childfund Archives - Jake Lyell

Post Tagged with: "childfund"

ChildFund in the Philippines

November 9, 2019

These days my work with ChildFund involves getting to the heart of what the organization does through personal video storytelling. I’ve been talking to current and former sponsored children, and their parents, to see how participation in the program leads to transformation in their lives today and puts them on solid ground when they move on to adulthood. Hazel, whose profile is shown above, is a current sponsored child living in rural Mindanao, while Ana Maeh, below, grew up in the program and is now a teacher in Manila. Their stories would be entirely different had not someone from far away made the decision to intervene in their lives. All photographs and video copyright Jake Lyell Photography, LLC 2019. All rights reserved.

Escaping Child Marriage in Kenya

March 20, 2019

I’m always astonished at the enthusiasm that exists for education among students in the developing world, especially when compared to my native USA. I was reminded of this during a recent assignment in Kenya, where I spent a day at the Sapashe girls’ dormitory at a remote primary school in Samburu County. The dorm, one of many constructed by ChildFund in sub-Sahran Africa, provides a safe place for school-age girls to live on campus while they focus on their education. Girls face a number of challenges in rural Kenya including FGM, child marriage, and, more often, the hurdle that when at home they’re expected to perform domestic chores like fetching water and herding livestock, rather than to concentrate on academics. The ability to live on campus helps bypass many of these obstacles. In the above video piece I present the story of Rehema, a resident of the Sapashe dorm, who[…]

Safe Passage: Childhood in the Developing World

August 6, 2018

My retrospective humanitarian photography exhibit, Safe Passage, opened Friday at the main branch of the Richmond Public Library in downtown RVA. It will remain open until September 4th. This e-exhibit is for those of you too distant to visit in person. All of us dream about what we might do with our winnings if we were lucky enough to win the lottery. What if someone told you you’d already won? The citizenship lottery, that is. You live here. For most of us, the inequalities and hardships within our own borders cannot compare to the level of hardship that exists in the developing world. A water tap in our home, free public education, a childhood without forced labor – all of these are liberties enjoyed by most American children. As our country struggles over its southern border and hundreds of migrants land on Europe’s shores each day, much of the rhetoric in[…]

Latin Connection – part 1

October 31, 2017

Ecuador: I shot mostly video on this trip, but not sure when those stories will see the light of day. Happy school children and really tall mountains were the norm. It sure is cold up in them hills. Ecuador’s snow-capped kingpin, Mt. Chimborazo, can be seen in the distance of the landscape below. Other shots of ChildFund’s interventions display livelihood initiatives centered on knitting and agriculture.

It Takes a Chicken

October 4, 2017

In the US we love our pets. In many other parts of the world, they need them. I recently visited a few families in Kenya who depend on their chickens for their livelihood. ChildFund New Zealand’s Gifts that Grow program allows New Zealanders to buy livestock for needy families who will use them as sources of income, nutrition… and happiness.

Faces of Drought

May 1, 2017

Last month I traveled to far northern Kenya to document the grueling impact of the current drought on children and families for ChildFund. Most of the stories I captured were of extreme need – stories that I hope will stir hearts and open pocketbooks in order to bring relief to those attempting to endure the current food crisis.

Family Reunion

January 27, 2017

“We believe the family is the best place for every child.” This quote from a social worker narrating the video below is the central theme of the DOVCU program, which is implemented by ChildFund in Uganda and funded by USAID. Parents or family members who struggle through grinding poverty often feel that the best solution is to give their children up to an institution – an orphanage or children’s home – in hopes of a better life for them. The reality is that this often results in children growing up without culture and community and makes them more vulnerable to child trafficking or living on the streets. Furthermore, the standard of living in such institutions is seldom better. The Deinstitutionalization of Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Uganda program seeks to strengthen the livelihoods of families so that breaking apart the family is unnecessary. It also works to bring separated families back together again. I recently shot and produced these three short[…]

Exit Strategy

November 6, 2016

For kids growing up in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya, education is the only hope of escaping a seemingly hopeless situation. This video was shot for ChildFund’s annual Small Voices, Big Dreams survey, which asks children their thoughts on critical issues affecting them. This year’s theme is education. I’ll be showing it to my daughter every time she complains about having to go to school.

Birth off the beaten track

October 18, 2016

A story of community and maternal and child health in remote Senegal thanks to ChildFund / USAID.

Wisdom from Wisdom

August 6, 2016

The renovation of a school in rural Zambia by ChildFund has had an incredible domino effect in the community, impacting everything from teacher morale to child marriage. Instructor extraordinaire, Wisdom Chanda, tells us how a bricks and mortar makeover can go a long way towards impacting education and child rights.