We Gave Disposable Cameras To Kids In The Slums Of Kampala And Told Them To Photograph Their Lives. Here's How It Went.

Through Our Eyes Project launches in Uganda, gives 100 disposable cameras to kids in slums

In July, I took a team of volunteers to give disposable cameras to 100 kids in Kampala, Uganda, many living in the biggest slums and ghettos in the city. These young photographers were given one instruction - to tell their stories.

The Ugandan installment of Through Our Eyes is the 12th photography project overall, but its first outside the United States. I created the Through Our Eyes Project in 2016 when we started by giving the cameras to people experiencing homelessness in Spartanburg, SC.

With this project in Uganda, I am partnering with Benjamin House Ministries in Kampala, to shine a light on the struggles of poverty, hunger and homelessness many families face.

We trained, encouraged and handed out cameras to budding photographers in a variety of neighborhoods. Eighty-two of the photographers are children in the Benjamin House sponsorship program that provides means for the students to go to school. An additional 18 photographers were boys living on the street without families, reliable shelter, or consistent sources of food.

Our team provided the boys living on the street with a meal, medical care and encouragement before training them on the project and using the cameras, which they had never seen before. We distributed other cameras in school yards where sponsored kids were enrolled – a much different setting than the dangerous streets.

This project gives us two important things – access and authority. First, I don’t have the access to the homes of the photographers or the hidden locations where the street kids took pictures. Even if I could get there, I don’t have the authority to begin holding a camera to my eye, but these kids do.

Each participant becomes a photographer for the week. Photographers each receive a disposable camera and a project t-shirt, boldly stating “PHOTOGRAPHER” on the back. The assignment is simple: photograph what your life looks like – where you go, what you see, what you eat, who you spend time with – and return the camera in a couple days.

There is a satisfaction that comes with creating something. Each photographer will have the opportunity to share a piece of their life with the world around them. These photographers have a pretty rough life, but they do not have to be hopeless, nameless or voiceless.

Participants returned 89 of 100 cameras, and a team of curators selected the top 30 out of nearly 1,900 photos.

The photos from these young photographers were gripping, saddening and joyful all in one. They are an incredible intersection of the real struggle and the beautiful people in Kampala. I’m so proud of what they captured and what they will accomplish through these photos.

So far, the project has done six previous installments with homelessness in four states, it has also branched off into other areas of life, including life through the eyes of fourth grade students in Spartanburg, S.C., people coming out of the prison system and modern twists on historical photographs in the Charlestown community of Boston, MA.

The photos from Uganda are going to help Benjamin House with awareness and driving more people to sponsor kids. They will also be showing the photos in Kampala to inspire even more kids.

For more information about the project and to view previous project finalists, visit www.throughoureyesproject.com.

For more information about Benjamin House Ministries, visit www.benjaminhouse.net.

More info: throughoureyesproject.com