2008 Woodie Awards
Through eyes of Uganda
Patricia Piper
Issue date: 1/15/07 Section: News
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Media Credit: Kalema StanleyKalem Stanley, one of the 16 children from Uganda, photographed daily activities like the picture shown above.
While conducting TB research during the summer 2006 in the Mulago slums of Kampala, Uganda, East Africa, Daniel Yang, a fourth year biology major at UIC, witnessed the tragedy of lives cut short from disease as well as happiness springing from fellowship in the community.
As he discussed approaches to photo document his experiences with an Israeli photojournalist who he had befriended, Yang learned about a photographer who had given cameras to Israeli and Palestinian children allowing them to document the conflict in the West Bank from their perspective.
Yang jumped at this idea, believing that it could best detail the events he witnessed and concurrently empower Uganda's youth while allowing them to document life as they perceived it.
Four days later, Jennie Oberkrom, Aura Brickler and Harish I. Patel joined Daniel in Uganda, bringing with them 22 cameras and 100 rolls of film.
By working through FOCUS, a locally revered organization, they felt that the residents of Mulago would learn to trust them.
Through FOCUS, 16 students between the ages of 11 and 21 were chosen to photograph their everyday activities. For five weeks the children took pictures and returned to their Saturday school program, turning in one roll and acquiring another, while discussing the pictures they had taken. This process gave them a voice and an outlet for creative expression that these young adults had never been granted before; a means to be appreciated for talents they were unaware of.
"I see this as an opportunity to educate and inspire other people," says Yang. "I hope [the exhibition] compels us to ask questions, not only about Uganda and ourselves, but to open our eyes to issues affecting the global community."
Opening Jan. 16, Project FOCUS will host the FOCUS Exhibit, displaying a collection of photographs taken by these youths in Kampala, Uganda. The exhibition will be held in the A. Montgomery Ward Gallery in SCE, located at 750 S. Halsted and will run until Feb. 16.
Each Wednesday from 4 to 6 p.m., a new topic will be highlighted with speakers discussing the subjects as they relate to Uganda, as well as how we can relate to them in Chicago. The topics to be discussed include: economic inequality, health, education, and work and play.
For more details on the event, visit the Project Focus website at www.projectfocus.org.
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As he discussed approaches to photo document his experiences with an Israeli photojournalist who he had befriended, Yang learned about a photographer who had given cameras to Israeli and Palestinian children allowing them to document the conflict in the West Bank from their perspective.
Yang jumped at this idea, believing that it could best detail the events he witnessed and concurrently empower Uganda's youth while allowing them to document life as they perceived it.
Four days later, Jennie Oberkrom, Aura Brickler and Harish I. Patel joined Daniel in Uganda, bringing with them 22 cameras and 100 rolls of film.
By working through FOCUS, a locally revered organization, they felt that the residents of Mulago would learn to trust them.
Through FOCUS, 16 students between the ages of 11 and 21 were chosen to photograph their everyday activities. For five weeks the children took pictures and returned to their Saturday school program, turning in one roll and acquiring another, while discussing the pictures they had taken. This process gave them a voice and an outlet for creative expression that these young adults had never been granted before; a means to be appreciated for talents they were unaware of.
"I see this as an opportunity to educate and inspire other people," says Yang. "I hope [the exhibition] compels us to ask questions, not only about Uganda and ourselves, but to open our eyes to issues affecting the global community."
Opening Jan. 16, Project FOCUS will host the FOCUS Exhibit, displaying a collection of photographs taken by these youths in Kampala, Uganda. The exhibition will be held in the A. Montgomery Ward Gallery in SCE, located at 750 S. Halsted and will run until Feb. 16.
Each Wednesday from 4 to 6 p.m., a new topic will be highlighted with speakers discussing the subjects as they relate to Uganda, as well as how we can relate to them in Chicago. The topics to be discussed include: economic inequality, health, education, and work and play.
For more details on the event, visit the Project Focus website at www.projectfocus.org.
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