I’m really enjoying spending time rummaging through my image archive for this new website update. As a Malaysia based photojournalist I am always deeply interested in covering humanitarian work around the world. In 2008 I was in China when a massive earthquake struck the Sichuan region of the country. The quake measured 7.9 in the richter scale and levelled towns and cities in an instant. My agency at the time, Polaris Images, assigned me to shoot a reportage story about the work of The Veolia Waterforce team. I joined the team for several days near the town of Wei Schuan as they were constructing a clean water supply for the town’s population.
On Assignment: Lafarge Earthquake Reconstruction China
The wonderful thing about having a photo archive, one of the wonderful things anyway, is the ability to time travel back in time. The photograph’s themselves often outweigh my own memories of the real moment. Assignment’s often come at you very quickly, and with little or no time to prepare. Sometimes you are just on one, and in it, before you know it! I had been in China’s Sichuan region already for many days covering the aftermath of a powerful earthquake that had just devastated the region. I had just got back to my hotel after being out for some days working in the most affected areas. Really last minute this one, but I remember the brief vividly. “Head out to the Lafarge cement factory for a day and document Lafarge’s efforts in recovery and reconstruction in the nearby community. There is a car coming for you in 30mins.”