Powerful imagery plays an important role in the humanitarian and development sectors, putting a face to a crisis or a conflict, and serving as a reminder of our common humanity, yet disparate fates.
I began to appreciate the potential of my own photographs when I launched a fundraising campaign to buy beds for a group of vulnerable women and children living with HIV/AIDS in Ghana. At the time I was undertaking a volunteer project with a small community-based organisation that supports women living with HIV/AIDS and organises education programmes to increase awareness of the condition. In coordination with the organisation, I photographed some of the women inside their homes in the hope that the pictures would help draw attention to their situation and encourage support for the campaign to get the much-needed beds. The images were central in generating interest and awareness of the women’s struggle, and I was humbled to see how quickly people back home in the UK began to engage and support the cause. Click here to find out more about the Ghana Beds Project.
From 2017 to 2019, in addition to my photojournalism work, I contributed regularly as a photography consultant to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Iraq. My task was to capture images and photo stories that highlighted the progress and impact of UNDP-funded projects in areas affected by ISIS across the country. From the Old City of Mosul to the desert of western Anbar, I met and photographed families determined to recover from the trauma of ISIS occupation and the battle for liberation. Over the course of two years I documented the positive change brought about as a result of humanitarian development, focusing on the restoration of schools, hospitals, small businesses, roads and bridges, water and electricity systems, and empowering women and men to take an active role in rebuilding their towns and cities through cash-for-work initiatives.
I’ve also contributed to the communications work of several international non-governmental organisations and United Nations agencies in a number of countries including Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Kenya and the UK. Clients include UNDP, UNHCR, UNMAS, UN Volunteers, Save the Children, OXFAM, War Child, Medair, Amnesty International, Global Response Management, CARE Germany, Nonviolent Peaceforce, Lighthouse Relief and the International Rescue Committee.
To see more of my work in this field visit my projects page.