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Information about the project can be found on this page
Fotograf is committed to providing inspiration to disadvantaged children and young people in Africa, enabling them to document their lives, owning their own stories without any expectation of praise or pity. , providing a voice within their community and the wider world.
Our Approach
The project delivers an uplifting, interesting and fun educational programme, which enables young people to create outstanding photographic work, tell their own personal stories, as well as offering the opportunity to continue their learning and education in photography and the arts.
Trained by Professionals
Julian Claxton is the project lead and founder of Fotograf. Julian is an Award-Winning photographer who founded the project in 2015, previously called Give a Child a Camera. He offers a creative and understanding outlook, providing the young people with the foundation for compelling stories.
Benefits
Direct benefits to the participants include and by no way limited to, building confidence, encouragement of independent thinking and development to create imagery.
Training & Support
The experienced team led by Julian, run the workshops, training the young people in camera operation, composition and other elements required to build imagery. The photographic lead helps to foster a belief in abilities, offering active support and guidance during the image making process.
Mentoring
Helping the young people understand that photography as a tool can be used to highlight issues, enabling storytelling and importantly using their own images as a potential platform to own their own story. Fostering a form of communication between themselves and the world around them.
Empowerment
The process of image making helps to empower the young people to own their story/message. Pieces that make each student unique, without any expectation of praise or pity.
Meet our team
Built from industry professionals, passionate individuals and leaders in the charity sector. The fotograf team is proud to deliver on its mission statement and to be part of the journey of this life changing and inspirational programme.
Julian Claxton
Project Founder & Photographer
Nikki Morris
CEO DeafBlind UK
Emma Drake
Programme and Partnership Manager. Active Norfolk
Nick Phillips
Owner of Funnells Kitchen
Phill Rushmere
Project Manager & Change Practitioner – NHS
Andrew Brisbin
Director of Ventures at Allia
“They saw through the lens and became happy”
Twongyeirwe Ronald
Director. Eden School, Uganda
Donate to Fotograf
Donate by scanning the QR code. It’s safe, secure and you will be making a difference to disadvantaged young people in Uganda.
The origins of the project
In 2012 Julian was part of a three man team that undertook the incredible challenge of cycling from Suffolk to Kigali, the capital of Rwanda.
During the 5500+ mile journey across 14 countries, the original team split up and cycled on their own. This provided Julian with the opportunity to meet and spend time with locals.
In Uganda and particularly in the Southwest, Julian experienced a moment of connection and knew he had to return.
In 2014 he returned with his wife, Samantha, hiring a 4×4 and travelling around Uganda, on many of the roads and dirt tracks which two years previously had seen the epic adventure.
After a somewhat frustrating morning photographically, they were driving along a dusty dirt road, high in the hills above the town of Kabale in the Southwest of the country, when they stopped their vehicle and listened to dozens of little voices singing their hearts out. It was a picture-perfect scene.
Running over to greet Julian and Samantha was teacher and school director Ronald. He encouraged them to stop and listen to the national anthem. That was the moment, a life changing encounter.
What followed was an amazing afternoon in the company of Ronald and the children of Eden Preparatory school. The school had been in existence only months, with Ronald Twongyeirwe teaching children from small outbuildings, using outdated materials.
Nine months later, he was back at the school, sleeping in a spare room, bearing 25 film cameras, 50 rolls of film and a plan to give each child a camera and teach them photography
The rudimentary brick building, which contained half a dozen benches and a scruffy blackboard, was the base for a few weeks as Julian prepared himself to teach the basics of photography to 25 eager children.
The children were set objectives and on regular intervals (usually at weekends or evenings) Julian would hike through the mountains to their homes, often becoming the first westerner to visit some of these remote properties.
It was a humbling experience for the photographer.
After a few weeks the children arrived back to school, amazingly all 25 cameras returned, in immaculate condition. The films were taken to the processing labs and what happened next was truly incredible. The stories of each child came to life in pictures.
The images were not only inspiring, but they truly provided a real life look at rural life in Uganda. A chance for the viewer to see what a child sees of their home and community. A chance to glimpse at real life.
Project Two
Returning to Eden school, over 12 months later, 23 out of the 25 children were present, they had arrived at school, cameras in hand, a deeper understanding of photography (thanks to the previous paperwork/teaching material left behind)and films ready to be developed.
