Through My Very Eyes, Kenya

Project name: Through My Very Eyes

Project locatio: Nairobi/Kenya

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Gizzim-525432390850140/?hc_ref=SEARCH&fref=nf

Project description:

My project involves teaching young children who are both refugees and street children photography so that they may move away from ills such as:crime,drug and alcohol abuse,poverty,idleness etc.My other focus for these kids is to empower them to get into photography so that they may earn a living and be professional camera men and women.I also encourage these children to tell their own stories through the lens of the camera in that through documentaries and feature films,they can be able to tell the stories of how their lives have been so that others can widely learn from them.Most of these children are refugees from war torn countries like South-Sudan and the Democractic Republic of Congo and so their stories are heart-rending and so by sharing their life experiences through the lens of the camera at our organization,they find solace and strength to go on.Our normal day involves coming up with a project like a documentary under a topic like'saving the boy child' i group the children into groups of five:one group are the camera men and women,the second group is for the editors and the final group is for enhancing smooth logistics and vice-versa.

Project description:

My project involves teaching young children who are both refugees and street children photography so that they may move away from ills such as:crime,drug and alcohol abuse,poverty,idleness etc.My other focus for these kids is to empower them to get into photography so that they may earn a living and be professional camera men and women.I also encourage these children to tell their own stories through the lens of the camera in that through documentaries and feature films,they can be able to tell the stories of how their lives have been so that others can widely learn from them.Most of these children are refugees from war torn countries like South-Sudan and the Democractic Republic of Congo and so their stories are heart-rending and so by sharing their life experiences through the lens of the camera at our organization,they find solace and strength to go on.Our normal day involves coming up with a project like a documentary under a topic like'saving the boy child' i group the children into groups of five:one group are the camera men and women,the second group is for the editors and the final group is for enhancing smooth logistics and vice-versa.

Goal and purpose of the project:

We are looking at how we can make our institution into a fully fledged photography institution and by saying these i mean that we can look for the local available materials and which are cheap so as to come up with our own institution where we wont have to pay rent and that is why we are looking forward for this grant to be able to realize this dream.Our main goal is to allow these children express themselves through the lens of the camera as well as encourage the culture of self-reliance. "Everyone can rise above their circumstances and achieve success if they are dedicated to and passionate about what they do"Nelson Mandela.
THROUGH MY VERY EYES(INITIATIVE)
Through my very eyes is an initiative and a goal that we coined up to give the children a platform where they can be able to tell their own stories through the lens of a camera. These will touch on human interest topics that have affected these children in one way or another. Issues like education, health, sanitation, crime,drugs and substance abuse, gender-based violence etc. and the culmination of these will be a street photography exhibition.
These will enable the children exhibit their artistic items in the community that they reside in.The exhibition will be open to people from all walks of life i.e. religious sector, youth groups, women groups, opinion leaders, the cooperate world, well-wishers and sponsors not forgetting the local populace.The end of it all will see judges pick the best works of art and the winning teams will be feted.

Motivation of the applicant / applicant team:

In 2013 I decided to teach photography to young vulnerable children from streets and orphanages and refugees. Being deeply moved by the stories of these children was the reason why I was encouraged to venture into photography with the kids. This led to the foundation of Gizzim Community Organization which I am now the Founder and Director. I am molding the children to become role models, mannered, well behaved, law abiding citizens who bring forth the issues affecting their community and come up with solutions to the problems. I am contributing to the bright future of Africa through changing lives. We all know that life on the streets is dark, hopeless, filled with crime and far from education. I bring the children out of this life. I give them life which expresses passion through the lens of a camera which highlights issues like: crime, sanitation, unemployment, gender-based violence, drugs, alcohol, substance abuse, teenage pregnancies, rapid growth of cities and environmental degradation. The impact that I continue to influence relates to generations to come. This accomplishment demonstrates leadership because I inspire, motivate, change mindsets, coach, listen, help others have high vision and assist in reaching the visions, pass the baton of responsibility and influencing others. The community has appreciated my kids and have accorded them space, time and attention to continue doing photography. This has impacted lives in the community because it decreases the rate of harassment, stealing and other forms of crime while bringing out productive citizens. Teaching photography skills to young children recruited from orphanages and streets through intensive and continued training. Showing the children how to tell their stories through the lens of a camera. Enabling the children to highlight and address issues like: crime, sanitation, unemployment, liquid waste drainage, gender- based violence, drug, substance and alcohol abuse, teenage pregnancies, rapid growth of cities and environmental degradation. Help in solving any problem these children become challenged with in their photography learning. So far I have successfully organized a street photo exhibition. I am contributing my part in giving passion to the lives of these children.

Use of prize money

When we get the prize money,we plan to build our own structure with locally available materials where we will no longer rent a workshop to conduct our photography activities,most of our monies and a huge chunk for that matter has really gone to the renting of the workshop that we are currently residing in.A part of that money will also go to the provision of computers,laptops,photocopy machines,laminating machines etc,we are considering these because our numbers are growing by the day an we want the kids to feel as being part and parcel of us.We will also use that money to secure fast internet that will come in handy as we engage in research and compilation of our work.We will also need the grant to pitch our ideas to a larger audience and so a part of this money will go to advertising and marketing.The classes that the children will be sitting on will need chairs and tables and this will go a long way in ensuring and guaranteeing their comfort.The money will also be used to provide stationery and uniforms for the school going children because at the end of the day,they have a curriculum in their respective schools to fulfil,we also need more cameras because the number of children continues to grow and by providing each child with a camera,you will have gone a long way in guaranteeing their professionalism.Some media houses and newspaper firms go to an extent of asking for a small fee to guarantee your services airplay and so some amount will go to that.Whenever we are conducting a photography exhibition,a substantive amount of money goes to logistics and preparation of the whole exercise and so we will spend money on that.As we gear up to going international and spreading our art to other counties in Kenya we will need to book large auditoriums at a small fee and charge people an amount to come and buy our photographs where this monies will be used to educate the kids and the rest will be channeled back to make the project sustainable.Another portion of the money will go to branding of t-shirts,coming up with banners as well as posters and these will all be done for the sole purpose of getting the word out there and for the world to know about our engagements and appreciate them.