KAJO KEJI, SOUTH SUDAN
100CAMERAS X ST. BARTHOLOMEW’S ORPHANAGE
100cameras X st. Batholomew’s Orphanage is a part of a 8 class course that is custom designed by 100cameras to empower youth to learn how to process their stories and create change. Pictured here are 100cameras students during the course.
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
In 2008, 100cameras launched its first program at St. Bartholomew’s Orphanage in Kajo Keji, South Sudan. The orphanage was founded by the International Widows Association for Southern Sudanese Refugees in Uganda (IWASSRU) and serves as a home to 80 children who lost their families during the brutal 21-year civil war. These founders are powerhouses of Sudanese war widows that banded together to provide for the refugee orphans they continued to meet throughout the region. They do their best to use the resources they have to provide food, education, parental and medical care to these children. Through the sales of the students' images, we support IWASSRU by helping fund food and medical supplies and protection efforts to ensure safety from the LRA and other local threats.
Though many of the students had never before seen a camera, nor had the opportunity to share their perspective across borders, they jumped in with full hearts. They primarily focused on documenting their daily routines, and their childlike wonder is palpable throughout their collections. Through their photo narratives, we can see the surrounding complexities of living everyday life in a recovering war-torn area where they do not have the luxury and security of knowing what the future holds in terms of food, shelter, or safety.
Yet while we can see the grave injustices they experience, there is a deep profoundness in seeing it through their eyes. Whether it’s through the camaraderie shared during the long walk to the water well or while cutting grass with a single hand blade, the sheer joy expressed over a simple meal or while doing cartwheels after school, or the comfort they have found in their new family, these children live life together with spirits alive — alive with light and gratitude.
STUDENT IMAGE GALLERY
Follow us on social media to see images from the field as captured by the 100cameras X St. Bartholomew’s Orphanage team and the student photographers.