2. 2 3Robin Wyatt Vision Lisa Murray
Lisa has long nurtured passions for photography, diverse cultures and driving
social impact at the grassroots level. Her interests across these areas, combined
with an academic background in international development and environmental
and social research, have led her on the path of visual communications for
humanitarian and development organisations. Through extensive work across
Africa and Asia, Lisa has developed the ability to build an understanding of new
surroundings quickly. This helps her to render striking imagery that portrays
her subjects’ lives and challenges therein with both clarity and respect. She
is especially drawn to issues such as human trafficking, climate change and
conflicts between people and nature. Non-profit organisations she has shot
for have included The Rockefeller Foundation, We Effect, Farm Africa, Self Help
Africa, Ethio Wetlands and TAMWED. Lisa regards visual storytelling as a vital
conduit not only in bringing the lived realities of development organisations’
beneficiaries to light, but also in driving impact through helping to shape donor
perceptions on essential needs and what works.
Lisa
Murray
Lisa serves Robin Wyatt Vision in Vietnam and the surrounding region.
Based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
x
Vietnam
COVER IMAGE: Two little girls share a light moment outside their home, built
over the river in Can Tho, Vietnam. Families living here have been experiencing
increasingly damaging floods in recent years, owing to climate change.
Community resilience building efforts supported by initiatives such as the
Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network (ACCCRN) are helping these
families become better prepared for the ravages of climate change, equipping
them with resources to predict and prevent floods and similar disasters.
3. 4 5Robin Wyatt Vision Lisa Murray
Representing Robin Wyatt Vision on assignment for The Rockefeller
Foundation in Semarang, Indonesia, Lisa documented the impact of
climate change on the area’s coastal communities. Decades of unrestrained
shrimp farming have been rapidly eroding the shoreline here, as well as the
delicate natural balance that mangroves used to sustain, leaving coastal
communities far more vulnerable to extreme weather events.
Lisa spent several days working closely with fisherfolk, community
organisations, government officials and other stakeholders, observing the
challenges people were facing and how the initiatives of The Rockefeller
Foundation’s local partners were contributing to increased climate change
resilience.
With The Foundation’s support, the local government has been working
closely with community-based organisations to implement a number of
such initiatives, including the introduction of sustainable shrimp and fish
farming practices, the teaching of alternative livelihood activities and the
construction of erosion barriers by communities. Lisa’s visual narratives
helped The Foundation understand the complex challenges faced by local
communities here, as well as the positive impact its partners’ initiatives
have been having in reversing environmental degradation and improving
people’s ability to stand up to tough challenges.
Climate change
Adaptation
4. 6 7Robin Wyatt Vision Lisa Murray
A lady living over the river in Can Tho, Vietnam prepares a traditional
meal for her family. Riverine communities here have been experiencing
increasingly damaging floods in recent years, owing to climate change.
Once again on assignment for The Rockefeller Foundation, Lisa
sought an intimate understanding of these people, their everyday lives
and experiences. She spent several days travelling around the areas
surrounding Can Tho, interviewing local government officials, climate
scientists and community members. This helped her to understand the
challenges brought by rising sea levels, salinisation and unpredictable
rainfall, and to document the early successes of the ACCCRN’s
resilience-building initiatives, such as building barriers to protect
villages from flooding and installing early warning salinity monitoring
systems.
Building
Resilience
5. 8 9Robin Wyatt Vision Lisa Murray
knowledge-sharing initiatives conducted by support groups like EWNRA. This
organisation works with local communities in the Amhara Region of Northern
Ethiopia, equipping them with tools to help them adapt to climate change. These
include sustainable agricultural practices aimed at reducing soil erosion and
improving water conservation, access to high-yielding crop varieties at an affordable
price, and credit arrangement through co-operatives.
On assignment for Ethio-Wetlands (EWNRA), Lisa gives us a glimpse into the lives
of an Ethiopian farming couple, engrossed in harvesting chillies and reaping the
benefits of increased yields following training on sustainable farming practices and
use of high yield crop varieties.
Lisa has travelled extensively across rural Ethiopia, researching livelihood-related
issues faced by farming communities and documenting the benefits derived from
Stories of
Change
6. 10 11Robin Wyatt Vision Lisa Murray
In Bale, Ethiopia, Lisa told the story of the country’s first community forest
management project, implemented by Farm Africa. A key component of the
project is focused on promoting the sustainable use of forest resources. Here,
Lisa speaks to an employee of a recently established briquette factory. She
learns how he and other members of his community use bamboo to make this
alternative fuel, which has brought about a significant reduction in household
dependency on timber, thereby reducing pressure on the surrounding forest.
Bale is home to a wide variety of unique plant and animal species. However,
faced with a lack of viable alternatives, forest communities have fast been
depleting the forest’s resources, putting these species at risk. Farm Africa has
taken an innovative approach to halting this alarming level of deforestation,
transferring responsibility for protecting the forest into the hands of local
communities, and empowering them with sustainable livelihood options to
better tackle the root causes of environmental degradation.
Securing
Sustainability
7. 12 Robin Wyatt Vision
Founded by eminent humanitarian and development photographer Robin Wyatt, we help
our clients to leverage their good work in order to drive more attention and funding their
way. We are a full-service communications firm that serves non-profits, foundations, donors,
businesses’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) divisions and other agencies working
across varied genres in the international development and humanitarian space.
As visual peacemakers, we are inspired by the resilience of the human spirit and
the universal aspiration to triumph over adversity. As a global team of communicators –
humanitarian and development photographers, visual storytellers, creative writers, graphic
designers and more – we use our shared vision of hope to tell compelling stories of lives
changed for the better.
Rooted in our ability to use powerful, positive imagery to promote engagement, drive
understanding and build consensus on issues that are important to our fragile world, our work
motivates and enables decision-makers and changemakers to create impact.
To learn more about how we can work with you to tell your organisation’s stories of
change and impact, visit us at www.communication-for-development.com.
About Robin Wyatt Vision
Robin Wyatt Vision, Kemp House, 152 – 160 City Road,
London EC1V 2NX, United Kingdom.
Telephone: +44 20 7193 8979
www.communication-for-development.com
hello@communication-for-development.com
