancing. The residential centre is safe space for children and youth with disabilities and many beneficiaries from years past come to hang out at weekends staying in touch with old friends and making new ones.

Laurent came to ACDF in 2008, since then he has become a core member of ACDF. He studies at secondary school and performs data entry for ACDF's accounting. "I am an artist. When I finish school I want to paint."