A Day at School
But some moments don't need to be planned. You just need to pay attention.
No plan
On the first day of one of my stays at Solio, I was told we were going to visit a local school and bring some donations.
I was overly excited.
And, if I'm honest, a little nervous.
I usually like to prepare for my work. I look for inspiration, think about the photographs I might want to create and have at least some idea of what I'm walking into.
This time, I had no idea.
It was going to be my first school visit in Africa, and because I absolutely adore children, I really didn't want to mess up the opportunity.
So with the few hours I had left, I started preparing.
Thinking.
Brainstorming.
Trying to imagine what it might be like.
As it turned out, I didn't need much of a plan.
We arrived with a few buckets.
A little shy.
And so incredibly proud.
The school director welcomed us warmly into his office.
The buckets we had brought were filled with essentials for families. He called some of the best-performing students from the different classes so their hard work could be recognised.
One by one, they came outside to receive a bucket to take home to their families.
I still remember their faces.
Watching these children being recognised for something they had worked hard for, and seeing what that moment meant to them, is difficult to put into words.
Suddenly, I wasn't thinking much about my photography plan anymore.
I just wanted to photograph what was happening in front of me.
The little ones
Afterwards, I picked up my camera and started looking around the school.
That's when I noticed a classroom with some of the youngest children.
They were learning English.
I quietly stood nearby and started taking a few photographs. Of course, it didn't take very long before they noticed me.
Suddenly, I had a classroom full of little eyes looking in my direction.
I really didn't want to interrupt their lesson, so I tried to stay quiet and in the background.
Some were a little shy.
And some were definitely a little more playful.
Every now and then, another little face would turn towards me, followed by a smile, before quickly looking back at the teacher.
A few of the children kept coming over to me, curious and playful, and suddenly everyone wanted a photograph.
And, of course, not just any photograph.
They wanted pictures with their best friends.
They stood together, posed for the camera, laughed, changed places and then someone else wanted a turn.
The quiet classroom I had been so careful not to disturb had completely changed.
And I loved it.
I didn't have to tell them what to do or ask them to smile.
They brought all of that themselves.
For me, those are often the best photographs.
The ones where people aren't performing for my camera, but are simply having fun with it.
Food and support
Once the lessons were finished, lunch was served.
The children receive breakfast and lunch at school with the help of donations, and watching everyone being served made me realise how much sits behind something as simple as a school day.
You could feel how much the support was appreciated by the school, the children and their families.
But this wasn't my only visit.
Another day, we returned with more donations.
This time, there were reusable sanitary pads for the older girls, as well as pens, toothpaste and toothbrushes for the younger children.
And honestly, I'm not sure I've ever seen so much happiness in one room.
The children were excited, showing each other what they had received, smiling and laughing.
The energy was infectious.
There was nothing I needed to direct.
The emotion was already there.
What stayed with me
That's what stayed with me.
I had arrived at my first school visit worrying about being prepared.
About getting the photographs right.
About not wasting the opportunity.
But some moments don't need to be planned.
You just need to pay attention.
A shy smile from the back of a classroom.
A child trying not to look at my camera.
Another one absolutely determined to look at it.
Best friends posing together the second their lesson was finished.
Teachers carrying on with their day while all of this happened around them.
I arrived wondering how I was going to photograph my first school visit. In the end, the children made that very easy for me.
