Take Me To Post Comment Form When I reached Buduburam Refugee camp, I was stunned. Never before had I seen such needs. To tell you the truth I felt hopeless at first, but the more I prayed the more I realized that God wanted to do something amazing in this camp. We were able to help many many people, none of which would of ever of been helped if it wasn’t for your support. For that I extend my upmost thanks.

Feeding Program: We were able to feed 400 children 1 meal a day for two weeks, at the program we had a chance to pour into their lives and share with them the word of God, basic hygiene and valuable life skills.

Distribution: For the month that we were there we distributed 3 tons of rice, a quarter ton of clothes, soap, laundry detergent, mosquito nets, tooth paste and tooth brushes to 500 of the neediest families in the camp.
Medical treatments: People in the camp are in great need of medical assistance. We were able to pay for dentistry and medication for such things as malaria, pneumonia, anemia and worms. We were able to pay for two surgeries.
The first surgery was on a 6 year of girl named Gloria Bestman. Gloria broke her arm on the December 27, 2007 and her parents could not afford to take Gloria to the hospital to have her broken arm set. Gloria’s arm healed incorrectly and as a result she was not able to bend it. We paid for her surgery as well as the required 6 weeks of physical therapy.

The second surgery was for Melvina Sherman. Melvia a 26 year old Liberian refugee developed a supra umbilical hernia as a result of her daily activities (carrying water from a far off wail back to the camp.) Melvia has been in a great deal of pain for the past year and lost hope of ever undergoing the expensive surgery that would relieve it. Many people have come then left with broken promises, leaving her heart broken and unwilling to trust anyone who tried to help her. I remember the day I went to the hospital and paid for her surgery in advance… she was with me, she began to cry.

Zone 12 Community Project: Zone 12 is comprised of a community of 500 Sierra Leonean refugees 100 of which are children who are currently not in school. There are 24,000 Liberian Refugees in the camp and 100’s of NGOs (non-government organizations) serving the Liberian population. In Zone 12 there are no NGO’s… needless to say they Sierra Leoneans feel overlooked.

I was working with the Sierra Leonean chairman and a local pastor in Zone 12 and we were able to come up with a project that would help people get back on their feet and have the dignity to pay for their own children’s education. What we came up with was a community project based around the rearing and selling of goats. The community heads are in charge of the management and selling of the goats and the profit will go to the children’s school fees. It also works as a way for parents to send their own children to school. It is similar to a loan: the parents are given one she-goat and after three months when it has offspring they give one of the 3 goats back to the community then they keep the rest. This way they are given a chance to make capita and manager their own money.

When we were in the camp we purchased 10 goats and paid for the building of a covered pin that can house over 300 goats. We are projecting that in a years time with will be well over 100 goats and many people in the community will have goats of their own. I believe that all you can do is give a person a chance and the rest is up to them. These people have an amazing opportunity to turn their lives around and now have the dignity of sending their own children to school.

Photography that makes a difference: I believe that photography has the unmatched abilty to convey a sense of humanity. Photography can touch peoples hearts because it cuts through stereotypes and makes you feel for your fellow man regardless of their race, religion, or nationality. If my photography is just self expression then my photography is meaningless. A 4 year old beating his fits against the tile floor in Walmart is guilty of self expression. But my goal is not to take a good picture; instead my goal is to change someone’s life with the aid of a good picture. I want to connect people in need with those who are able to help the needy; I want to connect them to you. And the best way I know how is photography. To you these people are photographs but to me they are real, they are the people that I love; the people that I am fighting for. And I hope that my love is shown to you through my photography.
What my pictures pay for:

Melvina Sherman’s Surgery

Gloria Bestman’s Surgery and six weeks of therapy

Wheelchair and sewing machine for Thresa Whel

Wheelchair for Janet Mulbah

Wheelchair for Naiomi Gboutoe

A set of crutches for Akafu Saah

A set of crutches for Thomas Mula

2 years of education for Hoody Fallax

2 years of education for Emanuel Mami

2 years of education for Thomas Sesay

3 years of education for Herny Browne

3 years of education for Favor Browne