Sharing images of life: Participants will use photography to express their suffering, their current lives and their aspirations.

Cameras for Healing introduces the concept of "Visual Art" as a philosophy of healing. The project brings together victims (child soldiers and victims of violence) of post-war trauma. Along with the assistance of psychologists, the cameras act like a therapeutic tool, empowering the individuals with their own instrument of communication and enabling self-expression.

Photographer Maurice Henri believes that the camera and the art of photography as a philosophy of healing can help build a culture of peace in Sierra Leone, Africa. The process of healing after an armed conflict is difficult and of all the injuries, the effects of emotional trauma are the most insidious and difficult to deal with.

"The suffering these people endured remains a strong daily reminder and is confirmation that war creates invisible victims whose anguish affects every aspect of their lives long after the guns have been silenced".

Sierra Leone is emerging from one of the most ferocious and longest lasting civil wars in the history of West Africa. Between 1991 and 2002, over 50,000 children and youth were traumatized by their activities as combatants in the hostilities. The children tell horrifying stories about how the war affected them. Many were turned into killing machines through drugs, alcohol, torture and sheer fear. It is estimated that more than 300,000 children under the age of eighteen may be participating in armed conflicts worldwide today. Over the last decade, more than one million children have suffered this fate.

Henri and a team of photography students travelled to the West African country in October, hoping that photography might help erase the violent images etched into the minds of the region's youth. Henri has spoken with people in Sierra Leone and heard war stories that made his skin crawl. He has heard stories of child soldiers forced to kill and of children having their arms and legs severed by machetes.

Maurice Henri explains that the civil war has left many of the country's young people unable to cope. "Some of these people are so traumatized that speaking or expressing is virtually impossible. They have great difficulty forming relationships. Many are unable to work because due to their struggle to deal with the trauma they have experienced."

Henri wants Sierra Leone's teens and young adults to look past their frightening experiences through the lens of a camera. He's teaching them how to see the world around them in a whole new light.

"I take them on a one-week photo excursion to bring them back to nature, to help them appreciate the beauty of their surroundings. At the end of each workshop, participants were asked to use the camera to document 24 hours in their lives, from how they see their future, the people in their life and their environment."

Cameras for Healing has two primary goals. The first is to provide a healing experience for victims and child soldiers involved in this protracted civil war. The second is to provide the means by which these young men and women from one of the world’s poorest countries can communicate their experiences and their hopes via the medium of photography.

"The project that we are bringing to life, I believe, would be a very significant and relevant effort in elevating a higher global public awareness for the children affected by war".

Henri is also preparing public presentations of what he and his team witnessed in Sierra Leone, which he will share with others, in order to raise awareness of Cameras for Healing and the citizens of Sierra Leone.

The phases of the project will include the following:

Choosing the participants: The project will include a group of young men and women who were victimized by the war. The participants will be selected by local community leaders with the help of local Sierra Leonean organizations participating in the Building a Culture of Peace project.

Learning about cameras: Each participant will be given a camera and educated on the functions and technical aspect of the equipment. Participants will be trained on the visual approach of photography for chronicling their daily lives, showing elements of their past and expressing their hopes for the future.

Healing & Counseling: The participants will undergo counseling to help prepare them for telling their stories through the medium of photography. Participants will be provided with post trauma counseling as they use the images created to express their life. This will be done through both individual therapy and in-group counseling.

Sharing with Canadians: The Cameras for Healing team will be sharing public presentations, which will be shared with schools, libraries, photography clubs, and other educational institutions in order to raise awareness of our project and the citizens of Sierra Leone.

Project Director

Maurice Henri is a nationally known photographer whose exhibit on photographs of village life in South Africa has received critical and popular acclaim. His work with Canadian school children by giving them cameras and letting them show others their world from their perspective and combining grammar, math, and science with the process of learning and visual self expression. This project is highly respected and appreciated by teachers and government agencies involved in the project. Maurice Henri, a Canadian, has been a professional photographer since 1988, shooting commercial assignments, stock images, and portraits. He has been a teacher of photography and superb field instructor since 1992, working with both small and large groups in a wide variety of locations. He is also creator, producer, and host of "FOTO," an award-winning Canadian television series about photography that features educational segments about photography and interviews with prominent photographers.

Our Canadian Contribution

The Cameras for Healing team is advancing this project with the firm belief that one of the important contributions Canada and Canadians have made and continue to make in the world is to help prevent armed conflict and to alleviate the suffering that conflicts can cause. We see our initiative as very much part of this Canadian tradition.