Arif wants Sharin to be a doctor when she grows up. Photo / Helen Manson
Arif wants Sharin to be a doctor when she grows up. Photo / Helen Manson
She's seen some of the world's greatest humanitarian crises from the front lines with Tearfund.
Now 33-year-old Aucklander Helen Manson wants her photographs to do the storytelling for her.
Today is World Refugee Day, and the world is witnessing an unprecedented 65.6 million people being forced out of their homesdue to conflict and disasters.
Among them are 22.5 million refugees.
The images from the biggest refugee crises - Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh (Rohingya), South Sudan and Syria, aim to take people behind the headlines and into the homes of these refugees.
My hope for the future is for my children to get an education and to have no more sadness.
Arif and Sharin, Rohingya. Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh
Arif wants Sharin to be a doctor when she grows up. Photo / Helen Manson
When my daughter Sharin was 3 months old, the military started firing rocket launchers into our village.
Our house was set on fire and so her mother and I ran together to the forest.
We walked 16 days to get to this refugee camp in Bangladesh. We were so hungry.
We lost everything we owned including our home, land and businesses.
In Myanmar we have been persecuted for many years. They don't want us to live there.
They make it difficult for people to get an education, for people to travel outside their village and for people to hang out together in groups.
But from the time my daughter was born I've been dreaming about her becoming a doctor. I just want to do whatever I can to help that dream become true.
I want to give her a better education than I ever had. I want her to live in safety as a citizen of a country that wants her.
Farah, Rohingya. Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh
Farah especially misses her husband at night and is unsure about the future. Photo / Helen Manson
He was my whole life. We were just teenagers when we got married.
I really miss him at night. That's when I feel the most insecure. I feel so alone, I am a single older woman. I don't have anyone.
I miss our lifestyle. He was a day labourer and I would cook and clean for him.
Then one day when I was at home, I heard gunshots. I saw with my own eyes as the soldiers shot my husband three times in the chest.
I started to run to help him and the soldiers turned their guns on me. Their bullets hit my goat and killed it and I escaped with my life.
I turned back to see them light my house on fire.
I don't know what the future holds. I sleep alone scared of the people around me.
We used to have a nice life.
Ayenyo, South Sudan
Ayenyo's husband and brother are missing after the family had to flee South Sudan. Photo / Helen Manson
My name is Ayenyo and I am 35 years old. I have seven children aged 3-10 years old.
When the war broke out we had to leave very quickly. We saw many dead bodies as we fled, we also saw many people screaming as they were in the process of dying.
In conjunction with that, my husband disappeared as we made our way here. My brother also is missing.
By the time we reached Uganda the suffering was too much and we passed through a lot of stress but in the camp we arrived to more issues.
Luckily enough, God blessed us when Tearfund came and taught us the skills of how to manage our stress. After the program I really felt relieved and a little bit of hope for the future. I also put the skills the program taught us into action and it is helping me a lot.
The most touching lesson was one on forgiveness and I taught that to my children.
I am recovering my senses and am able to come and speak with people.
Mary, South Sudan
Mary vividly remembers the night that war broke out in South Sudan. Photo / Helen Manson
I remember the evening when the war broke out in South Sudan. There were a lot of gunshots.
We could not sleep at home so we had to run away to look for a safer place.
During that commotion, my husband got lost because we were running amidst confusion.
I managed to escape with our five children to the border of Uganda and I received assistance from UNHCR who brought me to the refugee settlement in Adjumani.
Life was extremely rough and I could not sleep at night thinking about my husband whom I have never seen to date and that continued to torment me day and night.
I had no appetite and nightmares of what I saw while running with my children.
My children also were heavily affected by what we saw on the road on our way to the border of Uganda.
But ever since I attended the Tearfund program I learnt a lot and my entire life changed. I learnt to let go of the past hurts in my life and most importantly the program gave me hope.
Now I feel much better than I used to.
- Some names have been changed for security purposes.