Tremeau began to wonder: how could he show the world their situation—without evoking pity or portraying them only through tragedy? How could he preserve their dignity and instead focus on their potential? That’s when he had an idea:

“If you want to be photographed, tell me what you want to be when you grow up. You have one hour. Use anything you can find around the church grounds—clothing, props—to represent that future. But there’s one rule: don’t spend any money.”

An hour later, the children returned, and what he saw exceeded all expectations.

The first girl said,
“I want to be a teacher. My school was destroyed, and I can’t go anymore. I miss school so much.”

Another child held a plastic ball and said, “This is a diamond. I want to find diamonds.

This shocked Tremeau. In the Central African Republic, there’s a saying that encourages finding diamonds over going to school. The reality of that child choosing diamonds over education spoke volumes about the influence of environment on children’s hopes.

A few months later in the Democratic Republic of Congo, around 20 boys came dressed as soldiers, wielding handmade toy guns, in a way that they were too realistic. One child said, “A soldier came to my house and took money from my father. If I become a soldier, I can take money too.” Another one, on the contrary, said “Peacekeepers play soccer with me, they are my friends. I want to be like them.”

In places where most adults they see are soldiers, it’s no surprise the children dream of becoming one too.

Tremeau also traveled to West African countries like Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia during the Ebola outbreak, meeting many children who had lost their parents. Some said,
“I want to become a doctor to help others － just like the one who once helped me.” 

He saw how a positive environment could restore hope.
Thanks to encounters like these, “One Day, I Will” has become a 10-year-long project. Tremeau has visited over 20 countries, including Niger, Iraq, and Nepal, capturing the dreams of children living in crisis.

When OCHA approached Tremeau to exhibit the project at the Expo 2025 in Osaka, Kansai, Japan, he thought it would be fascinating to conduct a similar shoot in Japan. Japan, especially Tokyo, felt like a futuristic contrast to many of the developing nations he had visited. But even here, natural disasters leave children in vulnerable conditions. With support from KUMON, he was able to photograph children from the Noto Peninsula, affected by earthquakes and heavy rains.

Upon arriving in Suzu City from Tokyo, he was deeply shocked. He recalled a similar feeling when covering a bombed town near the Ukraine-Russia border the previous year. Homes in Noto remained collapsed, set against the serene backdrop of snow-capped mountains. Some children still study in temporary classrooms or live in temporary homes.
Despite the devastation, something miraculous happened again. A six-year-old boy came dressed as a firefighter, as well as a seven-year-old girl.

In Europe, dreams of becoming firefighters or police officers are common among children. But in ten years of photographing children across Africa and the Middle East, not one had said they wanted to be a firefighter—simply because they had maybe never seen one. Without role models, dreams are hard to form.
The girl in Noto said:

“I want to be a firefighter. My dad is one. After the earthquake, he worked through the night to rescue people. He’s, my hero.”

A ten-year-old girl said she wanted to be an ice-cream maker so she could share delicious ice-cream with classmates she was separated from by the disaster. Tremeau described such dreams as beautiful as roses blooming in the desert.

His experience in Noto confirmed for him the true power of education. Education is not just about textbooks. As both a photographer and an educator—perhaps influenced by his grandmother, his aunt and uncle, all math teachers—he believes in nurturing children’s imagination and encouraging them to believe they can be anything.
He hopes his work raises awareness of humanitarian issues and inspires thought and dialogue. Especially in Japan, he wants people to remember what happened and think about the challenges children face.

Of course, not every child will dream of something related to earthquakes. The aim of Tremeau’s project—asking children what they want to be and photographing them in costume—is not to trap them in trauma.
He doesn’t want to influence or interfere with their dreams either. The children come as they are. They are the stars. And he wants to give them a “voice”—a way to express their thoughts, hopes, and feelings to the world.
He recalled one particularly striking girl who came in ordinary clothes and said:
“I don’t want to be forced to say what I want to be. I haven’t decided yet—but I want to have options.”

He told her, “That’s okay. You can do anything you want.” Encouraging children to believe they can achieve anything, through learning and imagination, is a powerful message for any educator.

The magic of this project is how the children, through their photos, speak directly to the audience. Parents, too, may feel something. Artful and playful, this form of communication sparks conversation. He encourages families to visit the exhibition together.

The photographs are a great tool to prompt parent-child conversations. Teachers and children coming together would be educative as well. He hopes the exhibition inspires kids to think about what they want to become—and why—and reflect on the people and circumstances that inspired them.

Though funding has always been a challenge since the project began 10 years ago, there are still many places he wants to visit. Comparing the dreams of children in Tokyo or Osaka to those in Noto could be fascinating.

Depending on the situation, he hopes to visit Ukraine and also has thoughts about the Korean Peninsula. South Korea is developed and globally influential. But what about North Korea? He wants to hear from children in both nations. Because the future belongs to children, and maybe this project can contribute to a more peaceful world.

He also hopes to revisit the children he’s photographed—because dreams and goals evolve. Are they still chasing the same dreams? Have they reached them? Seeing the kids who once said “One Day, I will…” five or ten years later is something he looks forward to deeply.