With the Syrian conflict now in its fifth year, photographer Tabitha Ross is leading a photo project in Lebanon to help children who have fled the crisis to deal with their experiences.

Ms Ross, 35, made the move from her home in Westwood to Beirut a year ago and has since fronted the Beirut Friends: Our Life in Photos project with a group of children aged 11 to 17 for Christian Aid.

It aims to help young Syrian and Lebanese refugee children express their feelings through images.

Ms Ross said: “When I first started working on this project in January, I assumed they would take lots of images of things that reminded them of Syria, or images that defined them as refugees or disadvantaged Lebanese children.

“But what has surprised me is that they mostly take amazing pictures of sunsets, the sea, and the city or of birds, flowers, food or even of their teachers and family and friends.”

She said she was first inspired to get involved in international affairs as a teenager at St Laurence School, Bradford on Avon, which led her to study in the Middle East.

Ms Ross added: “My mum was always a member of Amnesty International in Bradford on Avon as well as the Oxfam group and as a teenager I noticed that she was always writing letters to organisations and so I was quite aware of the things going on as a teen.”

Ms Ross first became involved with Christian Aid when she was appointed as a communications officer in 2008 and she now hopes to encourage others to get involved in charitable international work.

She added: “I think there is a lot of hopelessness in Syria at the moment and I would encourage people that there is something they can do. They can get involved with NGO’s work or solidarity events and not to just wash their hands with the issue.”

The on-going photography project is part of a larger programme provided by Christian Aid's partner, Mouvement Social to respond to those who are affected by the conflict.

For more information about the project, visit: www.medium.com/beirut-kids-photo-diaries