Ghanaian photographer Paul Ninson is on a mission to preserve African culture for future generations.
He’s the founder of the continent’s largest photo library, the Dikan Centre, which is home to over 30,000 books and 25 million archival items.
The groundbreaking visual archive was inspired by the traditional stories his grandparents used to tell him about Ghana’s Ashanti people – but also out of a sense of duty.
“Any opportunity I had to hang out with my grandfather, he would use the opportunity to tell me something new, something different, because I think he felt a sense of responsibility to pass on the history from one generation to the other.”
But Paul struggled to visualise the stories in his head without the help of pictures. That’s one of the reasons he became a self-taught photographer, committed to capturing and preserving African culture for generations to come.
“I’m now doing the work of my grandfather. It’s a baton that has been passed on to me. I have this sense of responsibility, of preserving the history today for the next generation.”
Listen to more from Paul and find out how Humans of New York photoblog creator Brandon Stanton helped change Paul’s life: https://bbc.in/3FaVj3xSource: BBC