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My Camera Gave Me the Family I Never Had

Tom Saater grew up on the streets for Nigeria without a family. His talent for photography would make him a star, and his desire for family love would inspire his art.

Tom Saater is one of Nigeria's top photographers. He's the 'go to' for big international titles like the New York Times, Huffington Post and Bloomberg amongst many others. But he didn't learn his trade at a prestigious college, he learned it while living on the streets. Tom's covered stories from the insurgency in northern Nigeria to elections and climate change, but one of his most emotional projects has involved using his camera to find himself the family he never had.

Outlook Inspirations nominee Mbarouk Mussa Omar is from Pemba in the Zanzibar archipelago, a tiny tropical island once known as the "green island." He trained as an accountant but had always loved nature. When he noticed that the forests in his home were shrinking, he decided to do something about it. In 2007, he began collecting seeds and persuaded his community to start planting trees. In one year they planted 100,000 trees. Now, 10 years on, Mbarouk has helped to plant over two million trees and is on a mission to save his island. You can find the other nominees for Outlook Inspirations 2018 by searching this website: www.bbcworldservice.com/outlookinspirations

Drew Hogan is a former American special agent who embarked on an obsessive eight-year hunt for the world's most wanted drug lord - El Chapo. He did anything he could to close the net around his man, from undercover money laundering to camping out in the kingpin's house. But would he get his man?

Image: Tom Saater Family Project
Credit: Tom Saater

Available now

53 minutes

Last on

Thu 31 May 2018 06:06GMT

Broadcasts

  • Wed 30 May 2018 11:06GMT
  • Wed 30 May 2018 15:06GMT
  • Wed 30 May 2018 17:06GMT
  • Thu 31 May 2018 03:06GMT
  • Thu 31 May 2018 05:06GMT
  • Thu 31 May 2018 06:06GMT

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Podcast: Lives Less Ordinary

Podcast: Lives Less Ordinary

Step into someone else’s life and expect the unexpected