I’ve been waiting to post these images for about 4 weeks now. In January, I traveled with a good friend of mine, Cliff, and my uncle, Merle, to Uganda. It was a quick trip (just 8 days in country) which seemed too short, but the three of us all left families and businesses behind, so we had to squeeze a lot into our time. We were sent from our church to spend some time with this man, George, who I’m proud to call my friend.
George oversees about 65 churches in Uganda. We were meeting with him to get a better sense of what he’s doing there, what his vision and needs are, and to see if there are ways that our church in Pennsylvania might be able to work with him.
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We started off visiting Good Shepherd’s Fold, an orphanage in Jinja, where Merle’s daughter spent a few months working last year..jpg "003-uganda")
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Many images that come out of Africa show extreme poverty. And while Uganda certainly has a lot poverty, it wasn’t my goal to come away just with pictures showing desperation. Yes, it’s there… but there’s also an incredible amount of hope. God is doing some amazing things, and I tried to capture some of the hope as well.
Mzungus (white people) can draw a crowd, especially among kids.
I did get a chance to take a few portraits while I was there. Love these.
Of course, poverty is very real.
And as George tries to help his people physically as well as spiritually, we helped get together a micro finance seminar for some of his pastors and leaders. Sarah, the trainer, is Ugandan, and is certified through the
Chalmers Center for Economic Development, an organization that has a very well-thought-out strategy for poverty alleviation. If anyone’s interested in this sort of thing, I highly recommend the book
When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert. The basic gist: poverty is rooted in broken relationships, and simply throwing money at a problem without addressing that underlying cause won’t have long-term effectiveness. The seminar went very well, and it will be exciting to see what comes next.
We spent some time visiting some of the churches George oversees. What a great experience. Some of my favorite moments — and pictures — came from this portion of the trip.
Probably my favorite picture of the trip:
The rest are just some scenes from Uganda that caught my eye.
One day, I hope to be back.
By Ryan Estes
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Wow. Those images are breathtaking. Amazing work, Ryan.
Gorgeous work, Ryan. You are talented. Good luck with your undertaking there.
Wow, Ryan… just, WOW! What a beautiful story you have shown in your images. What a blessing to experience. I’m sure words cannot even tell…
Wonderful reflections of the Creator! Thanks, Ryan, for letting us glimpse Uganda through your eyes.
these are so awesome, so incredible! they really show off the culture :)
Awesome awesome job Ryan. Very well done. I’m very impressed with your photojournalism shots.
Ryan, these are fantastic. The emotion just radiates from these photos.
Beautiful Ryan!! Thank you for going. Len
Fantastic, Ryan! It felt like I was there seeing all that you saw! What a gift to share that with us! Thank you!
What a gift you have and what a priceless collection. Thank you for using your gift for His glory. And thank you for sharing on Sunday. I was hiding in the back, and so moved by the video at the end. Humbling.
Thanks for sharing your awesome photos-you got some fantastic pictures of the people,especially the children :-)
You truly captured the spirit of this country. These are really great.
Thank you for sharing these beautiful pictures of a beautiful people. My husband ministers in Uganda regularly, and I’ll be accompanying him next month. God is truly doing amazing things among them.
These pictures are amazing Ryan. They are priceless and I am sure an experience you will never forget. Can’t wait to hear all about the trip in our next visit.
Ryan, on behalf of my fellow Ugandans, thank you for showing our good side; our signs of hope and deliverance. May the good Lord bless you so much. Come back soon; we need an image overhaul.
I totally agree! What a privilege to capture these moments and what a privilege to see them. Thank you!
these are so amazing Ryan. God has so obviously given you a gift and one that you use so well. out of curiosity…how many pictures did you take?
These are amazing Ryan! Sunshine even followed you to Africa. Just inspiring what you capture, the spirit, the very essence. I am glad to call you a friend and I bet George is just as happy to do the same.
Thanks Sofia. Hope all is well in NYC. Let us know next time you’re down, maybe we can get the group together. :)
Thanks Andrea. All total I took about 3000 images.
Thanks Doug. It’s the kind of work I’d love to do more of.
Thanks Andi – so glad you were there!
Thanks Val!
Thanks for your comment, Ed. I really enjoyed being in your country and getting to know your people. I hope to be back!
Wow Ryan, these pictures are really amazing. What an awesome experience that must have been.
Stunning!
Thanks Sheryl!
Thanks!
Ryan,
Beautiful work! really amazing. I am sure many good things will result from your time there.
Ryan, Thank you for your heart and the images that you are making. I am a newspaper shooter in Southern Colorado. I am really feeling the call to use the gift that God has given me to make a difference for His glory. I have been in newspapers for 25 years or so and want to look into doing family portrait work (not weddings) to finance the kind of work I really want to do. Would you be willing to share some of your vision with me? You can contact me through my website. Thank you so much and may God bless you! -Bryan http://www.bryankelsen.com.
Ryan, these pictures are wonderful… looks like it was a great trip for you. Thanks for sharing all of them. I could look at them over and over! Beautiful and you are so great at catching such great pictures :-)
[...] incredible images (as always!) by ryan estes from uganda [...]
Ryan, just came across these and they are incredible! My favorite pictures that you take are the ones where you capture every day moments. By looking at your pictures, I feel as if I were in Uganda with you. Thank you for your beautiful pictures!