Statement

I was at a friend’s wedding in 2006 when my friend Dan asked if I’d like to go to Africa to photograph for the non-profit he had recently started. I quickly replied that I would go, and I’m not sure if he thought I was serious. A few weeks later he asked again and I confirmed my interest. Dan had grown up in Kenya and formed Lahash International as a partnership with local African organizations that had already existed. I had been impressed by the cultural insight he had, his vision for relations-building there (not just a financial support for Africa) and for that impression I quickly agreed.

Lahash since 2006 has grown into a larger organization and has focused primarily on two areas in East Africa. The first is IWASSRU (International Widows Association for Southern Sudanese Refugees in Uganda) in Uganda and Southern Sudan. Since Lahash’s formation, they continue to partner with IWASSRU through child sponsorship programs at three different children’s homes in Kampala and Northern Uganda, as well as a main home in Southern Sudan which consists of over 250 children. This is an organization that was born out of Sudanese Susan Tabia’s passion to care for children made vulnerable from the raging Sudanese civil war that ended in 2005.

The second place of impact for Lahash is in Dodoma, Tanzania. There they partner with a local Mennonite church and their outreach program called Grace and Healing Ministry of Dodoma (GHMD), which was founded in response to a community hit by extreme poverty and the AIDS epidemic. With a staff of pastors, social workers, accountants and counselors, GHMD is able to give hope to hundreds of vulnerable children in the Dodoma area. They provide help to any in need regardless of race, gender or religion.

In two trips to East Africa, I’ve been graciously accepted into homes, orphanages, and churches to help be a voice for the vulnerable through Lahash. I’ve taken thousands of images, and hundreds of videos to show this portrait of life.

You can watch some videos I shot during my last trip to East Africa in the Video Section. And you can see more of what Lahash International is doing at their website, Lahash.net.