One of Nat’s photos, showing a technician in Kasongo tightening a valve that is part of the water system. Old water that had been sitting in the pipes is being expelled.
English
Nathanael Hollands, standing on top of the water tower in Kasongo.
At the beginning of September, a photo essay by Nathanael Hollands showing SWIFT’s rehabilitation of a giant water system in DRC was published on the Guardian website. Nathanael is Tearfund’s DRC SWIFT WASH Coordinator. He is also a very keen photographer.
His pictures and text show in compelling detail how 80 000 residents of the remote town of Kasongo were reconnected with a water supply earlier this year. A generation ago, the town’s old water supply failed which meant that residents had instead to walk to a stream 5km away. Tearfund, working as part of the SWIFT Consortium, organised the repair of the old water system, bringing 1.4 million litres of clean water to the town’s residents every day. This repair required great ingenuity because resources were limited. Engineers even used cola to de-sludge an old pump! In the article, Nathanael documents the whole process.
The photographs and captions from the Guardian article were also on display to 80 guests at a Friends of Oxfam event held at Oxfam House on 7th October.
We interviewed Nathanael about his experience of using photography to raise public awareness of Tearfund’s work.
What made you think of trying to document the project?
I wanted to capture as much of my life and work in the Congo as possible. There is so much happening and so much to take in, taking pictures helped me highlight the unique stories happening around me. I’ve been sharing a daily picture on Instagram @drc365.
Kasongo was also such uniquely challenging project. So many people went above and beyond in order to successfully complete the project.
Were there any particular challenges associated with taking the photos?
People were generally open to me taking pictures.
You’re clearly an experienced photographer but had you ever done anything quite like this before?
I really enjoy photography and in particular photo essays. In Haiti, after the earthquake I documented the first 250 days of my life and work there. From then I continued in Chad, the Philippines, CAR and the DRC.
How much difficulty did you have in interesting the Guardian in the idea for the article?
Emma Feeny [SWIFT’s former Learning and Communication Officer] was the contact point. I had been sharing all my pictures with her on Dropbox and she had been following the Kasongo story on Instagram. She was incredibly helpful.
What kind of reaction have you had to the article?
I had a great reaction. It coincided with World Water Week and was a great opportunity to raise awareness of safe water for everyone.
What role do you think articles such as this have to play in raising awareness of the work of the SWIFT team?
I think it raises awareness about the wider themes. Having access to safe water and sanitation facilities is life changing. It’s important to share that SWIFT is more than Payment by Results and through the hard work of all involved over 600,000 people now have access to safe water.
You can read more about this project and see a video of Nathanael at the top of the water tower here.
