UPSKILL Barrydale the journey so far.
UPSKILL Barrydale has come a long way over the last 20 years, The work that has been done by the director spans 2 two decades starting with being a director at My Life in Cape Town with Linzi Thomas. Graham was a director at My Life for several years between 2005 and 2010 in Cape Town, The My Life organization took Street kids off the street and allowed them to heal and be integrated into society by being allowed to work in the the film industry, music industry and be mentored by their hero’s such as Jamie Oliver and Art Mathews and Zulanie from the band Freshly Ground amongst others. The youth were mentored up to become Sheffs, sound engineers, musicians, focus pullers, singers, waiters, mechanics, and soccer stars.
One amazing story is that of Martin Africa who was a street kid who came to us after years in prison and came through the My Life Program to be the captain of the Homeless World Cup team who came first at the Finals in Brazil and brought the cup back for South Africa. On their return, they were honored in the streets of Cape Town and by all the politicians in parliament where they showed off their achievements.
Graham has worked with many other charities as a photographer and filmmaker such as ‘’Embrace dignity“, Save the Rhino International ( with whom he climbed up Mount Kenya in a rubber Rhino costume to raise money for the foundation) the Desmont Tutu Foundation, and Mandela Foundation.
When Graham arrived in Barrydale in 2011 he began setting up upliftment programs with his Project Eden his company that provided food growing tunnels and seeds to the community, He started to Go Green Media a business to teach youth Photography and film making as well as set up a Green Tourist Office in Barrydale with his vision of joining all the towns on the R62 through a Vision of Green Eco-Tourism and education.
Graham participated in the Learn to Work program created by the Swellendam Tourism Economic Empowerment Partnership with 10 youths over 3 months in 2015.
Here Project Eden taught the youth permaculture, welding, and general handyman repair work and created a business making wattle fencing and furniture while eradicating the alien wattle infestation within the community. This business was then handed over to the youth to start their enterprise. Graham moved on to start the Barrydale Slate Company a building company that employed and skilled 10 people employed men in the community to build and train others in the age-old stone mason skill of creating Slate walls while buildings in the community and Cape Town. This business he handed over to his team after a year to run for themselves.
Graham is busy building a skatepark (Playground Skatepark.co.za ) for the underprivileged youth that is surrounded by gangs and drugs and has no sporting facilities or youth center. The playpark has become an UPSKILL Barrydale skills development project itself where the youth are learning to build their skatepark by mixing cement and laying bricks to build the infrastructure that will become the framework of the skatepark.
Graham has started the Visuality Film and Photography school that teaches aspiring filmmakers and photographers to capture the weddings, birthday parties, and functions that happen in Barrydale helping to market the town and allow them to build up their own business with 3 cameras that he has available for them to use to earn an extra income for themselves.
To bring business to Barrydale during Covid Graham decided to start the Barrydale Analog Photography Festival (www.bapf.co.za) which is only one in Africa and only one of a handful of Analog Photography festivals in the world. The festival runs for 10 days in Dec every year and has major exhibition launches and photo workshops during the event, This event brings a large amount of Tourism and has many workshops that teach the youth the fundamentals of Analog Photography with lots of practical workshops.
The most recent undertaking of this industrious visionary is to revamp the old Historical Victorian Tourism Building in Barrydale and transform it back into the Towns Tourism Info Center, this building will not only be a Tourism Hub but also be a Museum to Barrydale and a skills development center where the Visuality film and photo school will be running with big plans to film the renovations as part of a skills transfer program.
Graham’s Vision and experience that he has gained over the last 40 Years working in Cape Town as a professional photographer and owner of One Productions a multimedia production company and his years running his photographic studios (Studio One) and being partners in Fly and Friends Advertising Agency (A German based international Advertising agency) has given him all the expertise needed to mentor the next generation of Photographers and filmmakers while managing and running the Tourist Information Hub and UPSKILL Barrydale that will help bring in tourism and work opportunities into Barrydale.