Category: General Photojournalism

It had been awhile since I had been to Liberia to cover the ebola crisis. It sure was nice going back and not having to deal with all the stress of having the virus everywhere. The only bummer is I flew all the way over there and back–twice–in the span of three weeks, for two separate clients. Regardless, it was great being back in Liberia and hitting that golden sand a bit to unwind before and after the long flights. Stories ranged from communities that had been forced off their land…

…to the standard medical response and care stemming from ebola. They were great trips, securing Liberia as my favorite country in west Africa (so far).

I had just finished speaking at a “Gentlemen’s Gathering” in beautiful Edwards, CO when I got a text from Mercy Corps. “A hurricane is about to hit Haiti–can you get down there?” Ironically, and knowing nothing of the hurricane, I had that very day told a few of the guys that I wasn’t sure if I was going to take a few weeks off (as I’d hoped) or if someone would eventually call me to go shoot somewhere (after all, I make a living by getting on planes!). One answered, jokingly, “all you need is a disaster to hit.” Well…unfortunately for the people of Haiti, that was exactly what happened. And when I got the text, I had my answer. I went home and packed.

The next morning I was off with the first responder team from Mercy Corps, one of the very first people from the outside in to Haiti to see what had actually happened. In the communities of Petit-Riviere-de-Nippes, L’Anse-a-Veau and Petit-Trou-de-Nippes, Hurricane Matthew wreaked havoc on rural and coastal communities, blowing over crops, flooding fields and homes, and making life otherwise miserable for many. USA Today picked up some of the photos and ran them both in the print edition and online:

In terms of natural disasters, this one packed plenty of wallop, but thankfully the damage was fairly localized and not nearly as widespread as it could have been. Still, Matthew affected thousands of families in Haiti and beyond. In fact, I am back in Haiti four-weeks after the hurricane, typing this blog post. More photos below:

October 6, 2016 – Haiti. In the Departement d’Sud of Haiti, Hurricane Matthew wreaked havoc on rural and coastal communities, blowing over crops, flooding fields and homes, and making life otherwise miserable for many. Taken by Sean Sheridan, accompanying the Mercy Corps “SRGE” team.

October 7, 2016 – Haiti. In the communities of Petit-Riviere-de-Nippes, L’Anse-a-Veau and Petit-Trou-de-Nippes, Hurricane Matthew wreaked havoc on rural and coastal communities, blowing over crops, flooding fields and homes, and making life otherwise miserable for many. Mercy Corps staff Amos Montreuil Jean and Jasmine Avgerakis ride and walk to get to where the damage is present for their assesments. Taken by Sean Sheridan, accompanying the Mercy Corps “SRGE” team.

I wasn’t thinking that I’d get sent back to the remote regions of Niger after Mercy Corps sent me there in 2014. But the Mercy Corps work there is doing well, even if Niger itself is still struggling. So I went. Here are a few images from the trip: