befsa - This Changes Everything

When Galore and BEFSA approached me, it was clear this wasn’t simply another brief, it was an opportunity to reframe how charity storytelling is done.

I partnered closely with BEFSA, a small but fiercely committed organisation working to break cycles of poverty in South Africa through education and micro-loans, to completely overhaul their brand presence. Together, we developed a suite of films, from a hero brand piece to social cutdowns and longer-form interview documentaries, each crafted to connect emotionally and shift perceptions.

Strategically, my goal was to move beyond the tropes that often define charity advertising. Rather than relying on despair or pity, we set out to create work that truly sees people, as individuals full of dignity, hope, and purpose. The statistics we shared were stark, but our visuals told a more nuanced story: candid glimpses of everyday life, moments of tenderness and resilience, and beautifully composed portraits where each person held the viewer’s gaze and spoke directly from their own experience.

It was a delicate balance: working in vulnerable communities demanded trust, sensitivity, and patience. I spent time getting to know the people whose stories we were telling, earning their confidence so that when the cameras rolled, they felt free to simply be themselves.

Visually, the films shifted between candid, textural snapshots of daily life, and intimate, carefully composed moments where individuals spoke directly to camera. This juxtaposition gave the campaign a rhythm, anchoring hard truths in a context of humanity and possibility.

This Changes Everything became more than a tagline; it captured the spirit of a project that honoured its subjects, engaged audiences without resorting to cliché, and positioned BEFSA as a charity fuelled by hope as much as by need.