I want to document the story of the 2014 Latitude Festival as a great place for families and children to visit together, and to show fortunate we are to be able to enjoy such events.



I’m a family photographer so I thought it would be perfect to document Latitude from a family perspective – to show families having fun over the three days.



The aim of this project is to raise funds for an organisation that does great work with children, namely Manzini Youth Care, in Swaziland, Southern Africa.



I worked at Manzini Youth Care a few years ago and saw first hand the great work and the achievements that take place every day. All profits will be sent to Manzini Youth Care.



The project is fully approved by the organisers, Festival Republic, so big thanks to them for giving it the go-ahead!



I’m covering all my personal costs, such as food & drink, accommodation, tickets, travel, etc, and so actual costs will be minimal – I want to make sure as much as possible is raised and sent.



Manzini Youth Care provide accommodation, education, support and care to marginalised and young people at risk through poverty in Swaziland, many of whom are living on the streets.



The number of vulnerable and at risk children in Swaziland continues to grow, as the HIV/AIDS pandemic spreads and the economy suffers due to the worldwide economic downturn.



The economic outlook for Swaziland is not looking hopeful. The rate of parentless families due to death by disease continues to increase. Swaziland continues to have the highest HIV/AIDS rate among all the nations at 28-42% depending on the source. It is estimated that there are nearly 50,000 orphans in the country and another 50,000 vulnerable children at risk.



This is an organisation that works, and makes sure that contributions are used to best effect – you may have seen Eswatini Kitchen products in Oxfam, that is one of their income generation projects.