Started informally in Cape Town, South Africa in 2005, The Viewfinder Project founder MaryBeth Jackson sought to better understand how underprivileged children between the ages of 8-12 around the world see their corner of the world and how she might encourage them to think about how as children they might become change-makers in their communities.

From this 3-day experience with 18 sixth-graders from a farming community, she developed a 13-lesson curriculum dedicated to teaching these students basic photography skills. In addition to photography skills, she has included a life skills component in the lesson to encourage the students to think about how the lesson applies to their lives.

While obtaining her master’s degree, Ms. Jackson became committed to better understanding what is happening developmentally during this “tween” stage (8-12 years) when a child is looking ahead to becoming a teenager yet is still holding on to the safety of childhood. The word “tween” comes from the marketing industry and describes this unique consumer & why they should be targeted. And while the idea of childhood and the safety it offers varies country to country & culture to culture, the premise remains that this is an important age developmentally.

Ms. Jackson thus created The Viewfinder Project as a tool to come alongside these tweens to help them understand that their voice is important & they can make a difference. She wants to encourage them to think about beauty and what is good to the extent that it influences the choices they make as they enter the teenage years and then adulthood. It is Ms. Jackson’s firm belief that fostering creativity in people helps equip them to think more creatively in all of life’s circumstances, making changes as they have the opportunity to do so. The Viewfinder Project is a first step in this direction.