Zanzibar Part 2. Jambiani Beach festival.

As if turquoise seas, white sand and blue skies weren’t enough colour, throw in a beach festival and I was in my element with my camera. African Impact had a ‘table’ there to help spread the message about conservation and the need for ethical dolphin tourism. There was a huge gathering of children on the first morning and they were going to start off the festival by doing a beach clean.

I saw these boys playing football and went and sat on the sand to photograph them.

I was engrossed in photographing them when I suddenly heard a lot of excited children, and as I turned, a swarm of them came towards me, heading towards the section of the beach that they were starting at.

What surprised me was that they’d all been given latex gloves for the beach clean, but these children play in the sand and dirt all day long. Most of their hands were too small and the gloves were falling off and they also rip easily, so it appeared to me that they were adding to the problem of rubbish, so I don’t think that had been thought through very well. Either that, or there was a reason and I just I hadn’t figured it out.

What was really fantastic to see however is just how enthusiastic they were. It didn’t appear to be a chore at all and they seemed to be having a great time. After they’d finished, there was lots of singing and clapping right next to where we were based and it was a really joyful experience. In the first gallery below, my eye is drawn straight to the little girl in the middle of the bottom picture who is absolutely tuned in to what’s happening.

As a thank you for helping in the clean up, all children were given coloured pencils and exercise books and they were so proud of them.

The little girl on the right is an absolute beauty.

The man on the left was the organiser and he knew exactly how to get the children motivated.

In all the African countries I’ve been to, older siblings look after their younger brothers & sisters. It’s necessary whist their mothers are out working. I love the picture below, they are covered in sand and those tears from the younger brother melt my heart…..

After they’d sat still for quite long enough, they were all free to go, but many African children are ‘free range’ just like I used to be when I was young so they just stayed and played on the beach.