In 2016, the Lebanese Cash Consortium was established to improve the situation of vulnerable Syrian refugees and help coordinate cash assistance in Lebanon. Six International NGOs came together under this consortium and designed a multi-purpose cash assistance to be used freely by refugee households as they are fully capable to decide their priorities and how and on what to spend this cash.

Within this consortium, I was recruited by World Vision International to work on a project in Bar Elias- Bekaa, Lebanon, where I was asked to capture the reactions and portraits of children when they were handed 1 dollar to buy whatever they wanted from the grocery store.

This project goes beyond simple portraits, it captures the reactions of children from the moment they were given the money and told ‘’Go get whatever you want’’ to how they walked head high towards the grocery store, what they chose to buy and their faces when they ate their candies.

Some chose to optimize their budget and bought many small items, some others bought one big item, some refused to share and others wanted to buy for their siblings as well.

Below is the collection of images, I might not remember the names of all the children but surely I remember how it felt to share this moment with them, and it felt great!