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The school had been in existence only months, with Ronald Twongyeirwe teaching children from small outbuildings, using outdated materials.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.