Friday 3 February 2017

Photographer Launches 'Week of The Zambian Child' Campaign

A boy carrying a pot
By Paul Shalala

Inspired by the words of Danny Kaye who said: “I truly believe that children are more powerful than oil, more beautiful than rivers, more precious than any other natural resource a country can have,” a Zambian photographer has launched a humanitarian campaign aimed at showcasing intimate portraits of children from across Zambia.

The online campaign dubbed “Week of the Zambian Child” which runs from the 1st to the 9th of February on the Facebook page called Picture Focus Zambia, aims to present captured pictures of children that rise above circumstance and seek to draw attention to their true strength and potential.

“It’s about revealing the human-ness in the portraits in an attempt to tell stories and inspire change. I hope that this “Week of the Zambian Child” will inspire a dialogue about the beauty, diversity and hardship of the child and the need to protect and enhance their well being,” said Tigana Chileshe, the humanitarian photographer behind the campaign.

The 27 year old says he is passionate to advocate on social issues affecting young people and hopes the campaign will be the first step in highlighting the plight that Zambian children face especially in rural areas where issues such as malnutrition and social protection are weak.


A girl dancing at a traditional ceremony
Mr Chileshe, who is also the District Information Officer for the Zambia News and Information Services in Kabompo, says his intimate visual story-telling skills do not disappoint.

“Photography has a powerful ability to address even the most pressing issues at any time and as you will see, some pictures depict children having fun and some images show you a grim picture of children in hard conditions. So it’s not all rosy,” he said.

Asked on where he sees this campaign going, Mr Chileshe said he hopes to galvanize support to raise money to buy clothes and shoes for kids in rural Kabompo District.”


You can follow the campaign using the hashtag #WeekOfTheZambianChild on Twitter.

And on Facebook, you can check out the daily updates of the campaign by ‘liking’ the page Picture Focus Zambia

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