A Bath volunteer who spent three months working on a sustainable development project in Tanzania has been named the overall winner of a prestigious international photography competition.
A judging panel made up of professional photographer Andy Aitchison and the director of ICS, Felicity Morgan chose 30-year-old Jazz Chandler as the winner among 140 submissions from across the world.
He took the photo whilst volunteering at a water, sanitation and hygiene project in Tanzania from June to September 2015 with international development organisation Raleigh International.
Every year the UK aid-funded International Citizen Service (ICS) brings together young people from the UK and developing countries to volunteer in developing countries in Africa and?Asia.
Since 2011, ICS has enabled nearly 40,000 young people from the UK to volunteer overseas on challenging and impactful placements.
“I’m pretty elated to win the award,” Jazz said. “At the moment my degree is about to start winding down, giving me space to once again think about life after university.
“This news is the perfect reminder of why I began studying and what I’d like to achieve: images that are informative or useful.”
He added: “The photograph shows a group of young people rehearsing a poetry performance on the subject of water and sanitary health for use at our Community Action Day.
“On a less literal level, it represents youth-empowerment and peer-to-peer education which were not only big parts of our project, but also creativity as a tool for development.”
Jazz also explained the challenges that people face in the community face.
“The community we joined faced lacking sanitation facilities at schools and across parts of the community, which impacted upon health, education and gender equality.
“The lack of adequate sanitation issue was exacerbated by a lack of clean drinking water, itself exacerbated by climate change which led onto other interconnected issues.”
He added: ‘To challenge these issues our project constructed six improved latrine blocks for children and teachers across two schools, a community eco-toilet, resource-efficient stoves and affordable hand-washing facilities.
“The project also gave young people the opportunity to develop leadership skills by working with the community to spread awareness and resources for benefiting from increased sanitation and clean water.”
Jazz also spoke about the long-term personal and professional skills he has developed thanks to his placement.
“On a personal level, this project was the first time I had been in a leadership position within a charity programme- I had been a volunteer with ICS in Nepal, but as a team leader in Tanzania it represented a huge ‘coming of age’ moment for me, but also an exciting fear/challenge to overcome.
“It gave me a lot of meaning, purpose and drive which helped me to continue working within a social remit. All of the things I was scared of, or thought I couldn’t do, I discovered I could, or I could at least learn to do them.
“Being surrounded by inspirational and empathetic figures was also pretty good for the soul.”
Following on from his life-changing placement, Jazz encouraged young people to sign up to the ICS scheme – to help develop their own skills alongside helping to tackle poverty in developing countries.
“I recommend to all people, young and old to volunteer. As a young person joining ICS it gives you an opportunity to see beyond your home, develop skills and expand your conception of home.
“It challenges your professional skills, perspectives and behaviour in a comfortable environment, whilst allowing you to feed into something meaningful and beneficial.”
He added: “In the UK particularly, I think it can be hard for a lot of people to find purpose; I remember thinking as a child that there was a clear distinction in life- you could either help yourself at the expense of others, or you could help others at the expense of yourself – but through ICS I believe young people can find fulfilment in a mutually beneficial world.”
Felicity Morgan, Director of ICS at VSO, said: “Thanks to UK aid, young volunteers are making a positive difference in the world’s poorest communities.
“Jazz’s photo gives a snapshot of the great work being done and lifelong relationships made, and we’re proud to celebrate their talent as photographers and the impact achieved through their placement.”