This post was written by Ravinder Kaur
Photography is, at its core, the seamless marriage of the creative and the technical. And as Ravinder Kaur discovered, it’s a tool for engaging with underprivilaged children. Learn more about this admirable big brother and big sister programme that manages to teach, inspire, and direct young minds.
“I feel I would have gone astray if I couldn’t express myself through art during those tender years,” said Wan Cheng Huat, the recent recipient of the Dana Belia Fund 2012.
Cheng Huat and his team of volunteers and professional photographers took upon themselves a selfless cause: to impart their passion and knowledge about photography to underprivileged children. This project received support from Dana Belia 1Malaysia and Canon (Malaysia). The first two programmes were held at the Nature Education Centre (NEC) located in the Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM); the programs have already benefitted more than 80 orphans originating from several homes and centres. The one-day program was designed to be interactive and engaging for the children to bond with the mentors and the cameras. The day begins with an indoor theory session on photography conducted by award-winning photographer Sanjitpaal Singh. Then each child was paired with a mentor photographer and given the opportunity to operate and experiment with a dSLR. They began their journey by exploring the basics of photography. Steven Goh had a lovely outdoor portrait session with the children. He gave the children pointers on how to direct and compose great portrait photographs.
“Ultimately we want to try to use photography to open up these children’s world and give them new hope and a new creative approach to look at life,” Cheng Huat explained. “This initiative may provide an avenue for these orphans to express themselves creatively. We want to actively instil positive reinforcements on their effort and provide encouragements and support, where needed, through this ‘big brother/ big sister’ programme.”
He continued, “Our hope is that this project will inspire others to do the same all over the world. It’s great when you see the children so captivated by the wonders of photography, and it’s really fulfilling to be able to discover natural talents amongst the children.”
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Source: The Expat April 2013
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