Coming Home is an arts initiative that uses photography and film to connect older Liberians in the Diaspora with friends and family at home. A group of eight elders in Staten Island, New York came together over the course of two months to create messages for the Project Coordinator to carry to friends and family in Liberia. The Project Coordinator delivered the messages, filmed responses and returned them to the Staten Island community. Coming Home will culminate in a multimedia exhibit opening December 2, 2006 at Snug Harbor Cultural Center on Staten Island, New York. The exhibit will feature stories, photos and films taken by the elders, their friends, families and allies.

The goals of the Coming Home project were to; enhance the social connections of and support for older Liberians in the Diaspora, increase local service providers understanding of the context from which the Liberians on Staten Island fled, address the culture and values of older Liberians in the Diaspora and raise public awareness and funding to address the special needs of Liberian elders.
Coming Home was created by and is dedicated to the Liberian community on Staten Island and their families and friends in Liberia. Specifically the elders, whose inner strength and resilience are a constant source of inspiration. The project could not have been completed without support and assistance from numerous NGOs and service providers on Staten Island and on the ground in Liberia including; The International Rescue Committee, UNMIL, Everyday Gandhi, The Consortium of African Community Service Providers, The Independence Community Foundation, The International Center for Photography, Livebooks, MSNBC and Olympus.

A special thanks to Alfreda Karngar whose cultural mediation and camera skills were invaluable.

Coming Home is project of African Refuge, a community based program of the International Trauma Studies Program.  The project is coordinated by Serena Chaudhry, Technical Advisor to African Refuge.

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