TITLE: After Ebola, Freetown in recovery

The capital of Sierra Leone, Freetown was hit hard during the Ebola epidemic, during which close to four thousand people died. Poor sanitary conditions and overcrowding in the city slums enabled the aggressively contagious disease to travel easily from household to household.
Prior to the epidemic the country was seeing unprecedented economic growth, with a booming tourism industry and access to natural resources following the long running civil war. After the epidemic the economy crashed to a GDP of -21.1% in 2015 (World Bank).
The economy is now in steady recovery, and the city is starting to once more be a lively and vibrant center of culture for the region. Times are still hard the residents of this beautiful beach side city but they are looking forward to rebuild and recover in the wake of disaster.
I visited Freetown in late 2016, documenting the city and it’s people with a Mamiya C220 and a bag full of black and white film.

AUTHOR: Tom Martin (United Kingdom)

Tom Martin is a British photographer/videographer and artist specialising in documenting humanitarian issues in Africa and Asia, undertaking commissions for charities, NGOs and donors including the EU and UN. His publications range from The Economist and The Independent to Italian Vogue and the Lancet. Exhibitions include solo shows in Westminster and Kigali.  
Tom lectures in photography at Lincoln University, specialising in still and moving image documentary methodology, recently developing participatory photo projects in Bangladesh and South Sudan.