In July 2021, Belgium experienced one of the most devastating and sudden floods in history, with many lives lost and more than 220,000 houses damaged or destroyed. The Southern Belgium region of Wallonia, more specifically the province of Liège, was among the worst hit, and the area is still recovering.
When you lose everything, you hang onto memories, but the survivors also lost thousands of photographs of immense sentimental value, which were damaged or washed away.
Through the support of a project named 'ReStory' β a joint initiative between advertising agency Happiness Brussels, numerous volunteer digital retouchers, restoration laboratory Object Care and Canon Belgium β a mission was launched to restore as many photos as possible for the flood victims.
"At Canon we know the emotional power of images and the stories that go with them," says Jacco Leurs, managing director of Canon Benelux. "That's why we support the ReStory programme of photo restoration and why we were touched by the stories behind it. The project is for anyone affected by the floods who would like to have damaged photos restored. This way, these people can keep their memories intact, and we can help alleviate their grief."