in africa

stacy

2007-12-25T18:07:00.000-08:00

so i attempted to take all the girls' portraits before the semester was over. this wasn't fully accomplished due to my laziness...and was further hindered by the complete destruction of my second computer screen. these are the last batch of photos on my camera from africa, ones that aren't currently inaccessible because they're not on my computer. i'll try to salvage the others within the coming weeks. hopefully this will suffice.

kirsten

2007-12-25T18:03:00.000-08:00

the sky did look really far away.

2007-12-25T18:02:00.000-08:00

some favorites. heathrow, almost home.

2007-12-25T18:00:00.000-08:00

damn i love these people so much.

anna you look so beautiful.

sarah

2007-12-25T17:58:00.000-08:00

christy

2007-12-25T17:57:00.001-08:00

i will always remember you laughing.

almost there almost there!

2007-12-25T17:57:00.000-08:00

at heathrow. being african. you know.

kate

melanie

chase's apt.

2007-12-25T17:53:00.000-08:00

my baby.
i prefer being in the same country as him...

bear the dog

dad's family

2007-12-25T17:51:00.000-08:00

lucy and me. (she's my little sister)

gabe. (he's my little brother)

lucy with her doll made by lucy

she's so cute.

waiting.

2007-12-25T17:49:00.000-08:00

kansas blizzard and 12 hours in an airport.
i took photos of doors.

i miss you girls.

some people.

2007-11-18T00:56:00.000-08:00

coffee is important at FHI.

Samuel Adams, intern.

Cheryl Winter.
sister of Bill.

yep. uh huh.

2007-11-18T00:46:00.000-08:00

There was a lot of Greenville in Rwanda.

our favorite guard.

2007-11-18T00:43:00.001-08:00

this is alphonse.
he was always laughing and smiling.

2007-11-18T00:36:00.000-08:00

war scars.

2007-11-18T00:32:00.001-08:00

I've written about Paul in my blog.
he ended up being one of the favorite people i've met here.
he told me his story. here's a part of it, in the context of a conversation i had with chase:

caitlin: so it starts with me hanging out with paul. he's spent so long trying to tell me that he just wants to tell me his story so i can know him and his heart, which is kind of weird, but turned out to be amazing. paul is an incredible person and, though he has faults, i will try to never speak harshly of him again...he told me the story of what happened to him in the genocide
caitlin: his family was killed by their neighbors, their friends. they took him, they beat him, they cut his face up with these metal sheets (hence these scars he's got all over) and threw him down this big, well-like hole that they were using as a mass grave, i assume
caitlin: they left him for dead. he survived by standing out of the way of the other bodies that they threw down and stepping up on each one, until he reached the top of the hole and got out. holy shit.
chase: wow
caitlin: then he went back to his house (i think this is the chronology) and found his family dead. all of them. he found his mom and she was naked, so he went and put a blanket over her (i might have told you this already...) the woman who was with the people that killed his family came and stole this blanket
caitlin: paul later met this woman and forgave her, i think...told her who he was
chase: yeah, you did tell me that part
caitlin: after the genocide he was a street boy, an orphan...a compassion international rep. found him and got him set up for an education. he did really well, made a lot of friends, got great marks, etc...ended up befriend the son of the lady who owns the shop he works for...
caitlin: he currently lives in a little house where he supports another boy, some street kids, i think...and sometimes doesn't get paid by the shop owner, so he can't afford rent
caitlin: but he's so generous. he's always giving, always. and he's revolutionized the way i think about giving to street kids and beggars. he talks to them, he really talks to them. tries to figure out their story and why they're where they are. he's so passionate about helping people and loving people.
caitlin: he sees his life this way: God intentionally saved him, picked him to live and now he has a responsibility to help those around him, to understand people, why they do the things they do, forgive them and help them
caitlin: i've met no africans like this

some kids.

2007-11-18T00:27:00.002-08:00

so i went to go deliver some stuff from my friend Travis to the kids he used to play with when he was here. i went early in the day, but it was chaos. so many children and no common language. i ended up going back later with paul. but these were the first photos i took of them. Travis, i hope these are the right kids :)

they surrounded me. these shots reflect the chaos of that, i think. i liked it.

the kids.

2007-11-18T00:18:00.000-08:00

so these are the kids that Travis loves. i delivered them some things from Travis and, the last night i was in Rwanda, they won me over. i got to sit in the same little room with a beautiful family with beautiful children. we sang and played and teased each other...and then the mother prayed over me with authority.
there was real love in that house.
Travis? is this the boy? the one that anna told me about?

i'm afraid i would butcher their names, so i won't try.

...

2007-11-18T00:08:00.000-08:00

Paul and the kids

hehe.

my african family.

2007-11-18T00:05:00.000-08:00

great picture of me.

:)

2007-11-18T00:01:00.000-08:00

terrace day.

2007-11-06T02:52:00.000-08:00

we went to visit some terraces last week. FHI helped to organize their construction, an initiative implemented by the government originally. building the terraces is part of a farming project basically serving to educate local subsistence and other farmers on how to make the most of the land and improve harvests.

from what i could gather, terraces are used for erosion control. the terraces provide flat land in the hills so that water doesn't wash out the crops. this technique has doubled and tripled peoples' harvests.

working working!

2007-11-06T02:23:00.000-08:00

i loved this. i was walking around the terraces taking photos of the girls (and few guys) working...then they would ask me to see it in the viewfinder and laugh and laugh. we didn't have a language between us, but we connected. i loved this.

black and white terrace photos

2007-11-06T02:15:00.000-08:00

where they live.

2007-11-06T02:12:00.000-08:00

child headed households. (there is a breast in this batch, please skip over if need be.)

2007-11-06T02:10:00.000-08:00

this is a family we met with for an interview concerning FHI's Child Headed Households (CHH) program. Charith got their names, i did not. The family consisted of a brother, sister and sister's baby.
baby.

this is not uncommon in Africa. you get used to it.

:)

the yard.

2007-11-06T02:05:00.000-08:00

feet.

2007-11-06T01:37:00.000-08:00

neat.

2007-11-06T01:31:00.000-08:00

uh huh

2007-11-06T01:24:00.000-08:00

favorite.

???

2007-10-26T04:40:00.000-07:00

that's the nile.
i rafted it.

conference.

2007-10-26T04:38:00.000-07:00

this is a conference held in Gitarama, Rwanda. Charith and I were elicited to come and take some photos...we also got to do some home visits and interview people involved in FHI's various programs throughout the area. it was awesome.

Dwight Jackson.
He's the director of a lot of stuff (FHI Rwanda, Burundi and the great lakes region, whatever that means.)
He also looks like an older Jeff Tweedy, if you look close enough (same sleepy eyes)
He's also very Greenville, which is great for me.

yeah that's professor Zahniser.

Evariste. He works with prof. Z.

Charith!

2007-10-26T04:36:00.000-07:00

more conference.

2007-10-26T04:33:00.000-07:00

prof. Z. I bet you miss this guy. you should.

Jesse Walls and Tom (he's british). Jesse's here for an internship mostly working with Jim Zahniser (my school advisor) and Tom is a part of hunger corps, an FHI program.
I appreciate the expression on their faces.

Agnes and Eulade.

2007-10-26T04:31:00.000-07:00

These were my first interviewees of my practicum.
Agnes and Eulade are both beneficiaries whose standard of living has improved dramatically since FHI's CDP (child development program) has been involved in their families. FHI supplied both with animals to rear and sell, and to also use for fertilizer for their fields. they've also supplied one child from both households with uniforms and materials to attend school.

Agnes. she's a widow, probably from the genocide. She pulled herself out a lot of shit with the help of the CDP.

Eulade. He leads a 10 member household.

mountains and school.

2007-10-26T04:28:00.000-07:00

more of Rwanda's farm-laden hills...i will never get enough of this.

this is a school they took us to. i believe the CDP helped build it.
i played some bball with this mofo.

kids at the school.

2007-10-26T04:25:00.000-07:00

um. yeah, that kid has a machete.

more kids...Gitarama

2007-10-26T04:20:00.000-07:00

we found these guys on the way to the FHI office.

one of my favorite shots i've taken in Africa.

clementine.

2007-10-26T04:16:00.000-07:00

clementine is a beneficiary of Bringing Hope, FHI's HIV/AIDS program. charith, kirsten and i were sent out to the Gikomero community outside of Gitarama to interview her. she's a widow with AIDS and 5 children. she lives in a mud hut with a cow and a sheep.

but she's beautiful and she was very loving toward us.

one of her boys was trying to get in the photo and she laughed. i love this shot.

Clementine and two of her children Boniface (5 years) and Alexander (12 years).
The rest were at school.

Felicitie.

2007-10-26T04:11:00.000-07:00

a neighbor girl.

i love these.

2007-10-26T04:08:00.000-07:00

this group of photos inspired what will most likely become the theme of my photos this semester (even though the semester is half gone)

i posted something in my other blog (caitlinisready.blogspot.com)about how i felt the reason so many live comfortably, unmoved by poverty and suffering...or even by the needs of their most immediate human contacts...is because the sufferers just aren't real. they're not human enough. people can't see that those they love the least are just like themselves. when they suffer, it's you suffering. it's your family suffering. its your best friend and your spouse suffering.

i want to capture things like this - the intricacies of the body: the lines by the eyes, the gap in the teeth, the vein in the forehead; or the wrinkles on the hands and the dirt on the toes and fingers; the realities of a living human. i want to make the sufferers real to you because they are you and a lot of them need help.

Baby Edouard:

Boniface.

2007-10-26T04:04:00.000-07:00

one of clementine's sons.
a little black alan ramirez.
and real cute.

he was trying to play with the flash on my camera :)

Lourien.

2007-10-26T04:02:00.000-07:00

a neighbor boy.

more family.

2007-10-26T03:59:00.000-07:00

in front of her house.

bad. ass.

2007-10-26T03:55:00.000-07:00

yep. he wanted some beer money for these photos too.

hope you enjoyed.

some left overs.

2007-10-14T03:22:00.000-07:00

these are left over from the safari photos...dunno how they didn't make it on my computer.
at the lodge.

kenny...looks like a rustic cowboy. he's our alpha male, aka the only male in our house. poor soul.

elephant!

the next few photos are from our trip to rural rwanda, kibuye and butari (sp?)
enjoy. they're all black and white.

on the way to kibuye.

2007-10-13T23:23:00.000-07:00

some boys played us some music when we got out to see a waterfall. they wanted money, i don't blame them.

more ridiculous mountain views...

juliet.

...some of the lake. it was massive and pretty...

on the lake.

2007-10-13T23:14:00.000-07:00

charith.

that man is pastor Anastase. i'll tell you if i ever meet a more warm, unassuming or humble man than this one.

the bats.

2007-10-13T23:08:00.000-07:00

this was one of the most amazing and beautiful things i've ever seen. it was one of those moments where i was completely unaware of myself...i had no fears and there were no other moments but that one; there was nothing but the present. i'd like to live like that more often.

misc.

2007-10-13T22:58:00.000-07:00

in the evening i will fly you to the moon,
to the top right-hand corner of the ceiling in my room,
where we'll stay...unitl the sun shines another day,
to swing on clotheslines, my i be yawning
tis' the morning of my life...

staci trying to shake it with a book oin her head...i like the movement in this photo.

some gourds.

2007-10-13T22:51:00.001-07:00

or, pieces of gourds.

paul's shop.

2007-10-13T22:47:00.000-07:00

this is paul. i wrote about him in my other blog: caitlinisready.blogspot.com

i took some photos around his shop. (baskets)

a lot of the sculptures and things began to feel alive to me...these pictures capture that, i think.

sass.

i liked these.

2007-10-13T22:44:00.000-07:00

nativity.

weary.

these feel like the pharisees.

:)

alright.

2007-10-11T02:36:00.000-07:00

well, we went on a safari on our way to Rwanda...i've been in Rwanda for three weeks now...but these are only just recently up because the internet is real shotty...thanks to Dwight Jackson for letting me use his. these photos are from the safari, etc...

on the equator, babies.

badass kids.

2007-10-11T02:33:00.000-07:00

we met these little guys on the way to the game park. i like kids a lot, which is something i think i've spent time trying to ignore because i always felt it was better for me to from relationships with my peers...it was like working with kids would've been too easy for me, you know? but i like them and i'm good with them, i think.

these one's have good camera faces.

little towns.

2007-10-11T02:30:00.000-07:00

view of some ridiculously beautiful mountainous terrain in southern uganda.

some kids we met. they wanted money for the photos we took.

so this picture.

2007-10-11T02:28:00.000-07:00

this is an elephant.
this was the first animal i saw when we entered the game park, just before sunrise.

i don't think words could do it justice, nor will this picture...it is very grainy because my camera lense wouldn't zoom enough.but this was a pretty powerful moment. to see this massive, graceful animal kind of emerging in front of all the mist on the plains...it was holy or something.amazing.

and some sunrise?

2007-10-11T02:26:00.000-07:00

julia and the driver...who knows what they're pointing at.

more animals?

2007-10-11T02:24:00.000-07:00

yeah, we were this close to these mofos...they even showed us their teeth. it was tight and scary.

warthogs...possibly the most repulsive looking animals i've ever seen. and...i somehow finally made the connection between warthogs and hogwarts...there were baby warthogs (somehow ridiculously cute) and we named one hogwarts...

little yellow weaver bird.

hippos are dangerous.

kirsten.

2007-10-11T02:21:00.000-07:00

twilight.

2007-10-05T02:31:00.000-07:00

a tree! of storks and vultures! like the jungle book!

sunset on the plains...

charith glowing in the twilight...or glowing in my camera flash.

also.

2007-09-11T13:34:00.000-07:00

please check out my friend Charith's photo blog for africa...

she is quite the photographer.

rural visit.

2007-09-11T13:01:00.000-07:00

so, this weekend we went on a visit to a village oustide of Kampala. Leilani, Sarah and I went with Josephats to a place called Fort Portal where the Tooro (pronounced todo) tribe lives. One of his friend's family opened their home to us.

the street. still in Kampala.

the road on the way to house we were staying in. there were 7 of us traveling in this vehicle...four in the cab that would tightly fit three. i got the middle, which means straddling the stick shift...in a skirt...awkward.
it was raining like crazy, the mud was crazy, and the driver was a little crazy. Josephats lost his wallet and we had to go back and look for it. then we got back onto the muddy road and got stuck twice. i got right with God 'cause i was a little scared for my life...

Boy watching us get unstuck, haha.

Apuuli.

2007-09-11T12:53:00.000-07:00

This is the man whose family we stayed with. Apuuli isn't his real, name, though. One of the village customs requires people to use petty names in order to preserve the sacredness of the real name (or so i've heard from other sources...they wouldn't really talk about the whys of their customs sometimes.) Anyway, there are 11 different names everyone uses. Mine was Amooti.

country.

2007-09-11T12:47:00.000-07:00

so fort portal had probably some of the most beautiful countryside i've ever seen...sarah said it was like fairyland or something. it was quite unreal sometimes...
(sky's pretty grainy in these photos. it's not overediting, though. dunno.)

people.

2007-09-11T12:41:00.000-07:00

this lady wasn't as sad as she looks. don't be deceived. the people were mostly very happy and friendly.

A guy selling tobacco. Apuuli said he's raised a family and put all his kids through college by selling this in the market.

hiking.

2007-09-11T12:35:00.000-07:00

Atenni, Atwooke and Apuuli taking us up a hill to site see. good hike. i didn't get any good photos of the view, though...suck.

DUNG BEETLES! these things were way tight. i even accidentally sat on these two and they just kept on rolling. their egg sack is inside of that, and the female is in front in this picture...you can tell by which one is bigger, they said.

working.

children.

2007-09-11T12:27:00.000-07:00

so you can't go to a rural village and not see kids...and be affected by them and have them affected by you. we were the first mzungus (white people) any of these kids had ever seen.

they remind me of peter pan or something. or like a gang. like the lost boys...or of something good against something bad.

following. this was wonderful, not sad.

site seeing, etc...

2007-09-11T12:22:00.000-07:00

leilani.

some of the nicer restroom facilities we experienced.

friends. josephats and apuuli

at the caves.

visiting.

2007-09-11T12:19:00.000-07:00

leilani making the millet bread (i forget the traditional word...)
imagine something that looks like poop, feels like raw dough and tastes like crushed up cardboard and sand. we ate a lot of it.

at one of the households we visited.

Leilani and Sarah driving to houses.

structures etc...

2007-09-11T12:12:00.001-07:00

the house we stayed in. bible verses painted everywhere...

the church we went to.

leaving for somewhere...

the family. there were more, though. the lady in the middle is the head of the household.

me and orphanage...

2007-09-01T01:41:00.000-07:00

so this is me after kate pushed me into the tub i was washing clothes in.
actually, i fell. humorous i suppose...

We went to an orphanage in Kampala called Jordan house.
this is not a place of despair, and it was beautiful. They fed us (even though they were fasting for wisdom).
They played with us, they let us take photos of them and they loved us.
So here are your typical "children in africa!" tourist photos. but know that i was impacted by this experience and these kids know hope that i wish i could tap into, even halfway.
This is Sandra.

Agnes. Whenever I'm around kids like this, there's always one that sticks out...kind of a favorite, though i don't like looking at it that way...this was the one, though. She was shy and wonderful and pretty and happy.

more.

2007-09-01T01:35:00.000-07:00

haha. the kids wouldn't show their teeth when smiling unless they were laughing or something...
so i asked her to smile with her teeth and it came out like this. funny.

ah, so beautiful.

2007-09-01T01:29:00.000-07:00

zaitune (I think), Agnes, Prossy

Erica.

etc...

2007-09-01T01:24:00.000-07:00

Leilani looking awesome playing volleyball

one of the girls drew this. thinking about getting it as a tattoo...

hahahah! this kid just stared at me like this the whole time...

so pretty.

they sang for us.

2007-09-01T01:21:00.000-07:00

disclaimer.

2007-08-28T12:37:00.000-07:00

Batch two:

next batch. getting better. more things to focus on...i need to start focusing more on close up shots and working on learning how my camera works....

For Bre.

2007-08-28T12:33:00.000-07:00

very...very cheesy greeting card. they were all like this.

following jehosaphats through Kampala....

2007-08-28T12:25:00.000-07:00

jehosaphats is our field assistant. He's college-age and works for a Christian organization called Cornerstone...Food for the Hungry hires these people to show us around. He's neat, very smart. wants to be a professor, which is harder to achieve in Africa than a doctorate in medicine.

at the old park.

2007-08-28T12:16:00.000-07:00

this is where the matatus (public busses) stop and pick up people...

more park.

Leilani in the matatu.

some traffic. (from the matatu).

the university (Makarere)

2007-08-28T12:14:00.000-07:00

well be taking an econ class here and half our african lit classes.

it's a nice place.

following jehosaphat still. more beautiful city.

eating out

2007-08-28T12:04:00.000-07:00

bottled soda! (the best)

notes.

p.s. Julia and kenny are married. it's kind of silly.

2007-08-28T09:51:00.000-07:00

more following jehosaphats.

to appease.

kate at our traditional dance thinger....
(i didn't get any good shots of the dancers, but it was amazing.)

"disappared" (aka dead) king's tombs

2007-08-28T09:46:00.000-07:00

wive's huts

the king's palace.

possibly tattoo birds?

Welp. see ya later.

2007-08-24T10:24:00.000-07:00

leaving.

I'll miss you. (very much)

and you. (very much)

Thomas reads us a beautiful story about caterpillars and hope for flowers. please, have him read it to you.

2007-08-24T10:21:00.000-07:00

I miss you.

um...SEE YA.

Phoenix

2007-08-24T09:58:00.000-07:00

Food for the Hungry (FHI) HQ

Van Ride.

PHOENIX!

Mexican food...funny cartoons.
Apparently this woman needs much upper-body table support...

Embarking.

2007-08-24T09:41:00.000-07:00

Teresa Craig. She helps us. (FHI office)

the TEAM! 13 girls. that's a lot of girls.

Sky Harbor (phoenix airport). There was a bit of luggage.

dining.

heathrow...uganda

2007-08-24T09:26:00.000-07:00

Becca in heathrow

Becca again

Kirsten and Julie. Entebbe (Uganda)
We were waiting. British Airways lost 7 of our bags. (violent fist shake)

Entebbe. RAIN!

the guest house

2007-08-24T09:21:00.000-07:00

Room A (my room)

the view from our bedroom (we have a balcony!)

common space

common space balcony

first kampala outing

2007-08-24T09:14:00.000-07:00

rotting building, downtown Kampala

Most westernized mall in Kampala, they said. (birds)

more shopping mall

giant stork! on the roof!