Jake Lyell | Video Production | Photography

Women’s Heavy Burden: CARE’s Crisis Work in the Congo

Published on May 7, 2013 in Assignment, Blog Posts | 0 comments

In the Democratic Republic of Congo it is more dangerous to be a woman than it is a solider. Since 1996 a series of wars, rebellions, and flareups in the East have caused over 2.6 million people to be displaced from their homes. In the ensuing crises, it is women and girls who have suffered the most, most especially as survivors of sexual or gender-based violence. This video, a reminder of the conflict that is seemingly forgotten by the international community, tells the story of these women.

In the DRC, CARE works to bring about lasting transformation in the lives of women through psycho-social support and economic empowerment programs. However, the organization also works with men in order to dismantle unhealthy cultural biases toward women while building communities in which girls can grow up with the same rights and protection men experience. CARE is also working to provide emergency food and shelter to hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people who have sought refuge in camps amidst the conflict.

Struggles of a Small Farmer in Zambia

Published on April 22, 2013 in Assignment, Blog Posts | 2 comments

You certainly won’t need an umbrella in South-West Zambia outside the month of January. While many places in Africa have plentiful rainfall and lush soils (central Uganda for instance), many rural farmers, after only one brief rainy season each year, must attempt to cultivate enough food for their families in extremely dry and sweltering conditions.

This means that families have only one small window of opportunity to grow food and sell any surplus to earn income. Often that window is not great enough to last the entire year, and so not only does poverty persist, but something even more brutal occurs: hunger. Most of us who would read this entry have never experienced true hunger. Perhaps we’ve had to go without lunch because we were too busy at the office. However, true hunger is a reality for the people of this area of Zambia, most of whom survive on cornmeal porridge once a day.

And what’s more unfortunate for the people of Luangwa, Zambia is that most people in the West are tired of hearing about hunger. For this assignment for ChildFund New Zealand, I had to think of new ways to make hunger personal, to show the ways it affects families, but also to show that it is something that can be alleviated.

The video above, which I shot and produced, illustrates the problems and effects of hunger on a small-farmer family. It also demonstrates concrete steps that ChildFund NZ can take, with proper funding, to mitigate hunger in the community. In fact, many of the shots for the “solution” half of this video were of ChildFund agricultural programs in other parts of Zambia that are already successfully running. The potential for hunger alleviation is there. It’s now up to donors to respond.

Meanwhile in Barcelona…

Published on April 11, 2013 in Assignment, Blog Posts, Personal Work, Photo Essay | 0 comments

It’s just early spring in Barcelona, and a bit of a chilly one at that, but life is in full bloom here. I can only imagine what this town on the Mediterranean is like in July. For all the joie de vivre in this city, or shall I say alegría de vivir, you wouldn’t know Spain is currently suffering from gloomy unemployment levels of 27% (Reminds me of last year’s infamous “Spain is not Uganda” quip.)

Beaches, nightlife, art, and gastronomy are all big draws, but for me it was mostly the architecture. From its ancient Roman walls, to its Gothic Cathedrals, to the quirky creations of the 19th and 20th century Modernistas, Barcelona enjoys over two thousand years of stunning design tradition. What better setting in which to savor caviar and cava? Outstanding architecture is something I’m exploring more and more of these days. Look for a new section in my works coming soon.

Camping Out in DRC

Published on March 27, 2013 in Assignment, Blog Posts | 0 comments

While I’m in the Democratic Republic of Congo primarily to produce a video (coming soon) for CARE, I’ve still managed to nab a few good stills of life in the IDP camps. Up until a few weeks these places were a no-go thanks to the M-23 and various other militias wandering eastern DRC. The humanitarian crisis continues…

A Toast to Tea

Published on March 15, 2013 in Assignment, Blog Posts, Video | 0 comments

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If you could get a caffeine rush from walking through tea fields I’d be bouncing off walls by now. But as I’ve learned recently from shooting for Shared Interest in Uganda’s tea-growing highlands, there’s a lot involved in getting those glossy green leaves into a palatable consistency.

Shared Interest, an ethical investment company out of the UK, loans exclusively to fair trade buyer and producer organizations around the globe. Hit play below (and turn on the HD!) to find out what Shared Interest is doing in this corner of Africa.

Back to the Farm

Published on February 27, 2013 in Assignment, Blog Posts | 0 comments

Get this: 80% of Burkina Faso’s population attempts to make it’s living in subsistence agriculture while only 19% of land is arable. That makes farming kind of like a guy getting a date in a country where men outnumber women four to one. Poor soil qualities, fluctuations in rainfall, and topsoil erosion all contribute to the country’s crop production woes. Recent work is displayed here from the Millennium Challenge Corporation’s agricultural programs in Burkina Faso.

MCC, a humanitarian arm of the US State Department, is boosting production and access to markets for small farmers in this West African country, however. The programs shown here document the organization’s efforts in sustainable agriculture, livestock vaccination, fertilizers, and agro-forestry, as well as ground-breaking, innovative initiatives. In the Market Information Systems program, agents use cell phone technology to publish regional market prices for a variety of commodities. Farmers who subscribe to the database can then find out whether or not its worth it to take their harvest to the next market, 10km or 20km down the road.

Around 4% of Burkina Faso’s woodlands are disappearing every year. Most losses are linked to farming, but the expanding Sahel is also a contributing factor. MCC’s agro-forestry program educates small farmers about the benefits of preserving precious forest resources and makes seedlings more available through the establishment of community nurseries. MCC has invested in Burkina Faso to the tune $4.8 million. Though divided among infrastructure, education, and agriculture initiatives, it’s certainly not small potatoes.

Development in the Digital Age

Published on February 12, 2013 in Assignment, Blog Posts | 2 comments

Highways, electrical substations, dams and water systems…. now computers. It’s exciting to be documenting Africa’s infrastructure and technology expansion. The above video was shot in Kenya and produced by yours truly. UK NGO, Computers 4 Africa, helped Peter Kanini break the cycle of poverty in which he and his family found themselves with a computer training course. The organization also provided equipment to his technical training school. Now as a computer teacher, Peter is passing his knowledge on to the next generation.

The Big Picture

Published on January 27, 2013 in Blog Posts | 0 comments

This is big-picture stuff. No, I’m not talking about the number of megapixels on my Canon 5D Mark III, I’m talking about the work of US development organization, MCC. The Millennium Challenge Corporation works to impact developing nations and their economies on a macro scale. Part of this work means renovating the infrastructure on which a nation operates. While certainly not the most emotionally gripping topic, infrastructure is key to any country’s economic development. Build a solid enough foundation, and a nation will have the tools it needs to provide for its own citizens.

Above, a main artery stretches through the city of Nampula, in Mozambique, where MCC is rehabilitating roads and renovating the city’s municipal water system. The country’s grueling civil war ended in 1992, but much of its infrastructure has yet to recover, even now. Below, workers construct the Nacala Dam in northern Mozambique, which will supply water to the citizens of Nacala, a boom town in northern Mozambique.

Rural areas are not beyond the organization’s reach, however. MCC is also installing pump-wells, known as boreholes, where municipal pipelines don’t stretch, providing a potable water source to some communities for the first time. Below, children draw clean water from a pump-well in Mecupes, Mozambique.

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In an earlier post I talked about the different kinds of compacts that MCC awards to developing countries. But why award $500 million to a country where the money may likely be lost through corruption or squandered on a new presidential jet?

Eligibility for aid grants, or compacts, is based on a scorecard of 17 different indicators, not on politics. Among the indicators are a country’s control of corruption, immunization rate, public expenditures on health, primary education, trade and fiscal policies, and civil liberties and political rights of its citizens. MCC is currently working in 38 countries world-wide, 19 of which are in Africa. Sadly, my beloved Uganda is far from qualifying for such a compact.

Arguments exists today among wonks and policy-makers that bilateral aid itself is a major hamper to a nation’s development and growth, and sometimes that’s true. Economist Dambisa Moyo advocates for the immediate “turning off of the aid taps” in her sensationalistic treatise, Dead Aid. She, however, fails to mention in her rationalization the work of aid programs—such as MCC and others–that award grants to nations based, not entirely on need, but just as much on good governance and economic freedom.

Above, a child drinks clean water from a borehole in Burkina Faso. Nations must maintain their scorecard during the years of MCC’s compact implementation as well, creating patterns that will conceivably be followed into a time when aid for that country will no longer be a necessity.

For those nations already walking the walk in tackling poverty, MCC’s infrastructure programs act as a partnership, not a handout. For those who still have strides to make in governance and economic policy, MCC’s compacts offer tremendous incentive for reform.

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A Pat on the Back

Published on January 11, 2013 in Assignment, Blog Posts | 0 comments

A couple of times in the past I’ve gotten flack for giving credit to former US President George W. Bush here my blog, though it’s not because of any particular political persuasion I hold. On the continent of Africa, no other leader’s legacy endures more so than that of President Bush–trust me, I live here. From the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief Program (PEPFAR) to his efforts to combat cervical cancer on the continent, Mr. Bush’s initiatives have saved millions, yes, millions of lives here. So, just as I always ask for a photo by-line from my clients, I won’t refuse to give credit where credit is due when talking about another Bush-founded agency dedicated to aid in the developing world, the Millennium Challenge Corporation.

My most recent work with the Millennium Challenge Corporation has so far taken me to the African countries of Burkina Faso, Tanzania, and Mozambique. Many will agree that the fastest way to development is to support and foster the free market. MCC‘s core strategy is to reduce poverty through economic growth, building foundations on which developing economies can thrive on their own. Above, a new power substation is constructed by MCC in Zanzibar.

The agency’s programs work in a number of ways to promote economic development, including agriculture and irrigation projects, road and port construction and rehabilitation, water supply, land rights, finance and enterprise, and anti-corruption initiatives. I can’t possibly cover all the topics I’ve photographed in the past two months in one blog entry. Today’s entry showcases only MCC‘s education and electricity programs. Above, workers bring electricity to a rural area in central Tanzania for the first time.

It’s certainly difficult for MCC to tout the number of lives it has saved through its electricity and education programs. The benefits from these areas of investment tend to materialize indirectly. Above, students in Kigoma, Tanzania learn in a solar-powered classroom. Below, a health care worker attends to a child ill with malaria in a solar-powered health center.

Not only does MCC support schools by providing access to electricity, the agency also builds schools outright. In many rural areas, children must walk miles on end to reach their closest educational institution. Through the BRIGHT schools program, MCC is building them brighter and with improved components like separate toilets for girls and boys, hand-washing stations, blackboards and play equipment. In doing so, MCC is helping to boost the number of children enrolled in and completing primary school. Below, students learn in a school constructed under the BRIGHT program in Kouka, Burkina Faso.

Below, a busy village market outside Kigoma, Tanzania is open late into the night thanks to the solar panels resting on its roof. Supporting businesses large and small is a key part of the Millennium Challenge Corporation‘s economic growth formula.

MCC has a unique and efficient way of awarding its grants, known as compacts, to developing countries. I’ll discuss this in later entries. Not every underdeveloped country qualifies, though that’s not necessarily because of funding shortages.

Though the initiator of these programs, Pres. Bush can’t take all the credit for their success. MCC‘s programs have been continued under the Obama administration, though each year Congress has allocated less funding than requested. Most importantly, a pat on the proverbial back of the American tax-payer is in order as well. After all, we funded these programs, and it takes great sacrifice to do so in a time of economic uncertainty. From someone who has seen these programs first hand, I can say that it’s money well spent.

Gifts That Grow

Published on December 17, 2012 in Uncategorized | 32 comments

What a difference a goat or two can make! That’s the story told in the above video I produced for ChildFund New Zealand, which promotes the annual ChildFund Gifts That Grow catalog. Who knew a goat had the power to beat malnutrition, send a child to school, even build a new house? Below, yours truly gives a behind the scenes look at filming in rural Zambia and working with families that have received these amazing gifts.

Maybe you’re feeling especially generous after watching this? Whether you’re in New Zealand, the US, France, Australia or elsewhere, ChildFund is likely working in your country so you can make a tax-deductible gift to someone like Perina this season.