Ghana Youth Photo Project

by Jamie Lloyd

Twelve years ago I was on a flight to London where I changed planes to continue on to Kenya. When the businessman next to me learned of my destination he crinkled his nose in disapproval and said, “I hope your life insurance policy is paid up.” ‘Africa’ is a name synonymous with AIDS, war and corruption. I’ve heard similar statements echoed by people who have never stepped foot on the continent of Africa. What I’ve been told, and what I’ve experienced, in Africa are drastically different stories.

Students from the Ghana Youth Photo Project use photography as a visual tool to break down negative stereotypes that plague Africa. They document their everyday lives and share their photos with the world to shed light on the fact that there are people in Africa who are happy, healthy and living in a peaceful society. The students want the world to see Ghana and Africa through the eyes of the people who live there, and not through the negative sensationalism of mainstream media.

The Ghana Youth Photo Project provides free weekly photography classes to children living in Nima, one of the most impoverished neighbourhoods in Accra, Ghana’s capital city. The students not only learn a new skill, they also develop their creative voice and build self-esteem through photo shows, art contests and critiques.

A recent cultural exchange with five youth photographers from San Francisco proved to be a life changing experience for all involved. The two groups met in Nima to exchange photographic tips intermixed with lessons on language, culture and discovering similarities between two distant countries. The San Francisco photographers went home armed with the Ghana students’ photos and words. They held a photo show, and spoke on behalf of their peers to help breakdown those negative associations with the name ‘Africa.’

Jamie Lloyd On behalf of Ghana Youth Photo Project