Displaced Children of Nigeria: Kids using photography to help family reunion cause

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Thousands of children in Nigeria are living in special camps after being separated from their parents because of an insurgency. To highlight the difficult lives they lead in these facilities, and in a bid to be reunited with their parents and other family members, many are now documenting their hardships through photography. CGTN's Chuck Tinte has the story.

The eight-year Boko Haram insurgency in northeastern Nigeria has displaced around two million people. Thousands were separated from their loved ones. Fifteen-year-old Zainab, who is living in the Bakari camp of Maiduguri, is one of them.

ZAINAB DISPLACED CHILD "When I first arrived, I heard stories about where my parents had gone, that they had moved to another place, but now we haven't heard anything. I cannot go back."

The International Committee of the Red Cross is looking to reunite as many families as possible. It runs a reunification tracing program in the town.

MARKUS USMAN RESTORING FAMILY LINKS OFFICE, ICRC "We have hundreds of cases of minors who are looking for their parents at the moment, that is what we are doing every day, we are trying our best to see how we can trace their family members and reunify them together."

The aid agency wants to go further. It gave Zainab, along with four other children, cameras. They go around the camp taking pictures that reflect daily life.

ALI DISPLACED CHILD "The picture of this woman and her child reminds me of how I used to sit with my grandmother. This picture I took of the man and his child on the bike is just how my father used to carry me on his bike."

On April 27, Ali and Zainab's photos will be displayed at an exhibition in the nation's capital, Abuja. Chuck Tinte, CGTN.