George Jefferies 1/26/25 George Jefferies 1/26/25

Photographing FELM's Bilingual Education Programme in Ratanakiri

Vang Chiva sits at home reading a book in his indigenous language, Ratanikiri Province, Cambodia

Langhav Nangminh leads the class in a song, Ratanikiri Province, Cambodia

Nhu Siha (L) and Moeung Sovan (R) take part in a song in class, Cambodia

Langhav Nangminh reads a book to the class, at a primary school in Ratanikiri Province, Cambodia

Cheat Yut (L) and Vang Chiva (R) read a book in their indigenous language in class, Ratanikiri Province, Cambodia

Tiv Sreypich points and the whiteboard and reads in front of the class

Langhav Nangminh sits at her desk and marks some homework

Somrith Sarom, Director of Ochum District Office of Education, Youth and Sports, poses for a portrait in his office

The first time I visited Ratankiri Province was when I was working with UWS as a videographer. The beauty of the Stoeng Ta Pok river left a lasting impression on me, so I was more than happy when FELM contacted me and asked me to work as a documentary photographer in the province for them.

The work for UWS was to show the schools they build in remote areas and the education projects they run, so I was on familiar ground when FELM, a Finnish NGO, asked me to photograph their bilingual education programme.

FELM have an interesting development model whereby they select and support local NGOs who run projects they believe in.

The partner for this project is International Cooperation Cambodia.

The programme is designed so that children entering school learn in the mother tongue for the first couple of years.

This increases attendance and children learn faster while transitioning to a Khmer education.

For the project we travelled to a small village just outside Banlung and took documentary photographs of a class in action.

The teacher and students were great, the classroom was vibrant and I’m really happy some of the photos I took.

After class, we travelled to one of the student’s houses to see how he carries on learning at home. He lives in a traditional wooden house. I’m really happy with the portraits as the natural light is great and the tone of the wood gives the images warmth.

As part of the assignment, I also photographed commune and provincial levels officials as their support is essential to the implementation of the project.

I enjoy working on education projects as the positive impact is often very apparent. You can see some work I did for World Food Programme here.

George Jefferies 7/9/23 George Jefferies 7/9/23

In the field as an NGO photographer for the World Health Organisation in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Sok Voeun doing homework with her son at home

Sok Voeun handing her medical card to the healthcentre manager

Sok Voeun handing her medical card to the doctor at the healthcentre

Sok Voeun having an appointment with the nurse at the healthcentre

Sok Voeun and her sister sat on a bench outside the healthcentre

Sok Voeun and her sister sitting on her sister's motorbike outside the healthcentre

Sok Voeun watching her phone with her son at home

A selection of photographs I took while on assignment as an NGO photographer and videographer for the World Health Organisation’s Western Pacific office.

The aim of the Cambodian content was to produce a series of photos and a 3-minute case study to highlight the work that WHO are doing on primary healthcare in Cambodia, with a particular focus on how the project activities have benefitted people working in the garment sector.

We travelled to Sok Voeun’s house in an area just outside Phnom Penh where a lot of garment factory workers live. Although it was a sensitive subject, Sok Voeun was understanding and patient and did a great job of allowing us to photograph throughout the day. We filmed and photographed her at home, in her neighbourhood, at the local health centre and at the factory she works at.

Sok Voeun was very happy with the help that she’d received as part of the WHO programme and truly feels that the medical advice and support she received saved her life.

You can see a selection of the photos I took above and other examples of my work as an NGO photographer here and here.