Religion            

 

 ...as a communal connection.

 

In recent years, the arm conflict in Northern Nigeria has left more that 2.000.000 Internally Displaced Persons, known by the acronym of IDP.

 

For most people living in these conditions, they find through religious community ties a support system and network.

 

Many local and International organizations provide for their basic needs, but their living conditions are extremely harsh, especially because of the impermanence of their homes, versus the permanence of the conflicts in their homelands, that currently impedes them from returning to their homes, here is where faith through various religious affiliations helps them to cope and hope for a better future.

Churches and Mosques are the gathering points for these make-shift communities. Through prayers they try to find peace, acceptance and forgiveness towards the insurgents. Religion has always had a very strong impact and influence in the country, and now more than ever for the IDPs is where it has a stronger impact, it creates a more solid network, education and support system. 

 

This Photography Project’s focal point is faith and communal connections, how spirituality has endured in the IDPs and given them solace in these desperate times. It aims to focus on hope rather than on the desperate conditions in which these people find themselves, because in spite of how hard and bleak their lives are right now, they continue forward in hope for a peaceful tomorrow.

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