IN PHOTOS: Yolanda’s child survivors capture life in Leyte in the year since the storm

A special photo exhibit opened in Tacloban on Thursday, two days before the first anniversary of Typhoon Yolanda's deadly rampage through the region.

The exhibit is special because the photos were taken by children, most of them still living in the bunkhouses built to accommodate survivors who lost their homes.

“Through the Eyes of Children – Stories of Hope and Resilience in Tacloban” is part of EYE SEE, an international photo workshop series conducted by UNICEF and Sony. It was first held in Pakistan after the October 2005 earthquake and has been held 17 times since then, including after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

According to UNICEF Philippines, Typhoon Yolanda affected about 14.1 million Filipinos—about 5.9 million of them children. Twenty of them took part in the photo workshop organized by UNICEF and the Tacloban City Social Welfare Development office.

The workshop allowed the children to convey to the outside world the reality of life in Tacloban and other Yolanda-devastated areas, but it also provides them with an outlet through which to express themselves—and discover talents they didn't now they had.

Sixteen-year-old Jopet Arce, who was voted by his fellow young workshoppers as the best photographer, told UNICEF, "I never really thought I had any talent in photography. Who knew it could open my eyes to a lot of things, and make me look at life differently? Maybe this is where my future is."

“Through the Eyes of Children – Stories of Hope and Resilience in Tacloban” will be on display in Robinsons Place Tacloban until January 15, 2015.

On November 20 the photos can also be viewed at the SMX Convention Center in SM Mall of Asia, Pasay.

The photos can also be viewed on the EYE SEE portal site and the UNICEF Philippines Flickr site.

Below are some of the photos from the exhibit.



— BM, GMA News