Three young Sudanese children tightly grasp a photo album filled with family memories as they settle into Kakuma Refugee Settlement, along with thousands of other unaccompanied children. Mariam Kasim, a young refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo shares a moment with her one-day-old baby Sarah at the maternity ward in Kaukuma Refugee settlement.
Both moments have been captured by Thomas Mukoya on behalf of Australia for UN refugee agency UNHCR, which launched a pop-up exhibition at the weekend for its Christmas appeal 'Nobody Left Outside'.
![Mariam Kasim, a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo carries her one day old baby Sarah Bonamaxi at the ...](/web/20170112234447im_/http://www.watoday.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/2/h/y/e/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gs3092.png/1476744280706.jpg)
The agency, which estimates around 65 million people worldwide are refugees or displaced, the largest crisis since World War Two, hopes to raise $1 million to provide urgently needed shelter for women and children. Its exhibition poignantly explored what the concepts 'shelter' and 'home' mean for refugees around the world.
"Having travelled across Africa from Congo to Kenya this project is very important in capturing the resilience of refugees, they have so little but they build their lives back up with such positivity and strength when given the right support and equipment," says Mukoya.
"Each image holds a special place with me, but in particular capturing a South Sudanese woman preparing mud bricks for her family shelter while holding her young child on her back really imprinted in my mind. I sympathised greatly with her and I want others who see these images and the stories that go along with them to have the same emotional connection. For me it was about capturing the stories behind this issue and the impact these settlements have in rebuilding lives and communities with dignity."
National Director of Australia for UNHCR, Naomi Steer, who has travelled to many refugee and conflict zones to tell stories of the individuals she meets back in Australia, says the exhibition is an important way of conveying a human element to the crisis, with women and children making up 90 per cent of refugees who benefit from education, health and work made possible by crucial funding.
"We have 12.4 million more refugees who have been misplaced in the past year given the current Syrian crisis. Women and children are the most vulnerable group when it comes to disease, violence, pregnancy issues and sexual assault, so providing shelter is the basis of making them feel protected, allowing them to build a community," says Steer.
"No matter how each individual defines shelter or home, women can be empowered just by having four walls around them, but we need support from the Australian public as many refugees live in substandard shelters. Some women feel empowered by painting the outside of the shelter with traditional symbols or colours, such culture is often one of the possessions they bring with them but it helps them feel at home. Providing shelter makes people around the world feel worthy, giving them hope that they stand on their own two feet. Just something so simple as unaccompanied children receiving blankets and a shelter after walking for weeks on end, which has been captured in one of the images moves me greatly."
Thomas Mukoya opens the launch of Nobody Left Outside #Shelter4Refugees pic.twitter.com/IdSZozQfS0
— Australia for UNHCR (@UNrefugees) October 15, 2016
What would you take if forced to flee? @UNrefugees Thomas Mukoya exhibition @AddisonRdCentre #shelter4refugees pic.twitter.com/FApLvxGIXn
— Mark Macdonald (@markus_mac) October 15, 2016
If you would like more information, visit https://www.unrefugees.org.au/donate/shelter-appeal#monthly