Kandace |
Pennsylvania
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In March, I was among more than 25 Cabrini College students who embarked on a Project Appalachia service and immersion trip in the mountains of West Virginia.
Montgomery is a town frozen in time. It was difficult to believe it was 2009 in America because the surroundings looked like they were torn from the pages of the Great Depression. The streets were broken and dirty, the air smelled of propane and dust, and businesses were vacant. At first I was nervous, but once we met the Pratt family, my thoughts shifted to how I could help these people.
Pauline Pratt, a woman in her 80s who suffers from cataracts, has lived in her house all her life and has no plans of moving into a retirement home. Pauline shares her one-bedroom home with her grandson, Sam. The floor in her home had begun to collapse.
A group of us worked hard removing Pauline’s floor and prepping it for a new floor; others installed the insulated drop ceiling in a separate room. When we showed Pauline and her family the repairs we made, they thanked us graciously.
The experience taught us about the cycle of poverty, inspired us to continue service work, and gave birth to a motto for the trip: It doesn’t end here. With hope and hard work, the livelihood of this region will return.
>> for more: kandacekeefer |
Rodney |
South Africa
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Grade student Ashley Kaimowitz awakened the best instincts in people worldwide. She and Noncawe Mankayi of the Nonceba Centre for the victims of child rape set out to raise money to erect a building that could cope with the flood of victims. There was a meeting of minds and hearts between the two. Ashley she set out to make a film that would bring the fate of the children to the public’s attention.
She learned the elements of filmmaking and edited the five hours she filmed into the 20 minutes she put in the can. She received a standing ovation at the film’s first screening and the cash started rolling in. In Japan as a Rotary Student her movie created a stir. Back in South Africa she continued with her work. In late March 2005 Ashley was involved in a collision with a drunk driver. She died instantly. Rotarians closely connected to her have overseen the collection of money resulting in the opening of a modern counseling centre: a living memorial to an inspirational young woman.
>> for more: rotary9350 |
Darlene |
Kansas
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Of the photos I took during my recent visit to India, this is among my favorites. The waving people are men, women and children at New Life Colony in Tuni, who never knew a permanent home until recently. Their lives are changed thanks to many of my friends who responded to their need with compassion.
These people are members of one of many nomadic tribes in India. They are a caste ranking above the untouchables, or “Dalits,” but often living in more deplorable conditions. They could not attend school; they had no job training opportunities; they had nothing other than what they begged for.
During Christmas 2007 they were forced to leave a public park where they had set up tents. With nowhere to go, they moved to a remote area without access to water. Dr. Christopher Premdas, founder of India-based NASA (Nazareth Association for Social Awareness) contacted US-based Wells for Life to request a bore well. He prevailed upon the government to sanction the use of government-owned land. The government committed to match every $1,000 his organization provided to build permanent homes.
I work with NASA and Wells for Life, primarily by making friends and acquaintances aware of the plight of India's Dalits and raising money. With funds my friends donated, the New Life villagers built homes. When I visited in July 2008 I witnessed women hauling concrete blocks up the mountain to the men who were doing construction. The children in this village are now in school. Their parents can put them to bed each night without fear of cobras or scorpions. |
Aditya |
New Delhi
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There are an estimated 20 million blind and visually impaired people in India. Over the past few months I have documented the lives of some such blind children living in special schools and hostels where the infrastructure has not been upgraded since the 1960s.
These schools and hostels serve as safe havens: a place where children overcome their handicap by acquiring a measure of independence. They learn to read, write and participate in extracurricular activities such as sports and music, much like sighted children. However, their learning is severely hampered by the lack of adequate facilities, funds and infrastructure.
My photos show their smiling through the struggle to master the basics which others take for granted.
>> for more: www.adityakapoor.com |
Ginny |
Montana
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We lost our daughter, Cody, to cystic fibrosis at the age of 23 in 2005. She was an inspiration to life. She always said, "Cystic fibrosis is about living, not dying." She lived as if every day was her last. She fought hard with this battle, but cystic fibrosis won. We lost. Our daughter, who wrote that she would never hold the hand of the one she loves, or know what age spots are, or wear a wedding dress and have children, said that she would not change her life for another. She just wished she could have known what it would have been like to breathe. Missing her so much, we formed The Cody Dieruf Benefit Foundation for Cystic Fibrosis to help others in their struggles. Cody's last wish was to reach out to families. With each child I relive our daughter’s life with CF, but in the end, we are doing what she wanted us to, and that is to be there for all our kids with this terminal illness. We thank Cody for giving us the strength to keep fighting her fight.
>> for more: breathinisbelievin.org |
Ashley |
Tanzania
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AfricAid is a nonprofit organization that supports girls’ education in Africa in order to provide young women with the opportunity to transform their own lives and the futures of their communities.
The young women for whom AfricAid has provided scholarships over the past 7 years have become teachers, nurses, mothers and social workers. One scholarship recipient is poised to become the first female Maasai doctor in all of Tanzania. Others have returned home to play important roles in their communities, such as Neema, who was the first girl in her very remote village to go to secondary school. Since graduating, she has returned to her family’s village and is using her education to provide her community with advice on basic, but vital, health matters. In the process, she is inspiring other mothers to send their daughters to secondary school. Still others use the self-confidence they develop to become leaders in the communities.
>> for more: www.africaid.com |
Sam |
India
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In December 2004, the Asian tsunami killed thousands of people and caused unthinkable destruction.
I visited Pondicherry a couple of years before the tsunami. I had my Minolta camera with a fish eye lens, and high speed rolls of films. I took pictures of sari-clad women and kids, bachelors lazing around, abandoned boats, junkie old men, beggars on the street, old French churches, isolated streets, barren landscapes. The images had an eerie feel to them as though trying to predict the calm before the storm.
My project SOS Tsunami does not aim at showing destruction and death. It aims shows the bottled feeling experienced by these survivors. The images show that life's back on track but the fish eye distortion suggests the devastation within the people who faced the tsunami. The vignettes and antique darkness stress the past, and reminds us that this could happen again. It shows how people perceive life after the tsunami.
>> for more: www.facebook.com/album |
Marissa |
Zambia
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The "Same World, Same Chance" project was established to help bring equality to the youth of the world. As proud Canadian citizens and the recipients of free education, it is our responsibility to help those of developing countries receive the same free education and therefore the same opportunities. Our goal is to bring a high school to the rural area of Zambia where education is often below the standards of urban settings and where international aid seldom reaches.
We will have a trades school component as well as a library and health clinic accessible to the community. Solar energy will be used to power the project and jatropha will be grown to sell as biodiesel to generate income.
The students will receive free boarding and education. They will be orphaned or vulnerable youth who would otherwise not likely have the opportunity to access education past grade 9. We will create a community of peace where relations between students and teachers are strong and trustworthy.
>> for more: www.sameworldsamechance.org |
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