Inside Lensational

Our member of the week features Chloe Cheng, our program manager in Hong Kong. She has been organizing advanced photography workshops with domestic helpers in Hong Kong. Let’s see what kindled her interests and propelled her through her planning.

“Then what?” This is the question I have been asking myself. Having participated in various one-off services, I started to reflect on what I can really do to make a difference. Then I came across with Lensational, in which I affirmed my belief that photography brings people together, regardless of their races, gender and ages and so on.

I always believe that no one is born to be “underprivileged”. It is the circumstances that make one appears to be the minority. If the “better-off” are welcomed to pursue their dreams, why can’t the “worse-off”? Every one is born equal and we all have the rights to choose what we want. I thoroughly enjoyed organizing workshops and outings for the domestic helpers in Hong Kong. Their passion in photography surprised me a lot; this has encouraged me personally in searching for what I like. I hope, in the near future, we can help develop a portfolio for them to pursue their dreams through photography.

I am still confused of what I can do to make a change. Yet, I am at least doing “something” right now.

Thanks Chloe! Want to discover if Lensational is for you? Want to help out in our upcoming events? Send us an email at info@lensational.org

I am still confused of what I can do to make a change. Yet, I am at least doing “something” right now.

This special week, we would like to honor our program leader Sunnie who brought the concept of Lensational all the way over to Bangladesh. Here, she will tell us from where she became connected to Lensational and how her experience has been so far.

I have never thought of pressing a shutter to change the world until I met Lensational.

Having been working in a social enterprise for few years, I felt connected with them instantly when I met the founders of Lensational. “If photography can improves gender inequality, why not on my passion, racial inequality?” I asked myself. Then, I got into the organisation and then my world has changed. I spent almost every Sundays to go on photo teach with my new “Indonesian friends”. Although I have no knowledge on photography skills, I help them know more about their “new home” around Hong Kong. One of the helpers told me that she found herself as a human rather than a maid during photography workshops. She changed her world through the lens while she gained confidence by pressing every shutters. Indeed, cameras turns to a common language for both of us, changing our ways to see the world.

I don’t know how powerful the photography is. At least, it has changed me, her and maybe other women who need this stage to show their talents.

Thank you so much Sunnie for your emotional sharing. Can’t wait to hear more stories from you about your Bangladesh trip! If you are interested in working with us and experiencing the magic of women empowerment through photography, send us an email today at info@lensational.org !

The first blog of May introduces you to our MVP of the week: Cherie Tam! She has a dedicated public relations manager for the past year and is very active in picking out amazing pictures with meaningful messages on Instagram! Here’s her little sharing about Lensational and photography:

Photography is an unrestricted way of communication. One simple photo can tell a story with a meaningful message. Instead of using words to explicitly ask for donations or describe a story, photos can do more than that and to provide readers a room for free interpretation. Not only has Lensational attempts to help lots of women in the developing country financially and emotionally, but also achieves to be more environmentally friendly by recycling cameras in the developed world.
Thank you so much Cherie and we look forward to our projects together over the summer! If you want to effect changes and help our cause to empower women, send us an email at info@lensational.org !

We decided to shake things up a little bit this week. Amy shares with us her journey with Lensational since November 2014. She has been working as our marketing and public relations manager in Hong Kong. She tells us how her involvement with Lensational, especially the photo teach workshops, gradually changed her concept about women empowerment.

I started volunteering at Lensational in Nov 2014 and have introduced Lensational to people for numerous times in the past six months. Yet, I always feel that there is an element lacked in my sharing/pitching. Everything I’ve said seems to be mere paper talk without hands-on experience – It is not convincing (at least to myself) enough.

The photo-teach workshop held on last Sunday is a turning point for me. Our Indonesian helpers’ Cantonese is so fluent that there was no language barrier; the professional cameras and photography skills they owned surprised me; the photographic angles they captured were very interesting; and the views they shared were thought-provoking. During those few hours of interaction, I was impressed by their persistency and could truly feel their passion for photography as well as life. There is so much to share, but in short, it was a fantastic experience and we all enjoyed the day a lot. Now I believe I am confident to answer queries like ‘Does photography really help or work? The idea is abstract.’ again.

We often need something to uphold our values – I guess that something is personal experience, and with more and more. Therefore, I look forward to the Bangladesh impact tour in a month’s time, anticipating more insights.”
Photo credits to Sinna Hermanto, one of our Lensational students. She captured this special photo while the group were taking a selfie – see how good they are in snapping moments!

Thank you so much for your sharing Amy and we really appreciate what you have contributed so far to the group! Can’t wait for the Bangladesh impact tour too!

Stay tuned for our upcoming exhibition in London May 5-9!

Member of the Week is back! Today, we are introducing Jenny Liu from our London team. Jenny has worked with our photography and research team and helped organize our first exhibition in London.

Let’s see what inspired her to join Lensational:

“Lensational speaks to me because it shows us another possibility of photography and life – we all have potentials no matter who we are, where we come from, what job we do and so on; what really matters is our attitude towards life and what we believe we are capable of doing. I have found myself in photography and in working as a member of Lensational, so do those domestic workers I believe.”
Thank you so much Jenny. We love having you on our team as well. Stay tuned for our upcoming exhibition in London in May!

This week we are presenting Alejandra Zolezzi, in our Photography & Research team based in Barcelona! Alejandra is a psychologist, a documentary-maker, a mother… Working remotely with the team based in London is not easy, but she’s been helping us with writing up our photography manual!

Here is what she says about Lensational:

Lensational combines art, in the form of photography, with social change, as it aims to empower women through photography. Love the combination!

Alejandra will travel to London over the first week of May to meet the team. It collides with another exhibition we are planning – so stay tuned for more updates! Have a great weekend!

Member of the Week is back! This week we are presenting, Winnie Yeung, our social media strategist from Vermont! Thank you so much for your work Winnie!

Here is what she has to say about Lensational and the work that she has been doing with the team:

I believe men and women should have equal rights to express themselves and join the workforce. I have been emotionally challenged before; expressing myself through poetry and photography was therapeutic for me, and even became a venue where I found my strengths to speak up. From that experience, I want to help other women who otherwise would be hesitant to speak up, which is what Lensational has been doing since 2013.”
Thank you so much Winnie and we look forward to working together to make Lensational the place to empower women through photography. Stay tuned for our latest photo exhibition in London next week!

Dear Readers,

It’s Thursday again! After celebrating our 2nd anniversary in London, we are now returning to Hong Kong. Our member of the week is Solomon Wong, a member of the Business Development team. Solomon has been working with the Marketing team to bring new thoughts to our Facebook design. (Spoiler alert!)

Here are Solomon’s words explaining his passion to volunteer with us:

“Profit and GDP are perhaps the prevailing indicators of success today; but I believe measurement on impact and sustainability shall be the way forward and I see social enterprises is the answer.”
Thank you Solomon for your efforts in our Hong Kong team and we can’t wait to see what surprise you have in store for us!

(Photo caption: Solomon from Hong Kong visiting Stonehenge of the United Kingdom for the first time)

Lensational is launching the first impact report, two years since the inception of Lensational. Through this impact report, we hope to let our supporters and stakeholders have more clarity over what we do, and to articulate our strategy for the coming year.

You can read and download the publication here.

If you have any comments and questions, please contact bonnie@lensational.org.

It’s been an eventful week! We had a great live crowdfunding session with YTFN and a photo exhibition at London School of Economics last week. Of course, none of which would have been successful without our dedicated volunteers and this week, we are featuring Lucile Stengel Mazzoleni, our social media strategist! (a LSE alumni too! Go LSE!)

Here’s Lucile’s story of joining Lensational:

‘Lensational stood out for me because it connects a wide audience to the daily lives of women we wouldn’t hear about. I really believe empowerment starts with giving disadvantaged people the possibility to share their story. With Lensational, we are not only helping women to make their own life choices, but we are also challenging gendered assumptions on a daily basis. We are showing the real lives of real women, and hoping to convince our public that equality matters’
Thank you so much Lucile! It’s been great working together to plan social media strategies and interacting with other women organizations! Your article sharing about women issues are so inspiring too! (I can go on…)

Wanna join our group of active volunteers and advocate women empowerment? Email us at info@lensational.org to become a volunteer. Also stay tuned for our International Women’s Day activities!