Soft Power Education was founded 15 years ago by Hannah Small. It all started when she was driving an overland truck through Uganda. The very first project was Buwenda Pre-School. It was a labour of love and was literally built one brick and one bag of cement at a time. It was slow going but they managed to secure enough support to build the school, the first of many projects in Uganda. Their main aim was to support the Ugandan government to reach the Millennium Development Goal for the Primary Education Sector. They work in 3 key areas; Alternative Education, Livelihoods and School Infrastructure. Support comes from donors and volunteers with most of the volunteers from UK universities, raising money before travelling to Uganda and helping on a project. All the funding they receive goes towards the running costs of the projects on the ground – the Amagezi Education Centre, the Special Needs Project, the two Pre-Schools, the People & Parks Project and the School Infrastructure Project including all building materials, Ugandan labour and the 35 salaried employees.
The initial idea to undertake this photographic documentary was conceived over a family dinner several years ago. I was having a conversation with my sister in law, Sharon (the charity’s Country Manager in Uganda), about my passion for photography and her work with the charity amongst other things. The conversation sparked an idea and over time and several other similar conversations, the project was conceived. I’ve been a passionate photographer for many years and have always been inspired by the work of photographers like Steve McCurry and Sebastian Saldardo. This project felt like a great opportunity to experience Uganda and the work of the charity first hand. It would enable me to use my passion to support the charity and promote their work.
The trip took 8 months of planning, countless emails, phone calls, letters and social media activity looking for support. An extremely last minute change of itinerary, missing bags and an additional 6 hour round trip to Entebbe airport. However the 10 day trip was finally planned, booked and I was soon in Uganda. Over the 10 days we visited two pre-schools, four primary schools, the Amagezi Education Centre and three rural communities that are part of the People & Parks programme. We met the children, teachers, local community groups, Soft Power Education staff and the volunteers.
Our first visits were to the pre schools in Jinja, set up and run entirely by the charity. We then dropped in on the Amagezi Education Centre; another facility funded and run solely by Soft Power Education. Finally before leaving Jinja, we visited a group of volunteers from Middlesex University at the end of their first day on site at Kimasa Primary School. We then headed North West across the country for 8 hours to Murchison Falls National Park and the Buliisa District. Buliisa District borders the National Park and our first visits were to some of the rural communities supported by Soft Power Education through the People & Parks programme. The final part of the journey took us to some of the primary schools in the district to see the work the charity has already undertaken. We also sat in on the meetings between the communities, school staff and Soft Power Education, which are the crucial first step when Soft Power Education begins a new project at a partner school.
Over the days and weeks that followed the trip I reflected on the my time in Uganda. As I reviewed my photographs and wrote my diary it became clear that what I had seen only scratched the surface of the work that Soft Power Education undertakes, how it affects the lives of the children and communities it works with and supports. The support they receive from the charity enables them to improve their own situations. The people I met were proud of who they are and the children were full of life. I arrived in Uganda with a preconception of African life that was fuelled by years of press coverage in the media. However my short time there with the charity and the people I met lead me to believe it is not a bleak place, however hard their lives are, there is hope of a better future. Soft Power Education and everyone supporting them are helping make that happen. On a personal level, the journey has truly put into perspective how lucky we are in the developed world. I am privileged to have met such wonderful people and hope that my return trip is sooner rather than later.
