Photography exhibition officially launched by award-winning photographer

Award-winning photographer Tom Oldham officially launched an exhibition of his photography at The Prince’s Foundation in Shoreditch this week.

The images, which were taken in the slums of Choudwar in eastern India tell the stories of communities benefiting from a project between development organisation Practical Action and the H&M Foundation.

Tom met with a number of people benefitting from the project, which works to enable slum communities to improve their health through better access to safe drinking water and sanitation services.

The project combines sustainable community toilets, community rainwater harvesting systems, a sewage processing system for managing waste and trialing bio-digesters that will generate bio-gas. It will also incorporate drinking water purification systems as well as outreach work within the communities to raise awareness of the importance of safe drinking water and hygiene practices.

Poor sanitation in these areas of the city causes frequent cases of diarrhoea, dysentery, typhoid, malaria and gastroenteritis as well as causing danger for women and girls as they have to travel to open fields outside the slums.

Tom said: “It was a genuine privilege to be given an opportunity to work with Practical Action and the H&M Foundation on this project. We met some incredible people and I’m delighted with these images that have been created especially for this exhibition. This collaboration is really changing lives in Choudwar - I saw it working - and it will remain an inspiration for me and my work.”

'Building Healthy Communities, a snapshot from Choudwar’ photo exhibition will be open to the public for two weeks at The Prince’s Foundation, Charlotte Road, Shoreditch. Entrance is free.