Dreaming Big with Cameras, formerly known as the Cameras for Kids project, began as my personal effort to give a child the opportunity to dream big, live large and laugh loud through photography.
Dreaming Big with Cameras was born in 2007. Bringing between 10 to 20 compact cameras with me, partnering with local NGOs, charities and schools, I ran informal photography workshops for children in need. Why you might ask? Isn't photography the last thing these children need in their lives? Believe me I've asked myself the same question.
Decades of research has linked creativity with our intrinsic motivation to learn. Photography is one such avenue. Dreaming Big with Cameras is a means for them to escape their daily worries of having to put food in their bellies, of making the smallest amount of money to help their families... many of the children I have met have been through more than any of us can or will ever have to endure. This project is a means of instilling that important sense of pride and confidence, that can-do attitude in them that will continue to shape them as people. It is about hope, creating hope, maintaining hope, giving children the chance to be children and empower them to believe in themselves for the future. It is a means for them to Dream Big, Live Large and Laugh Loud, the very reasons why this project was born!
Dreaming Big with Cameras has held workshops across the world, including Zambia, Tanzania, Namibia, Mexico and India and I hope to take this to more children in need in the near future.
I continue to maintain a relationship with some of the NGOs and children today!
