Photography Exhibit Illustrates AmeriCare Efforts in Chad
Posted: January 28, 2005

Greenwich Academy —During the month of February and the first two weeks of March 2005, Greenwich Academy will host an exhibition of photographs by Matthew McDermott depicting humanitarian aid efforts by AmeriCares in Chad. In June 2004, the humanitarian aid and disaster relief agency AmeriCares airlifted medicines and medical supplies into the African country of Chad, where more than 60,000 Sudanese had fled to escape a brutal civil war. This was AmeriCares’s second airlift dedicated to helping Sudanese refugees in Chad; a third airlift with additional relief supplies followed in August. By then, the number of refugees had tripled. Currently, an estimated 200,000 Sudanese are living in refugee camps in Chad and another 1.5 million have been internally displaced in Sudan.

New York-based photographer Matthew McDermott accompanied an AmeriCares team of emergency response workers on the June airlift and then as they brought aid to a refugee camp in Bahai, Chad. McDermott’s photos vividly tell the story of the harsh conditions of refugee life: Dozens of families gathered under one small tree, desperately seeking relief from the searing sun; mothers holding babies who are clearly malnourished; children making a trek through a bleak landscape, looking for water.

This informal collection of 21 photos has been on display at the AmeriCares corporate headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut, since September and will be on display at the Greenwich Academy for the month of February. Since the photos were taken, AmeriCares has expanded its humanitarian efforts directly into neighboring Sudan, airlifting 36 tons of relief supplies into the volatile Darfur region in late October. AmeriCares continues to provide ongoing aid in both countries.

This photo exhibit documents the ongoing humanitarian crisis in one country, which is representative of current situations in many other parts of the world. For AmeriCares, whether disasters are natural or man-made doesn’t matter. What matters are the complex humanitarian situations that result from these crises, which necessitate a long-term commitment to people in need. What is the relevance to today’s world? While the world’s eyes are focused on Asia today, will they still be watching when the media leave and the long-term rebuilding begins? AmeriCares presents this photo exhibit as a testament to the more than 1.5 million people who continue to need the world’s help in Darfur and Chad.

The exhibition will run from February 11 - March 11, 2005 in the Luchsinger Gallery of the Wallace Performing Arts Center.