humanitarian photographer Archives

Post Tagged with: "humanitarian photographer"

Maternal and Child Health in Uganda

January 31, 2022

Joyce lost her baby. Rose lost her mother. This tragic story is a microcosm of the dangers and challenges families face when a woman gives birth. I shot and edited this video story from Kalaki District, Uganda, for ChildFund Australia as part of a new campaign to help mothers and babies stay safe during pregnancy and childbirth. In Uganda a woman is 63 times more likely to die in childbirth compared to a woman in Australia, whereas a child is 11 times more likely to die at birth or soon after. As part of the initiative, the organization is training new community health volunteers, funding and mobilizing rural health outreach clinics, and distributing delivery kits to expectant mothers.

Fighting the Drought

November 22, 2021

I recently traveled to drought-stricken areas of northern Kenya – Samburu and Marsabit counties – to document ChildFund’s response to the crisis and see how families were faring after receiving desperately needed water and food support.

Juega Conmigo

August 18, 2021

The ability to communicate to an institutional audience while maintaining a creative edge is a skill I’ve worked to hone over the years. Thus, many of my assignments involve documenting grants commissioning clients have received from government institutions or charitable foundations as a visual presentation of the progress achieved. This award from the Lego Foundation was, quite literally, a lot more fun than usual to chronicle. The Juega Conmigo (Come Play with Me), program implements child health, nutrition, early stimulation and protection programs for young children in Guatemala’s highlands, with a volunteer Guide Mother as the main entry point into the community. “The program strengthens the ability of parents to support their child’s development through of fun and games, taking play as the basis for the development of children’s abilities,” says ChildFund Guatemala Early Childhood Education Officer, Cristine Ajpacaja. “We work with children aged 0 to 4, seeking to change[…]

I’m Still Here

September 22, 2020

I’m still here; a desperate title to my latest entry, and one to define a peculiar and surreal time in my career. How in the world can I still be working into the 7th month of international travel restrictions? Answer: I’m privileged to have clients that look to me to tell their stories and communicate their crucial work to donors, stakeholders and the public at large. Here are a few highlights of videos I’ve edited and produced over the last few months. The majority of the shots were mined from my footage archive, with a bit of supplement from Pond5. The above piece was made for Corus International, a new ensemble of organizations working to end extreme poverty by harnessing the combined powers of the private for-profit and development-aid sectors. This is currently airing in ads on LinkedIn in order to introduce the new umbrella organization to professionals working in[…]

Celebrating International Women’s Day

March 7, 2020

I produced this dance-inducing video for the marking of International Women’s Day by ChildFund at an advocacy event in Washington, DC, promoting the Girls LEAD Act – a bill that recognizes and promotes girls’ civic and political leadership as a priority for U.S. foreign assistance efforts. Following a “call for entries” to ChildFund’s 23 offices around the world, I chose the most thought-provoking soundbites to incorporate with some existing high-intensity dance footage. Herein, also, are some shots celebrating women and girls from recent assignments in Morocco, India, Nepal and Uganda.

Open Sesame

July 3, 2019

It’s one thing to increase the crop yields of vulnerable, smallholder farmers in a climate-challenged corner of the world. Lots of organizations are working – and bearing fruit – in this capacity. It’s another thing entirely to transform these smallholder farmers into major agricultural producers, connect them with buyers, and strengthen the value chain of a commodity for an entire region. In my most recent assignment with Lutheran World Relief, I was commissioned to take a brief look at the SESAME project, a US Department of Agriculture-funded initiative that works not only to increase the quality and volume of sesame farmers in Burkina Faso, but also to strengthen the cooperative system in sesame growing regions of the county. By working in cooperatives, everyday farmers can negotiate higher prices, streamline quality, access inputs and enhance overall market conditions, all of which create a sustainable, private-sector led framework for the sale[…]

Saving Grace

May 30, 2019

At the age of thirteen, Grace’s parents fell on hard times. The bride price paid by an older man in the village was incentive for them to withdraw her from school and marry her off. This video is part of a series I recently shot and produced for ChildFund documenting the organization’s work to prevent early marriage in Zambia.

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[…]

Day off in Tbilisi

February 3, 2018

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.