FRIENDS VISION
An NGO that supports Kenyan children in need through education, job training, and mentorship
CLIENT: Friends Vision, a non-religious NGO
LOCATION: Kenya
ROLE: Photo & video
BACKGROUND: Their sponsorship programs support Kenyan children in need by funding their education, providing medical care, building support networks, and providing life-skill training and mentorship, which empowers them to reach their potential and move into independent adulthood with confidence.
ASK: Friends Vision wanted visuals that documented the work they do in their community, including three children’s homes and a local AIDS clinic. The photos of the kids in their child sponsorship program were outdated, taken hastily with amateur gear, and didn’t reflect their kids’ personalities. They also wanted to work with someone who would make these children feel comfortable and flattered during the process, hoping the experience itself would build self-confidence and self-esteem.
Friends Vision needed photo and video content to update their website, as well as content they could use to drive their marketing and donation campaigns. Particularly, they wanted visuals to help potential donors understand the work they do and its context within the local community.
SOLUTION: I spent several weeks documenting the children’s homes and clinics that Friends Vision supports, and during this time, I built relationships with the kids, which enabled me to capture a wider breadth of their personalities and create flattering portraits of each child.
Together, we created visuals that were joyful, uplifting, and which told the story of Friends Vision’s mission and values. During my time there, I also taught into photography lessons to the kids and gave a talk about working in the photography industry, something which inspired at least one of their students to pursue work in photojournalism upon graduation.
