World Photo day through the eyes of a child

Written by Martin James Admin

In June 2019 Photographer Kate Green travelled to Jordan to visit Zaatari Refugee Camp. The camp holds 80,000 Syrian Men, Women and Children that have fled their homes in Syria because of the ongoing War, 20% of the camps residents are children under 5 years old.

This wasn’t just another photographer going over to photograph these ‘poor’ people but a trip to introduce Cameras into the therapeutic practices funded by The Martin James Foundation at the Hope Centre within the camp.

The Hope Centre cares for sick and disabled children and their families providing Psychosocial support, Speech, Physio and Occupational Therapy. It is the only centre of its kind in Zaatari.

Through participatory photography Kate uses cameras to help people connect to themselves, each other and their environment. For the therapist this meant that they had an extra tool in their kitbag to deliver their therapies and keep the children engaged in what can often be difficult and challenging sessions.

One example of the how the camera was used was the Phsycosocial Support Therapist worked with three boys on conflict resolution. The camera was used to record role plays of modelling acceptable behaviour. This turned into creative and fun learning and the opportunity to reflect on the images at the end of the session reenforced the learning.

Kate said “working with the children and therapists in Zaatari was a humbling and sobering experience. It was a privilege to introduce photography and creative learning into the Hope Centre and to witness the positive outcomes that creative therapeutic practices can have.”

 Take a look at the gallery below to see some of the images. To find out more about Martin James Foundation take a look at their website.