The Joy Trip Project

Long after a natural disaster fades from the headlines the human tragedy continues. To most, the Sumatra earthquake and tsunami of 2004 is a distant memory. But a young photographer from Wyoming wants the world to keep in mind the thousands who died and hundreds of thousands more who survived but still suffer. Becca Skinner wants to tell their story. And working in collaboration with photographer James Balog and a grant from National Geographic, she and fellow student Chris Michael will make sure we never forget. “A place after a natural disaster is in the media for only a short period of time,” Skinner said. “Communities rebuild or don’t rebuild behind closed doors. Nobody really pays attention to how communities recover.”