“Travel, photography and film are my passions. Through the lens, I have explored globally various cultures and traditions. Photography and film are powerful communication tools that supersede the limitations imposed by literacy and language. They can enhance, inspire and empower us to take action.

I have seen first-hand the impact of female genital mutilation and the physical and mental toll it can have on girls and their families. I have witnessed women suffer a lifetime of pain as a result of complications in pregnancy and childbirth resulting in an obstetric fistula which if left untreated leaves them marginalised from their communities and abandoned to their shame.

And I have witnessed moments of great joy: a woman receiving her choice of family planning, the delivery of a healthy baby with a skilled midwife, the deinfibulation of a woman who has suffered the worst form of FGM, the look of empowerment on the face of a young educated girl, food on the table, availability of free sanitary products for high school girls, an HIV positive couple who with the help of antiretroviral drugs, give birth to a healthy baby, clean water that flows from a nearby spicket, beauty of adornment, a grandfather holding the hand of his grandson….and so much more.”