lisa murray - storyteller brochure

1Lisa Murray

Lisa

MurraySTORYTELLER BROCHURE

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

xVietnam

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, equippingthem with resources to predict and prevent floods and similar disasters.


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


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


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


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

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 8979www.communication-for-development.comhello@communication-for-development.com

lisa murray - storyteller brochure

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