(*originally published on December 18, 2012*)

2012 has been a tough year for the people of Eastern Congo. Hundreds of thousands have fled over the border into neighboring Rwanda seeking refuge from clashes between government and militia forces. The M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) recently took control of the city of Goma, in eastern Congo and since that action the number of displaced people in the province of North Kivu has grown from half a million to more than 800,000 people, according to the group Doctor Without Borders. Yaya Sidi Sakor is one of the many aid workers involved in assisting refugees in the area. He’s the Senior Program Coordinator in Rwanda for the American Refugee Committee, a Minneapolis-based aid agency and he has been at the center of ARC’s work in Rwanda. He was recently in Minneapolis to speak at the annual ARC’s Changemaker’s Ball.

Listen to the full report here.