In 2012 Julian was part of a three man team that undertook the incredible challenge of cycling from Suffolk to Kigali, the capital of Rwanda.
Like most things in life, the journey didn’t go to plan, with the team splitting up, and then an accident which saw Julian’s bike written off. On the positives, the solitude meant that wonderful interactions between locals was more so, and Julian made the most of his African time, by falling in love with every part of East Africa and the wonderful people.
In 2014 he returned with his wife, Samantha, hiring a 4×4 and travelling around Uganda, on many of the roads and dirt tracks which two years previously had seen the epic adventure.
After a somewhat frustrating morning photographically, they were driving along a dusty dirt road, high in the hills above the town of Kabale in the Southwest of the country, when they stopped their vehicle and listened to dozens of little voices singing their hearts out. It was a picture-perfect scene.
Running over to greet Julian and Samantha was teacher and school director Ronald. He encouraged them to stop and listen to the national anthem. That was the moment, a life changing encounter.
What followed was an amazing afternoon in the company of Ronald and the children of Eden Preparatory school. The school had been in existence only months, with Ronald Twongyeirwe teaching children from small outbuildings, using outdated materials.
Promising to return, Julian knew he would be back sometime in the future.
Nine months later, he was back at the school, sleeping in a spare room, bearing 25 film cameras, 50 rolls of film and a plan to give each child a camera and teach them photography.
Give a Child a Camera 