It was this past January when Mr. Berube, who was in Nairobi, Kenya, received a 6 a.m. phone call to go to the Mathare slums. He was summoned to meet the family of a 17-year-old boy, killed in a conflict with an opposing tribe.

He approached the badly burned body as if walking on glass while distant shots could be heard ringing in the thick air. The sun was rising and Mr. Berube was there to photograph the fallen.

He remembers many things from that morning, but what stands out are the words of the young boy's father as he placed a hand on his shoulder. In a low voice, the elderly man muttered, "The dead can dance. Even in death, the dead can still speak."

That chilling statement has since defined Mr. Berube's life and career. In December 2006, he took his first trip from Whitby to Africa to cover the presidential election crisis in Kenya. He spent most of the year in 2007 and some of 2008 immersed in Kibera, Africa's largest slum, ravaged by violence and poor living conditions. He stayed with families, photographing and documenting their day-to-day lives.

Growing up with a keen interest in world issues, Mr. Berube remembers being affected by poverty even at the age of six while travelling with family.

"I remember seeing a lot of communities and kids in situations that were very different from what I was used to," he said. "It woke me up to this whole other world outside of North America."

His interest transferred over to photography when he started taking pictures three years ago. He found inspiration in the pages of books about the masters of photography, including Henri Cartier-Bresson and Robert Frank.

While in Africa, he remembers seeing a man eating grass. Food supplies had been cut off from major highways going in and out of Kenya, which left the people in the slums without food for nearly two weeks. Mr. Berube said watching this, even with his own stomach empty for more than a week, was unsettling.

"I couldn't believe the international community could let this take place," he said, pausing as he pondered the images he'd seen. "In a world that has so much money and prosperity, we still have people 6,000 miles away, eating grass."

Mr. Berube said everyone has a right to witness what is happening in the world because he believes people generally understand and want change.

World-renowned Canadian photographer Yuri Dojc said he was impressed with Mr. Berube's enthusiasm when he met him and admires his courage.

"He goes where the passion tells him to go," he said. "So his photos are gutsy and in your face. He doesn't try to beautify it and that's so refreshing."

Mr. Dojc has been in the business for more than 37 years and met many young photographers, but said he had never seen any of them care so much about the people they were taking pictures of.

Mr. Berube, who refers to the people he photographs as friends rather than subjects, said he always tries to connect with them as much as possible.

"You're always part of the situation whether you like it or not," he said. "It's your job as a photographer to be in the middle of it."

Mr. Berube said he channels his emotion into his photography so that others can feel the people's pain.

News Canada president Ruth Douglas accompanied Mr. Berube on one of his trips to Kenya and said she was amazed by the relationships he developed with the people.

"He really connected with them," she said. "It was amazing how much they gave him carte blanche and welcomed him."

On his return to Canada, Mr. Berube found it difficult to relate to people even though he has lived here all his life.

"It's difficult to be at a restaurant hearing people complain about the outcome of some television show when you're wondering, 'Are your friends that you just photographed still alive?' "

Artsforum Magazine editor-in-chief John Arkelian said he admires the honesty in Mr. Berube's photography that doesn't only depict despair for the purpose of shock value.

"There's a sense of hope, persistence and strength that comes through in the photos," he said. "These are people without many necessities of life but he shows they are still soldiering on."

Mr. Berube held an exhibition in March at the Royal Canadian Military Institute in Toronto showcasing his photographs from Kibera, with all proceeds donated to relief efforts in Kenya.

His self-published book, The Dead Can Dance, was recently released. It features photos and testimonies from his stay in Kenya. It serves as evidence of what's happening there and many other places in the world where less privileged people live, he said.

For Mr. Berube, there's no such thing as a perfect photograph, but the perfect picture in his head is one of unity and triumph for these people. To learn more about Mike Berube or to view his work, visit www.mikeberube.com.