Coming Together

Hello All,

Well I have been a bit behind on updating the blog so this is going to be less of a poetic entry and more of a what’s-going-on-in-Emily’s-life entry.

As you probably read in the last entry, I was getting a little frustrated with my day-to-day life. Other than working at Molteno I started volunteering with another organization on the weekends going to some of the squatter camps with a close friend of mine named Chris. The other organization (whose name I am not going to put in here yet) works with children who have been victims from shack fires. It is a huge problem here because in the squatter camps, the shacks are so close together that if a propane stove tips over, one shack after another will go up in flames. The children who get burned either die or are outcast by their peers. This organization works to educate communities and also helps the kids get the medical attention that they need.

So because I felt so connected with this organization (and really love some of the kids—they’re so sweet) I decided to look in to volunteering with them. This came at the same time that I got an email from Mizzou explaining that I cannot do journalism work and receive Civic Leaders Internship credit. Since the PR work I’m doing at Molteno falls in that category, I realized I was going to have to find something else. So I have decided to start working with the children four days of the week and continuing to do journalism for Molteno the rest of the time.

Now for the really exciting news…

While I was at work the other day I started googling random things and came across a website called umuziphotoclub.blogspot.com (seriously check it out).

It is an organization that teaches photography workshops every weekend to students in developing communities. They are sponsored by an organization in the US called SNAP that donates disposable point-and-shoot cameras to high school and primary school learners. So far they have had two exhibitions: one in Johannesburg and one in Brooklyn-- both were met with huge success. They’ve also been getting a lot of media attention because some of the photos that the kids have done are SO stunning (if you click on photos, it will take you to the gallery).

So naturally, being the Born in to Brothels fan that I am, I emailed them immediately. To my surprise the president (he’s a New Yorker named David) called me the same day. I told him a little bit about my photojournalism background and what I would like to do with the kids. He told me that they have a lot of offers from volunteers and are very specific about who they let on. I was a little disappointed, but he seemed interested in what I have to offer so we decided to meet later in the week.

I ended up getting dinner with the two guys on Monday, which was cool for several reasons. Number One: it was nice to talk to an American. I realized that other than Jillian and Rebecca I haven’t talked to any other Americans (maybe one in passing) since I have been here. In some sense that has made this experience truly great because my friends are from here (other than Chris who is British, and the two girls he lives with are German and French). But other than that, most of my friends are black South Africans—I’ve met only a handful of white South Africans that are my age and none are really in my circle of friends. Also, David has been to Portland so we talked about home for a bit, which definitely made me homesick. 

The other reason the meeting was nice was that I really felt like I could help them. They told me about three boys who have shown immense talent and said that they really want to take their skills further. They have been trying to find someone to develop a photojournalism curriculum for them so that they may have the chance of going to University some day because of their photographs.

I was so excited, and really felt like we clicked well. They said they would call me the next day (after I sent them some of my slideshows) about whether they would take me on. I heard from them the next morning and they said that they wanted me to develop the curriculum for the boys. JJ happened to be online the next day, and we started putting some things together about the basics of photojournalism. If any of you know of some pictures I should absolutely include in the lessons, PLEASE let me know.

Our first workshop is this Saturday so I will keep you updated on how it goes. It’s in Hillbrow at a school called Barnato Park, which is the largest inner city high school in South Africa.

In other news, I’m still a bit sick and have a runny nose, but the green mucus is gone. Get excited.

It’s funny how things just come together. I know it’s going to be tough working for three organizataions, but I am so passionate about all of them that it almost doesn’t seem like work. I can hardly believe I am not going to be there when Mizzou starts next week. It still boggles my mind that summer is over.

I love and miss you all, I have some stories that I have written about recent experiences that I am going to try to put up soon. So stay posted!

Much Love,

Em