By no means am I a professional photographer; I still have much to learn in a field that is rapidly changing with the world of digital taking over from the darkroom-based art that I had studied.

My first introduction to photography was during my university years.

While completing my undergraduate degree at Georgetown University, I minored in studio art with a focus in photography as a diversion from my business studies. Photography quickly became my primary hobby.

Travelling around the world offered me an incredible opportunity to explore and expand my passion for photography.

For the 18 months I spent abroad, I travelled camera and laptop in tow, utilising much of my free time sorting, editing and grouping the thousands of photographs I was taking.

The focus regions of my work included Africa, South America and South Asia. I began in southern Africa where I spent the first three months volunteering at a children's home in a South African township.

From there I travelled throughout the South African and Namibian countryside.

The next stage of my photographic journey was South America, where I passed another three months backpacking through Argentina, Peru, Bolivia and Chile.

I followed a typical tourist trail route, but nevertheless encountered a breathtaking collection of sites.

As a photographer, the highlight of my trip was South Asia, where I visited India and Nepal.

My time in Nepal was brief, and just long enough to take in a breathtaking six-day trek of the Kathmandu Valley.

I spent a much longer period in northern India, where I produced my largest collection of work in an attempt to capture the overwhelming intensity of a country that is beyond description. For one month I lived in the countryside of a mountain-based ashram, and was able to shoot some incredible sights of rural Indian life over a longer period of time.

The last stage of my photographic journey featured a new set of African countries: Kenya, Tanzania and Ghana.

As part of a fundraising effort for Kenyan children's homes, I successfully participated in a climb of Tanzania's Mt. Kilimanjaro, followed by a trip to Kenya to distribute the funds. Both visits presented me with amazing photographic opportunities.

My final month was spent in Ghana, volunteering with Liberian refugees. It was during this time that I worked on the 'Through Our Eyes' project involving the refugee students.

Featured in this exhibition is 'The Others', a collection of my work which represents women and children from all regions of my travels.

I have always been drawn towards photographing people, especially children, and thought that this body of work would complement the work produced by Jefferson, the Liberian boy whose photography is presented in 'Through our Eyes'.

Through Our Eyes Fundraising Photo Exhibition

As a part of the 'Through Our Eyes' project, the 'Through Our Eyes' exhibit presents the work of Jefferson D. Wilson, an 18-year-old Liberian boy living at the Budubudram refugee camp for Liberians in Ghana.

The Budubudram refugee camp was opened in 1990 by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and has housed over 35,000 Liberians who were forced to flee their homeland due to years of recurring civil war.

In February 2008, I travelled to Budubudram to volunteer with the Population Caring Organisation (PCO), a Liberian peace-building, non-profit organisation located at the camp.

The 'Through Our Eyes' project began as an idea to help the children living in the harsh conditions of Budubudram by involving them in a photography project that would raise funds for their benefit through the sale of their own photography in a fundraising photo exhibition.

Under my instruction, a group of six refugee students were introduced to the world of photography and invited to photograph their environment.

I decided to let the project take the perspective of the children living in the camp, as opposed to mine, in order to give the exhibition a unique twist.

I also believed that, potentially this could be a way to inspire and stimulate the group of students by getting them involved with a venture where they could see their own efforts raise money to help themselves and the other children with whom they live.

I designed the project so that there were three stages: two rounds of disposable cameras allowing the children to experiment with the project, and a third round where I would work one-on-one with each student, allowing them to use my digital SLR (Single Lens Reflex) camera.

As was to be expected, the project faced some setbacks. Both the disposable cameras and the photo developer used in Ghana were of incredibly poor quality, making the first two rounds of work somewhat useless, except for practice purposes. I had hoped that working with my digital camera one-on-one with each student would solve this problem.

Jefferson was my first student. Unfortunately, our session immediately ran into difficulties.

Many of the Liberians we encountered were angered by the photography, often convinced that I was in some way trying to exploit or profit off their disadvantaged lives.

It was difficult to clarify my purpose, and in most cases the refugees did not care to listen to any explanation. The confrontations culminated with one incident becoming slightly physical and threatening.

While I had been given all the necessary permissions from the UNHCR and camp administration, PCO staff and I decided it was best to not continue with the one-on-one sessions. Luckily, I had enough photographs from Jefferson to make the project work.

While it was disappointing to terminate the sessions, it was very disappointing for the five students who also took part in the process. While the photographs are entirely Jefferson's, I was responsible for minor editing, in addition to the sorting, selection and construction of this exhibition.

Jefferson D. Wilson is an 18-year-old Liberian boy who has been living at the Budubudram refugee camp since 1996.

His family left Liberia during the First Liberian Civil War (1989-1996) and fled to Ghana, where the family relocated to Budubudram.

Jefferson has since been living with his oldest sister, as his parents have been unable to care for him. He currently attends the Free School operated by the Population Caring Organisation, a peace-building non-governmental organisation operating at the camp. He hopes to become a journalist.

Since 1989, Liberia has been in a state of flux, witnessing two civil wars, the First Liberian Civil War (1989-1996), and the Second Liberian Civil War (1999-2003).

With the assassination of leader Samuel Doe, nine years of corrupt and autocratic rule came to an end. The consequent absence of authority lead to increased fighting amongst increasingly disillusioned ethnic groups. Inter-tribal conflict plagued the country until 1997, when prominent warlord Charles G. Taylor was elected President, after leading a bloody insurgency backed by Libyan president Muammar al-Gaddafi.

This marked the end of the First Liberian Civil War.

Leadership under Taylor differed little from that of Doe. Taylor's brutal regime targeted several leading opposition and political activists, and the dysfunctional government led to a new rebellion in 1999.

The re-ignited conflict continued and ultimately intensified in mid-2003. As the power of the government shrank, and under increasing international and American pressure, Taylor was forced to resign later that year, thus marking the end of the second stage of civil warring.

It is estimated than more than 200,000 people have been killed throughout Liberia's period of conflict, while hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced and the economy devastated. Following Taylor's resignation, The United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) was established as a peace-keeping force.

With UNMIL troops offering stability to the country, Liberia successfully conducted presidential elections in the fall of 2005. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was elected to power; becoming Africa's first elected female head of state.

Currently, Liberia is still plagued by sporadic outbreaks of violence which continue to threaten prospects of peace.

Slow progress in reforming the police, judiciary and the criminal justice system continue to result in systematic violations of due process and vigilante violence against criminal suspects. The road to recovery will be a long journey.

So what's next for Liberians living at Budubudram? These people face a renewed crisis as threats of closing the camp run rampant. As they are no longer classified as refugees in the absence of conflict in Liberia, the obligation to host 35,000 foreigners in Ghana no longer exists.

The Liberians must either repatriate to their home country or integrate into Ghanaian society. Most of the Liberians on the camp feel helpless. The continued stories of atrocities occurring in Liberia prevent individuals from wanting to return home, and those who wish to move back cannot afford to do so. Many have lived at the camp for over 15 years, with little opportunity for education, employment or the ability to earn income.

The UN repatriation package offers the Liberians only $100 per person to fund their move.

The Liberians claim that they would not be able to afford the move on that amount of money.

For now, they continue to live at the camp, with few rights, dwindling financial assistance, and little reason for hope. The camp is set to close by the end of 2009.

Miss Feldman, a graduate the Bermuda High School for Girls, holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Management from Georgetown University in Washington, DC, and is currently pursuing her Master's degree in Development Studies at the London School of Economics. Her photography exhibition continues through July 22. Tomorrow's opening reception is from 5.30 to 7 p.m. For further information see the Bermuda Calendar.