And if you thought your commute was bad…
The big ’stage’ in the centre of Kampala is a mess of matutus, the minibuses that are the main means of getting around the city. I managed to climb up to the roof of a shopping centre on the edge of the ’stage’, as it is only from above that you can appreciate how the hundreds of matutus are actually organised.
Unfortunately, this ’stage’ is also where many of the babies that are abandoned in Kampala every year are found.
A change of direction…
Over the last few months I have been slowly putting together a big project – one that has finally come to fruition I am happy to say. I will be heading to Africa next month to shoot some of the winners of the World of Difference competition run by the Vodafone Foundation. The World of Difference UK sponsors eight winners every year, giving them the chance to work for the charity of their choice for twelve months. Each of the winners has the passion, knowledge and skills to make a huge difference to the work of their charity, and in turn, the people and communities they are trying to help.
My job will be to visit four of these winners and document their daily lives, the work of the charity and the people and communities they are helping. Over six weeks I will be visiting Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Sudan, shooting in both isolated, rural communities and some of Africa’s busiest cities – an exciting challenge.
First off will be LivLife in Tanzania, a charity that aims to alleviate poverty through education, improved health, the provision of basic needs and income generating programmes. I’ll then head to Thika in Kenya, where I will be visiting AfCiC. This organisation works to assist and transform the lives of children affected by various forms of conflict or crisis, be it war, extreme poverty, hunger, illness, persecution, or neglect. Next stop will be the Child’s I Foundation in Kampala, Uganda, that is trying to put an end to the problem of child abandonment in Uganda by supporting mothers, building a transitional home for abandoned babies and developing a family placement programme. Lastly, I will travel to Luonyaker in Bahr-el-Ghazal, Sudan, where I will visit the Marol Academy – ‘A girls school to which boys may come’, supported by HART – and the Dinka community in the area around Luonyaker.
I hope to be posting regular updates as I travel so keep coming back for new posts.
Christmas on the beach
A wonderful end to 2009 – Christmas in Portugal with the family, despite some ridiculous problems with Easyjet flights! A few photos below from a day spent on the beach, followed by coffee ‘Galao’ and pastéis – the best custard tarts!
Attack of the clowns!
The clowns were out in force in Copenhagen, harrasing police and photographers alike! At every demonstration I went to, a group of clowns made an appearance and would normally lead the group of protestors whilst playing around with the police. I am not sure where they were from or their exact intentions, but they certainly added a bit of levity to the marches…
Last one from Indonesia…
Flight is booked, leaving Monday lunch time. Going to be very, very strange going back to the UK. I need to finish up the book over the next few months, but most importantly get some work – if anyone hears of any job possibilities in the UK, please let me know! For the future I hope I’ll be back to Indonesia soon. Maybe Bali, maybe Sulawesi, maybe Samarinda!
A few last images for you. A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to sail back from Labuan Bajo onboard the Seven Seas, passing through Komodo and then on to Banta, Sangeang and Satonda. Great boat and a great trip. Take a look at the full gallery of images from Komodo, Satonda, Sangeang and Banta here.
Bali, Bali, Bali…
Finally managed to catch up with my images from Bali, taken over a 3.5 week period in April. This amazing trip was set up by Michael Cortenbach at Bali Diving Academy, and covered most of the major dive areas in Bali. Starting in Padangbai, I dived with Geko Dive on Gili Mimpang and Tepekong, then hopped over to Trewangan to dive the Gilis with Bali Diving Academy at Villa Ombak. From there I headed back to Bali and stayed at Blue Hills Resort to dive Seraya Secrets and Tulamben area, Cemeluk, Lipah and Gili Selang. Heading further west, I then visited Puri Jati, Gilimanuk, Menjangan and Permuteran, whilst staying at Bali Diving Academy’s base at Taman Sari Hotel, Permuteran. All in all, an incredible trip – great reefs, wrecks and macro, everything that Indonesia has to offer, all rolled into one!
Take a look at the full gallery of images from Bali and the Gilis as well as a few additions in the gallery of black and white images taken in Indonesia.
