Orphans’ photos to be shown

A Bloomington-based outreach organization will show the story of African refugees through the eyes of the children next month.

In January, two Giving Back to Africa associates traveled to the Program of Aid and Integration to the Underprivileged school and orphanage in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Along with basic travel supplies, they carried 20 disposable cameras and the hope to create a message worth sharing.

It was GBA Student Association President Amanda Daum’s idea to give cameras to students of the school.

Both teachers and students were encouraged to document their lives in their United Nations designated refugee camp, Mpasa II.

Three months later, these images will be on display Friday through April 22 at the IU Art Museum in an exhibit titled “Eyes Behind the Camera: The Congolese Share Their Story.”

“We wanted to introduce art into the lives of Congolese children,” Daum said.

There are about 65 photos in the exhibit, said Michael Valliant, GBA administrative director and one of the two associates who traveled to Congo in January. Many of these are paired with translated stories written by the children and teachers.

“I had no idea how these pictures would come out. When I saw them with their cameras I thought they were just snapping away indiscriminately,” Valliant said. “But when I developed them I saw how creative they were. Some are really dramatic and evocative.”

When they chose which pictures to include, Valliant said they looked for a specific set of criteria expressed in each photo: play, joy, need, education or poverty.
“We want to change the stereotype that Africa is only filled with famine, disease and war,” Valliant said.

The IU chapter of Journalists for Human Rights plans to help GBA publicize the event, JHR co-promotions chair Haley Nelson said.

“As a journalist I believe in the power of photography to express oneself and how it can be successful when it is focused on helping others,” Nelson said.

The next step of the project is to work with local schools in the Bloomington area to have students and teachers take their own pictures and send them to the PAID school, Valliant said.

“We present the children with the incredible opportunity to see their potential and give them the opportunity to change their lives,” Valliant said.