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Project Grant update from Jamie Rose

In early October, I departed to begin my 2007 Project Grant  in Uganda to coincide with my teaching endeavor with Momenta Workshops in Kampala. My grant proposal was to return to Uganda to photograph nonprofit health care workers in the war torn Northern regions, namely Doctors Without Borders (MSF).. Happily for the Ugandans, within months of the grant announcement, a peace deal was struck by the Lord’s Resistance Army and the government forces. In light of this, I began working with Doctors Without Borders (MSF) to discuss what their efforts would be during this transition and how I could photograph their activities. Access was granted and I was on my way!

Upon leaving the country, all the final arrangements were made to photograph their efforts to establish permanent health care clinics in the North. And then…. the Congo went to war! Suddenly, emergency personnel were pulled into DRC and non emergency personal n Uganda were unable to host any media due to their lack of hands on the ground! Many pitfalls, international conference calls, failed attempts to cross into Congo with MSF and a series of apologies from MSF, the project fell through with a deafening thud.

I was terrified! I had to complete a project! I had traveled all this way and I wanted to do a story on health care in the North. So I buckled down, started meeting with organizations to find another nonprofit. I agreed to work with The AIDS Support Organization (TASO), who hosted me for my remaining time at their Gulu clinics. TASO ended up being an amazing organization to work with and wonderfully accommodating to my photographic needs.

I focused my project on their pediatric AIDS program which offers free testing, ARV drugs, and counseling for HIV positive children and their families… Gulu was one of the hardest hit by the war and is one of the most poor areas in the world. TASO’s life saving services are truly remarkable. In less than four years in Gulu, they’ve managed to enroll thousands of patients in their program and improve the lives of their clients exponentially. I plan to follow up on both TASO and their clients when I return to Uganda in 2009. I look forward to sharing these images with the Grant Committee and the membership at a meeting next year and online!

This project was a dream come true to receive for my lifelong project photographing global health care workers. While it didn’t turn out the way I had envisioned originally, I definitely learned a lot about how to think on your feet and never give up! I am ever grateful for the Committee and all of the members of WHNPA for this opportunity!