Judge Nic Madge has another life - one viewed mainly through the lens of a camera.
Based at Harrow Crown Court and Central London Civil Justice Centre, Judge Madge combines his work on the bench with a passion for photography and travel which has raised thousands of pounds for charity.
"I’ve always enjoyed taking photographs of people, and it’s something that, as I’ve travelled, I’ve done more and more,” the judge explains.
The start of a lifelong passion
Like photography, travel was a passion that developed early in the judge’s life.
"As a student, I spent summer vacations hitch-hiking 7,000 miles around North America and, after working in the Middle East, travelling back through Turkey and Eastern Europe,” he says.
"After university, and before qualifying as a solicitor, I travelled overland through Turkey, Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan. I caught a travel bug from which I will never be cured.”
Since university, Judge Madge has visited places ranging from Bosnia and Croatia to Ethiopia, Guatemala, Timbuktu and Transylvania, amassing a considerable portfolio of portraits along the way.
Fundraising for African education
Four years ago, a meeting with Judge Frances Kirkham - a trustee of the African Children’s Educational Trust (see below for details) – gave him an idea.
"I wanted to do what I could to support the trust,” he explains.
"The areas covered by my court include Brent which has more people born outside the borough than any other part of the country, and Harrow which has more people who are not Christian than any other part of the country. It’s an extremely diverse mix of defendants, witnesses and lawyers, and my photos reflect that.”
One World, One View
The resulting exhibition, One World, One View, was set up in the court’s public areas, opened by Baroness Hale of Richmond and sponsored by local solicitors and barristers.
It raised thousands of pounds for the charity.
Then, 18 months ago, Judge Madge published a book of his photographs.
Also entitled One World, One View, the book was launched at the Royal Courts of Justice, with a speech by Lord Phillips, then-Lord Chief Justice. It has to date raised £14,000 for the A-CET.
Although he has no plans, as yet, to publish further books, the judge is proud of what has been achieved with the funds raised: "Three or four new schools have opened recently.”
The African Children's Educational Trust (A-CET) – from Judge Madge’s website
A passionate, fervent belief in the importance of education is the motivating force behind the African Children’s Education Trust (A-CET). Its aim is to alleviate the poverty of vulnerable African children – often orphans, the disabled or abandoned – thorough long-term self-sustaining education initiatives, primarily in Ethiopia.
A-CET is a small charity set up ten years ago by David Stables. He has spent most of the last forty-five years in Africa.
…In 1992, he was a team leader for CARE International in Somalia, before spending four years working for the Red Cross in Northern Ethiopia . When he left for Tanzania in 1997, David wanted to continue to provide support for a handful of orphaned children he had met in Makele, so that they could continue their education. This was how A-CET was born.
As A-CET grew, more money was raised and distributed as scholarships to other children and families, primarily in Tigrai region, but also in Addis Adaba, Gondar and Lalibela. It enabled them to go to school, rather than work to support themselves and their families. Now some 800 children (including 340 AIDs orphans) are supported with scholarships.
A-CET relies principally on individual donations. It has no paid staff in the UK . David Stables, its chief executive, and its trustees are unpaid. 92 per cent of all donations go directly to support students and educational projects. Only eight per cent of income goes to administration.
