When We Lost This World, We Created Our New One
The Story of an Omani Photographer Who Gathered Orphaned Children in one Team
Five years ago, the phone of the Omani photographer, Ahmed Al-Hosani, rang. It was a regular call from a supervisor at a childhood center asking him to deliver a lecture on photography to the center’s children.
At that time, a little child was the reason for that call, which the photographer did not know about.
The photographer would deliver this lecture that would substantially change his life as he will not be the same person after entering this center, and those children will become part of his life accompanying him until this moment.
The First Meeting Was Brought about by a 13-Year-Old Boy
During his interview with Tiny Hand , the young Omani photographer recalled when he picked up his camera along with his photography kit and went to the childhood center.
"The children were waiting for me with great enthusiasm, having many questions about the world of photography in their minds," he said.
Among these children was Yasser, who was only 13 years old at that time. He was the first one to receive Ahmed.
"I met Yasser a few days ago, on the way, by chance, he asked me about the photography kit that I carry and told me about his wish to learn photography," he said.
Ahmed gave him a card that includes his information and phone number.
When Yasser gave that card to one of the supervisors at the center, he sent an invitation to Ahmed to deliver the lecture that was attended by all the center’s children.
Once the lecture is finished, Ahmed made his decision to continue his work to teach the children photography after feeling the enthusiasm and passion they have.
"That was clear when I was talking about my photos. They were telling me that they wanted to take similar photos, and they had a great desire to learn photography techniques," Ahmed said.
This was what actually happened. Later, he gave them a training workshop for 4 days, which in turn turned into continuous lessons.
Finally, the idea developed to establish the "Sawarh" Team.
“It is not necessary to have money. Everyone definitely has something much more important to provide than money. So, what I do is called Zakat of Knowledge," Ahmed said
"Sawarh" Team, More Than Just a Camera!
According to Ahmed, the camera was called "Sawarh" in the past, "This inspired me to call the team Sawarh”, he added.
The team of children he formed consisted of 107 children who were given a course on the basics of photography, out of whom 6 photographers who had a strong desire to follow this path were selected.
Over time, members of the photography team increased from 6 to 27 boys and girls.
A distinctive aspect about the idea that Ahmed established this team on its basis is "sustainability". He does not only train them on the photography techniques, but also delivers lectures to them in the academic field.
"I am working on developing their skills in delivering lectures and developing their capabilities to train others," he said.
In short, he made this to ensure continuity that the skills are shared by the most skilled students to others, as he "does not know the circumstances that may prevent him from the pursuit of education he provides to these students, and it is important for them to continue their education and develop their photography skills.
This required Ahmed to plan the work of the entire team in detail in order to make the process easier for the new trainers.
For example, he prepared a questionnaire to be filled out by each child who wants to join the "Sawarh" team, through which they collect as much information as they can about children, taking into account their ages, where younger children are asked to express themselves through drawing.
Today, there are 7 students in the team who are qualified to deliver lectures on photography, while Ahmed is supervising the entire process.
The team’s activities are not limited to lectures, they also organize photography trips to various regions in Oman.
In addition, a student is responsible for organization and coordination, where he is nominated through voting and his work is evaluated after the trip.
These trips have a special magic that Ahmed can obviously see on the faces of the children after the end of each trip.
We are not just photographers!
Each photo captured by the Sawarh team's cameras has a story, an awesome story that deserves to be told in detail, as it was not taken by chance.
Before visiting any place, they read about it, and have a comprehensive idea of what they will see in that area. Upon arrival, they are divided into groups and each group takes their photos.
In this regard, Ahmed explains that due to the lack of funding, every 3 children have to use a single camera, each with a special memory card to save their photos.
After the trip ends, the photos are evaluated, photo by photo, in terms of their quality, lighting and the technique of taking it.
Moreover, the team have their own slogan "We are not just photographers!", as they organize volunteering trips about the Omani community, up to 50 hours annually, through which they participate in afforestation, clean-up campaigns, and other environmental activities.
"We do not want society to have pity on us because we are orphans. Rather, we are looking for the needs of our society and we volunteer to carry out clean-up and afforestation campaigns," the Sawarh Team said
Prominent Local and International Prizes
The Sawarh Team has been locally and internationally awarded many prizes. They were source of valuable financial considerations for them.
However, more importantly, from Ahmed's viewpoint, is the moral and psychological factor.
"They are proud of their accomplishments, especially thanks to these prizes they are considered a role model to others inside and outside the center," he said.
The role this team plays is not limited to photographing a specific region in the Sultanate of Oman, but also, they are keen on publishing such photos on social media platforms, promoting the areas they visit, publishing information about them, and raising awareness about their importance thereby encouraging others to visit them.
To achieve these goals successfully, Ahmed is keen that his team specializes in photography.
Each child chooses the project that he will work on, such as "people's lives, nature, stars, portraits, etc."
“Specialization is very important to the success of what they do,” Ahmed affirmed.
The same goes for Ahmed, who specializes in photographing the nature on the one hand and photographing the Omani human life in detail on the other hand.
"The Omani society is still preserving customs and traditions, as each governorate here has its own traditional costume," he said.
"The Omani history is very rich, even if I spend my whole life photographing these details, I don't think I can capture all of these details," he added.
Ahmed also won a large number of awards thanks to his photos and volunteering work, perhaps the most important of which is Sultan Qaboos Award for Voluntary Work in 2019.
The following are the prizes he was awarded:
- The first prize in Environmental Photo Competition in Sultanate of Oman, in 2015
- The first prize in Al Buraimi Fifth Forum for Photography, in 2015
- The second prize in “Youth Creations” Competition in Al Buraimi Governorate, in 2015
- The first prize in the general aspect of youth competition in Al Buraimi Governorate, in 2014
-The first prize in the sports aspect of youth competition in Al Buraimi Governorate, in 2014
- The first prize in youth competition in Al Khaboura City, in 2016
- The second prize in “Oman Is Country Of Beauty” Competition in the Sultanate of Oman, in 2014
- The third prize in “Omani Royal Camel Corps” Competition in the Sultanate of Oman, in 2014
- The third prize in Al Buraimi Fifth Forum for Photography, in 2014
- In 2017, Ahmed was chosen by the National Youth Committee as one of the top three inspirational youth in the Sultanate of Oman.
- A Judge of “Youth Creations” Competition in the field of photography in the Sultanate of Oman, in 2019
- A Judge of “Red Bull Photography” Competition in the Sultanate of Oman, in 2019
- A Judge of many competitions and exhibitions at the local level from 2017 to 2020
International Achievements:
Awarded the International Federation of Photographic Art (FIAP) Artist Medal
Awarded many international medals, the most prominent of which is (the gold medal in Germany's international competition 2015, silver medal in Serbia international competition 2015, and Honorary medal in France International competition 2014).
"Sawarh" Team, My Home which I’ll Never Stop Talking about!
Although Ahmed has not been able to visit the center recently due to the outbreak of Covid-19 for fear that children may get infected, he is still in touch with them on a daily basis.
They are chatting a lot, hold online meetings and workshops via the various available applications, and host directors and photographers to talk about photography, its techniques and how to market the captured photos.
This is in order to ensure development of the photography skill of the Sawarh Team. According to the studies that Ahmed reviewed, a child’s talent can be developed as of the age of eight years by dedicating two hours a week to developing such talent in all aspects.
"Over time, the results of such effort will become clear to the child," Ahmed said.
"The Sawara Team is my family, and I will never stop talking about them no matter how long I speak. Maybe I need days to talk about them to do them justice."
“Talents are everywhere, in the shelter and in the camp. They need to be discovered. Our thoughts should not be limited to how to form a person’s thoughts, but also how to develop it. We should form a child’s personality most properly. And this is the most important thing in this life." Ahmed
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