Proud for one second

• Prize
  Bronze in People/Family
• Photographer
  Jan Janssen
• Socials
• Website
  https://www.janjanssenfotografie.nl/

The Batwa spent their whole lives in the forest. More than 20 years after eviction from their ancestral land, these days the Batwa people are still suffering. The church and some non-governmental organisations helped by buying land for settling on, but despite of that, the Batwa people are still squatters and labourers without land for farming of their own. The Batwa are impoverished, and lack of regular income causes very limited acces to education and healthcare. They survive on handouts and begging. The community I visited is called Mukingo Batwa Village, with a number of 35 households. The church of Uganda had build 15 units of householding facilities, and the rest of the families builed their homes with reads and polythene papers. My heart broke when I met these people and the conditions were they have to live in. I visit them 10 days.

• Biography
  "As a true sentimentalist, I express my feelings through my images. I am inspired by genuine interest in my fellow human beings. Through perseverance and drive I create my best work as a photographer. As an artist I am always looking for that one perfect moment when everything comes together. Those moments tell my story. Over the years I have developed my own strong style. Powerful images that radiate passion, with room for your own story as a viewer."
• Awards
  Discovery of the Year (overall winner), CHROMATIC AWARDS 2022 1X Photo Awards, Gold Winner, Documentary, People Choice, 2018 International People Discovery of the Year, IPOTY 2017 International Discovery of the Year (overall winner), IPOTY 2017 Winner, LensCulture, Best Off Show, New York 2017 Px3 Gold Winner, Portrait, Prix de la Photographie Paris 2017 Px3 Gold Winner, Portrait, Prix de la Photographie Paris 2017 MIFA Gold Winner, Book People, Moscow 2016 MIFA Silver Winner, Book Overall, Moscow 2016 PX3 First Prize, Prix de la Photographie Paris 2015 People's Choice (series only) Book Overall PX3 Silver Winner, Prix de la Photographie Paris 2015 Book Proposal (series only) Documentary 12th Annual Lucie Awards 2014 Finalist for "Discovery of the Year" Award I.P.A. Book Photographer of the year 2014 I.P.A. 1st Place, International Photography Awards 2014 Book (Self-published), Overall Winner- People - Documentary Winner of Xerox "Best of the Best Award" 2013