Efforts in Africa

We were visiting AIDS patients in Rwanda when I noticed these two young boys. They epitomize children we encountered at every turn. I imagine they depend greatly on each other. In this land you have to be smart and strong to survive. Being scrappy is an added bonus. I regretted not being able to linger longer with them, perhaps learning more of their personal stories.

I saw this child alone near an abandoned looking dwelling. I took several images but this one seemed to tell her story best. The vacant expression in her eyes is haunting to linger upon. "Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat." -- Mother Teresa

While visiting a Zambian school, which Hands of Hope supports, the students performed an outdoor concert consisting of song, dance and drama. This little girl stole my heart as she broke into song like there was no tomorrow. The children's angelic voices brought joy to our faces and sealed the moment as a precious one none of us will ever forget.

It's easy to place blame on specific causes leading to the overwhelming problems teeming on this large continent. Its population is huge, but it boils down to one life at a time. As we observe the weighty forlorn expression of this particular child, we are less prone to point fingers and (hopefully) moved to initiate viable solutions. To me, "Innocent" drives this point home. Some say a picture is worth a thousand words. Indeed at times, no words are needed at all.

Friends vary in size, shape, color and personalities. I still have friends from way back in second grade. I hope this little band of friends might experience the same kind of relational longevity. Chances are they won't. Their life experience forces them to deal with AIDS, deep poverty and disease, all factors likely to dramatically decrease their life expectancy. For now, friends will be friends, and they will relish each other for as long as they can.

The real life experience of meeting people dying of AIDS was deeply saddening. When I met this beautiful 21 yr. old woman, soon to be another AIDS statistic, I was overcome with the realization of the senseless waste of life this was - because of a disease that is both preventable and treatable. For most, the lack of basic knowledge is to blame. Efforts are underway in schools to teach children acute awareness of HIV/AIDS prevention.

A rusty twisted metal roof, worn tires, discarded shoes... not your typical playground. Sometimes you make do with what you have. Even though these children were playing, (before they paused to watch me), I couldn't help think about how bored they must be. Then again, my perspective is far different than theirs.

Being from Chicago and now living in the 'burbs, the marketplace was an extraordinary experience. Not exactly a routine trip to the mall, this marketplace in Mangu, Zambia,offered its patrons a variety of clothing, fruits & vegetables and other basic consumables. This was the only time during the trip I felt vulnerable and not certain of my safety because of a few folks milling about. I was sporting $7,000 in camera equipment around my neck!

In Zambia we visited several people inflicted with AIDS. This heart rending portrait of a grandmother caring for her AIDS orphaned grandchild, depicts an all too familiar scenario throughout African nations. The grandmother is in failing health herself. The big question remains, "Who will raise the thousands of children in this same situation?"

I couldn't help but notice the beautiful features of this young woman during a church service in Rwanda. Following the service, with a little coaxing, she agreed to let me photograph her, eventually dropping her wariness and becoming comfortable in front of the camera.

Many of the children we encountered were orphans, having lost both of their parents to AIDS. The lucky ones are taken in by relatives, even though these caretakers may be in failing health and apt to die soon. Other children find shelter in orphanages, and too many will be left to fend for themselves. This last group is most vulnerable to falling into prostitution, being raped, abused, or even sold on the black market. This child's weariness is plain to see.

To me, this young man's image speaks of "Africa" in earlier times, with strength and a determination to prevail. This boy's expression exudes the pride of a warrior and represents the generation facing the challenges that abound. Hopefully his generation will overcome and turn the tide. Though a giant, beautiful and powerful continent, rich in natural products and a large labor force, Africa needs and warrants assistance from other countries around the world.

This young boy's portrait was taken in Mangu, Zambia, at a school funded by Hands of Hope. I titled this portrait, "Hope" because this child's face radiated belief in a future to me. Hope has been awakened and renewed in the minds and spirits of many. It is a fragile yet exciting time for the nations and peoples of Africa. "In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer." Albert Camus

The most cherished gifts we received from the children were intangible. They offered their smiles, and there were enough to lift us all up! Amidst the suffering, the children were not short on hospitality or friendliness. Smiles were exchanged freely... both ways. "Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing." Mother Teresa

Even though these feet seem defeated, the spirit of the child they carry is not. Among the most remarkable attributes of African children is that they don't know they're poor. In a multitude of ways they act no differently than children in the United States. This photograph was taken in Rwanda near the site of an experimental agricultural program that World Relief initiated. Many of the children we met did not own a pair of shoes.

I met this girl outside a Zambian rice processing facility. She was one, among hundreds of people, intriguing enough to cause me to request permission to take her portrait. A World Relief team, with the impetus of Hands of Hope, is launching an agricultural program in Zambia similar to what has already been successfully implemented in Nicaragua.

For the most part the children in Samfya seemed happy. But not this child on this particular day. I guess life can be overwhelming even for a small child depending on circumstances. Or perhaps this was just a contemplative moment. Whatever the case, the photograph will always make me wonder.

I was taken aback when I came across this child during a visit to a poor village in Samfya, Zambia. Putting the AIDS pandemic out of my mind for a few moments, I saw the magnificence of this one human life, an awesome and most beautiful child. I feel privileged to have been there at that moment. I have revisited and studied this photograph for long periods of time. It is a poignant reminder of why in the world we are involved in this part of the world.

This 17 year old girl is waiting. She is in a clinic in South Africa called "Genesis." It was started by a local church and takes in AIDS patients who are just waiting to die. Here they will die with dignity. Their last memories on this earth will be ones of kindness and comfort instead of horror and loneliness. Mother Teresa once said that if you want to really do some good, find someone who is alone and convince him that he is not. "Compassion" Sometimes a compassionate touch can mean so much. Life is not easy for this woman who in her old age takes care of seven orphans, four of whom live within a tiny hut. A sickening feeling comes over me as I realize that very readily an entire generation between the children and the aged, is all but extinct. You don't have to look far to find someone who is desperate. Sometimes as meager as it seems, - our ability to extend compassion remains.

Sometimes a compassionate touch can mean so much. Life is not easy for this woman who in her old age takes care of seven orphans, four of whom live within a tiny hut. A sickening feeling comes over me as I realize that very readily an entire generation between the children and the aged, is all but extinct. You don't have to look far to find someone who is desperate. Sometimes as meager as it seems, - our ability to extend compassion remains.

The photographs I took on our trip are a constant reminder of the people we spent time with. Preparing these images for exhibition has kept their memories vividly alive in my mind during waking hours. I met this mother and her small child at their home, only a hut really, during a visit to meet AIDS patients. Due to lack of care and medicine, this mom will most likely not survive, leaving her child to be taken care of by whoever (hopefully) might be willing.

There's no denying it: AIDS prevails more often than not in South Africa's "hot spots". For me, the saddest part of the loss is the waste of human potential. Once this ravishing disease takes root in you here, life moves in a grim downward spiral. Cost effective medications exist that could significantly extend this woman's productive life span - IF they were accessible to her. Due to lack of care and medicine, this mom will likely die, leaving yet another child who will have to fend for itself if no one steps up to take on the resonsibility of parenting him or her.

This grandmother consoles her young grandson while waiting at the local medical clinic. Conditions at the clinic are poor, lacking even rudimentary supplies, equipment and personnel. I will never forget the faces of crowds of people waiting, quietly, patiently and resolutely. On this particular day, there was no doctor on site.

It doesn't matter where you go or what your means are. Moms will be moms. The instinctive nature to care for a child is ubiquitous. I saw this mother and child in the pediatrics ward of a clinic in Samfya. Zambia. They were in for a long wait to see a health care worker or even a doctor if they were lucky. The crowded waiting area was full where mothers and babies sat for hours on wooden benches. Those that won't get in today will come back tomorrow.

This mother does her best to comfort her young sick child. This clinic was a tough place to visit. The heat was excruciating and the lack of ventilation and air conditioning made the air stale. A multitude of people will wait several hours to see the one doctor who is there only part time. The shortage of both medical personnel and supplies is no surprise. Those that are waiting and won't see a doctor today will have to come back tomorrow or the next day.

Study these hands of Evilee for a while and you can learn a lot. A manicure, surely they have never seen. They compel you to wonder about the stories they hold, the work they've done and the babies they've cradled. Surely they are loving hands - hands that care. Yes, they're tired and often ache but the seven small orphan children are unaware. They need these hands that care. And as each day begins and ends, these hands will be folded and a knee will bend. As Evilee's time draws near, her most pressing thought is, "Will there be other hands that care?"

It's hard to fathom the scope of conveniences we take for granted in America - that is until you see how people in other lands go about their daily tasks. A familiar sight in the neighborhoods we visited, of washing clothes on rocks and hanging them out to dry on makeshift clotheslines, was one more reminder that for some people, nothing is easy. Even the most mundane chores can be backbreaking and time consuming.

As a portrait photographer working in Barrington, Illinois, I have the opportunity and privilege to photograph plenty of children. This little fellow's whimsical expressions instantly caught my attention. I followed him around and about for the better part of fifteen delightful minutes. Every photograph of him was "magically captivating." Hence,the title of this image. I also enjoyed watching him play with his buddies, pictured behind him. While circumstances were surely different here than for the kids in my neighborhood - in the most basic sense, kids are pretty much the same wherever you go.

With food card in hand, this boy waits patiently in a nearby wheel barrow for his family's ration of white maize flour, a common South African food staple. Scores of people daily stand in line outside this facility for a bag of food capable of sustaining a family of four for nearly a month. As I ponder this boy and the older man partially in view in the background, I know that under different circumstances I could be him. His hopes and dreams may be indulged another time, but today food is upper most in his thoughts.

It's no secret, one of my favorite things to photograph is children. The children we encountered during the trip were beautiful and unspoiled. They were glad we were there and loved to play with us and other children. They were curious and smart. To me, human beings start out as benevolent beings. Our upbringing and environment determine what we become. It is everyone's responsibility to provide children a chance to reach their potential no matter what country of origin or the tone of their skin. That includes having nutritious food to eat, clean water to drink, parents to raise them, medical care and the opportunity for an education. That's our ticket to a better world.

As a portrait photographer, "people watching" comes with the territory. This whimsical portrait of a boy stretching caught my attention. I often consider the beautiful children I met on my journey. They come to mind as I go about my days back home. I think about what they're doing at the moment. I wonder what their futures hold, especially for those without parents or care-takers. The children remain the major motivation that stirs me and Hands of Hope to return to Africa and not lose focus of our goals and intentions - to raise awareness and funds to improve lives now and for successive generations.

We spent a few nights here, a hotel more lavish than anyone in our group had previously experienced. The reprieve from the AIDS patients, orphans and poverty was welcomed. However, I couldn't ease the mental images of the children I had been with only hours before. The dichotomy of rich and poor was profound and didn't feel right. This digital composite print juxtaposes the well dressed man walking away in the background and the poor orphan in the lower right corner.

Among the most disturbing aspects of our trip was visiting the genocide museum in Kigali. In 100 days of 1994, one million people were brutally slaughtered, many by machetes, in an act of racial "cleansing". Racial tension still runs high today. Rwanda is also considered a "hot spot" for AIDS. This print is a collage of a mass grave. Several bodies in wooden caskets, many unidentified, are stacked one on top of another, into underground vaults. Around the grave are faint images of real people I met, because they represent the vibrant lives of those who were taken long before their time.

I met this woman in Rwanda and asked to photograph her. I liked the idea of placing her in a simple, monochromatic setting, so I found a wall with the same color tonality as the soft pale hue of her blouse.

This portrait speaks of quiet confidence and contentment. I enjoy the gentle spirit about it.

This is quite a contrast to the modern day kitchens we see in America. Equipped with this make-shift stove, believe it or not, it is a lot more than many people in this area have. We happened to come by to visit an elderly woman just as she was preparing her lunch of cooked vegetables. In the western world we take for granted so many things.

During our travels in Africa, I was inexplicably drawn to wandering off, meeting and photographing interesting people. Our group's most frequently asked question became "Where's Al?" I happened upon this older man near the Sefula School for the Blind, an important concern to Hands of Hope. His English was not very good, so I never learned his story. In his eyes and demeanor, one can only imagine what this man has learned and endured in his lifetime thus far - hence the title "Wisdom."

With "small tusks" for teeth, this cheetah stretches and yawns during a hot sunny afternoon. In this case there was a fence separating me and this awesome creature. The cheetah, the world's fastest animal for short sprints, clocks in at up to 70 miles per hour. One's natural inclination to run, should you happen upon these rare cats in the wild, would be totally in vain! Cheetah numbers continue to decline, mostly due to dwindling natural habitat and poachers drawn to lucrative sales on the black market.

Just as the sorrow in this vast land is unspeakable, so words are equally inadequate to describe the abundance of beauty and peacefulness. You can't ignore or overlook it. It's powerful. We were on our way to visit a hospital, which turned out to be a six hour journey on bumpy, unpaved rocky mountain roads! It was nice getting out to stretch to witness this scene begging to be photographed.

Among the poverty and strife, there is yet joy and beauty to be found. Rwanda, known as the "land of a thousand hills" is magnificently picturesque. I took this photograph of children playing soccer while traveling on a bus. "Think of all the beauty still left around you, and be happy." Anne Frank