Stories in Snapshots

Let's jog a few miles across the globe to Africa. Kenya, to be exact. Two young women, Karen Austrian and Emily Verellen, co-founded an incredible non-profit for young girls in the slum of Kibera. Kibera has a population of over 700,000 people where half of the population is under the age of 15. Kibera is the size of Manhattan's Central Park and is located within the Kenyan capital of Nairobi. Approximately 80% of Kibera's youth is unemployed and the US Center for Disease Control estimates that 20% of the population is HIV-positive.***

Under the umbrella of the organization Carolina for Kibera, Emily and Karen worked with a group of young women to create Binti Pamoja, (Daughters United in Swahili). Their website describes it best:

"Established in June 2002 by Emily Verellen and Karen Austrian, the Binti Pamoja Center uses photography, drama, writing, and group discussion to explore the issues that young women face in Kibera, such as violence against women, rape, prostitution, HIV/AIDS and other STDs, FC/FGM, poverty, sexual abuse, unequal access to education, lack of reproductive health care and information, and stifling domestic responsibilities. In addition, the Center hosts monthly speakers and field trips, a community drama group, a newsletter, community service projects, family events, and an HIV/AIDS peer education program."

I want to bring one of their very moving projects to your attention. The online photography exhibit demonstrates the power of the photograph as well as the ability for all individuals to relate to the still image. I use photographs in this oral history project as "accessories" to audio recordings but I do believe that photographs can be used in conjunction with oral history interviews when a scholar is studying the complexity of memory.

When conducting interviews, I quickly realized that early, early childhood memories are often the result of photographs....these moments (such as a three year old's birthday party) are forever captured on film and then constantly developed throughout the memory of the adult. The photographs may capture a difficult time, such as the last time one saw a living relative. Even so, it is common in this line of work to witness an individual's memory actively defending emotions by displacing a painful memory associated with the photograph with a more pleasant one. For example, this once painful picture of a final family reunion that resulted in a sad memory at age 21 could possibly morph into a positive lighthearted recall of a family celebration by age 75.

Photographs also provide strong support when breaking the ice with a nervous interviewee or when broaching a difficult subject. Binti Pamoja uses photographs to start conversations about taboo topics such as rape, STDs, abortion, sexual violence, teenage pregnancy, sexual abuse, and more.

Karen and Emily provided each girl with a disposable camera, taught them how to use the camera, and then sent the group into their communities to take photographs corresponding to a weekly theme. One week was pregnancy, another AIDS, etc. What you see online are photos taken by the Binti Pamoja group (oftentimes their first experience with a camera). The girls then provide written commentary on the still photos describing the where and why of the picture. I encourage you to check out this powerful website and while viewing the images, please take the time to consider the power of the photograph when telling a story....or when remembering one.


Binti Pamoja Online Photo Exhibit:
http://cfk.unc.edu/binti-pamoja/exhibition/

Carolina for Kibera: http://cfk.unc.edu/cfk-inc.html


*** as cited on http://cfk.unc.edu/kibera.html