TSUNAMI: IMAGES of RESILIENCE

On December 26, 2004, a shockwave reverberated around the world. The Indian Ocean tsunami took a quarter of a million lives and impacted hundreds of thousands more. Watching the news, we were struck by the incessant flood of images of death and destruction washing over the airwaves. We decided to take a different turn.

To honor and celebrate the strength and resilience of the human spirit in the face of complete and total devastation. A photojournalistic tribute to the survivors of the tsunami, so that the world would never forget how bright and fierce the will to survive burns deep inside the human soul.

We brought the idea to ICLEI, one of our clients, who immediately jumped onboard and helped to fund the project. We sent Dan Root, our top freelance photographer, to the region to photograph those surprising moments of inner strength, resilience, and yes, even laughter, of the people who rebuilt their lives and their communities, and to tell their stories—stories too often ignored by mainstream media.

Of the 4500 images Dan brought back, we selected the most evocative, built a website, and published a book.