While working as an Instructor at the Art Institute, I served as Director of Photography for a documentary team sent to Minsk, Belarus to document events surrounding the ten-year anniversary of the nuclear accident at Chernobyl.
We shot footage for over a week and covered families and children affected by the accident. We visited a hospital dealing with diseases caused by long-term exposure to radiation, and an orphanage for children whose parents had died or were simply left behind.
Minsk, as well as areas north of the reactor, are still contaminated by low-level doses of radiation. The Children of Chernobyl Foundation works to provide children a chance to spend a few weeks in host cities around the world where their immune systems can rebuild.
This was an inspirational experience to be involved in and demonstrates how important it is to bring awareness to causes that help people and communities move past tragedy.
For more information about The Children of Chernobyl Foundation, please visit their website.