Hardcover: 170 pages

Publisher: The ShelterBox Trust

Language English

ISBN-10: 0955477700

ISBN-13: 978-0955477706


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» Buy at Shelterbox.org


For nearly four years, Mark Pearson has endured malaria, landslides, and rebel gunfire to photograph the disaster relief efforts of ShelterBox volunteers -- a nonprofit founded and supported by Rotarians that delivers tents and critical supplies to disaster victims.

We spoke with Pearson, an honorary member of the Rotary Club of Wadebridge, England, to find out more about his extraordinary job.

Q. How did you get involved with ShelterBox?

A. I was working as a press photographer, and I was sent to do some portraits of Rotarian Tom Henderson for a local newspaper. I spoke to Tom and showed him some images, and he asked me to volunteer to cover ShelterBox work in northern Uganda. At that time, thousands had fled the Lord’s Resistance Army and there was a huge IDP (internally displaced person) problem. So it all started from there. Three months later the tsunami happened, and I went to cover the east of Sri Lanka. Tom gave me contacts for Colombo Rotarians, and the Rotary clubs gave me a vehicle.
 
Q. Are you a volunteer or are you getting compensated?

A. I was a volunteer for the first year or so, giving my time and supplying my equipment free of cost to ShelterBox. Now I receive a nominal payment for my time, and of course, on-site and travel expenses. I am still a freelance photographer but now spend much of my time working with ShelterBox worldwide. ShelterBox work to me is more of a passion than a job!

Q. What do you hope to accomplish with your book?

A. I want to demonstrate the “reality” of humanitarian aid work -- the thread being the ShelterBox project and their work worldwide. I want to show people the difficulties humanitarian aid workers face -- in particular, the ShelterBox teams -- and let them know it is not just a question of delivering “aid” material to the nearest airport or port. There are many obstacles and problems to overcome, not the least of which are the terrain, the weather, etc. The book illustrates amongst other things the similarities between a manmade disaster in southern Lebanon and the same destruction in an earthquake in Pakistan. There is really little difference in the damage caused -- of course in war-torn areas there is often the added problem of unexploded ordnance to watch out for.  

Q. What were your impressions of Rotary before volunteering with ShelterBox? And now?

A. I knew of the Rotary organization, but had not been involved before ShelterBox. Over the last two years, I have found out how big an organization it is, with a great worldwide network. All the Rotarians I have met are very influential, trustworthy, and respected in their countries. I think it is a great organization. I have met many UN officials who praise the work ShelterBox, and of course Rotary, does.

Q. How would you describe your approach to photography?

  1. A.My general approach to photography is on a social documentary side, rather than looking for the immediate sensational images. I like to immerse myself in the story. I have stayed in the worst conditions for months, like with the tsunami. After spending that much time, you start to see the real side of the problems faced by the people affected. Then you see what’s really going on, and as you are living in it, you have a better understanding of the crisis. 


By Janice S. Chambers  Rotary International


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Starting with a poignant cover image of a Sri Lankan girl orphaned by the 2004 tsunami, it concludes with a shot of children watching ShelterBoxes being delivered in bomb-shattered southern Lebanon.

But the book is more than just a record of ShelterBox’s work. It also documents many other sights from Mark’s deployments: from women mine-clearance teams at work in Sudan to images of Israeli and Hezbollah propaganda from last year’s Lebanon conflict.

Tom Henderson, ShelterBox’s founder and general manager, said: "Passionate, determined and resourceful are all words to describe Mark Pearson. As our photographer, he’s spent nearly two years recording humanitarian work in various countries and situations.

"Imagine being behind the camera at the foot of an erupting volcano in Java, in a minefield in Sudan, delivering aid by helicopter or mule train in Kashmir or being escorted by armed militia in Somalia. That's how it was when these pictures were being taken.

He added: "Humanitarian work in the front line is not glamorous! It requires hard and unremitting effort both physically and mentally. It takes a special kind of person to carry it out and a very special skill to document it with such ability."

Before joining ShelterBox, Mark also travelled and worked in Palestine and Central America. He said: "I worked as a freelance photographer in Central America shooting black and white images of daily life in the shanty towns. That was when I got interested in the humanitarian world."

His first ShelterBox deployment was to Uganda in 2004. Mark said: "Three months later the Boxing Day Tsunami happened. I called ShelterBox and Tom Henderson said to get on the next plane to Sri Lanka. The picture agency I was working for at the time refused to let me go so I took holiday time and went anyway."

Since then, as ShelterBox’s photographer Mark, who now lives in Wadebridge, has sent pictures back from deployments all around the world, most recently from the Philippines.

By Lisa Woodruf BBC  Web Producer