Kids with cameras
Trip Start
May 07, 2004
1
40
64
Trip End
Jun 27, 2006
In Toronto, thinking about other cities,
Ontario,
Canada
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
My second trip to Rio had some very raw and impactful elements to it. I joke that I save the world for a living (although, honestly, I think I'm only half joking :), and I've certainly seen some crazy shit, up close and personal, and affected numerous peoples lives through the work that I do; but the camera project that we did will certainly be something that stays with me forever.
The idea was born of Nat wanting to let kids take his digital camera away with them, which, for obvious reasons would not have been smart; but the sentiment brought an idea that I'd heard to mind... give them disposable cameras - the developed prints will be a gift for them to treasure, and we'll see the favela through the eyes of children that live there.
I just watched the stunning documentary Born into Brothels. Apparently Zana Auntie's exhibit is coming to Toronto soon. Someone recommended the film to me because of what I'd done in Rio.
Comparatively, our project was quite small and, as I watched the film, at times felt a little trite and even self-serving, compared to the story of what this woman has enabled the children of Calcutta to accomplish. And so, as I finished watching the film's extras, I began to feel as though it was ruining what, until that moment, had been one of the most precious and fulfilling things I could imagine doing over a three day period. These thoughts only furthered the upset caused by the film itself, and the stories of the children.
"Don't let that experience feel trivial, contrived or self-serving," I scolded myself, "you should still be proud, and pleased that you were able to act and relate with that favela, and those kids, on a more meaningful level than most - visitors or not - will ever dream of doing."
And then I started to feel better, and proud of us again, because really, the idea was born, and the plan put into play, in a matter of _hours_. We executed it fully over approximately _three days_. In a developing country (where developing film or buying dozens of cameras proved difficult without these time constraints) with kids who had probably never used cameras, and a small group of backpackers who'd never done this kind of project before. I have returned to the belief that it was amazing. Which is how each of us who even played a small role in the project felt about it at the time.
When I wrote about it I didn't go into much detail. I was covering other things, places and emotions, not to mention averaging an email (at the time I think they were still emails) every couple of months or so. And even though I've talked about it lots, and even though I've glossed over most of that trip with funny antics or silly tales of woe, I think that this experience might be worthwhile expanding on - for me, if for nobody else.
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Favela (slum) Tour
Our impression of the four-hour tour was quite different from the very sweet German girl who had assured us that it was quite interesting and not at all demeaning to the community or its members.
On the walk through Rio's Rocina favela, we were encouraged to poke our heads into the living rooms of "your average favela family", and take pictures of anything and anyone except the drug dealers who could be identified by their famous bleached hair. Voyeuristic is the only word that came to mind as we meandered through the cobbled homes, and that word has stuck. As I remember it, we walked through the community as if we were visiting a people zoo.
Some might argue that this (Nat's version of the tale and the children's photos) actually became an even more intrusive activity; however, it turned that tour into something that _we_ could stomach, at least at the time. At the very least we were interacting and connecting with people. It brought joy, and even pride, to the children and families. I think it made the tour more meaningful for not only us, but the young photographers as well.
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When I went to Kenya for the first time, it was with the Canadian office of Plan International, or Foster Parents Plan. We took that film trip and made very high impact, and in some ways groundbreaking Direct Response television programs that raised a lot of money for the communities that we visited (and other communities around the world). It was an amazing and completely heart-wrenching and numbing and frustrating and beautiful and scary and fulfulling and hopeful experience. The children that I met and befriended in Africa during that two-week trip still mean so much to me today.
But the effect that they had on me, and maybe even I on them, was not as real, in many ways, as that favela photo project. The TV show, and the money it raised, may have made a real difference in their quality of life - more clean water, improved living conditions or better schools. And maybe if Emma and I had managed to coordinate a visit on our way through when we were travelling, I'd attach more meaning; however, I still don't think that it would have touched what we did in Brazil.
In Brazil we didn't provide anyone with clean water. We didn't support a child's education, let alone a family or entire school. We didn't raise much awareness about the financial plight of the children of favelas.
We took a situation that made us feel uncomfortable and _we_ turned it into something that made us all - including the community members, I believe - feel better about the favela tours. It was our idea, caked with goodwill, executed by us from start to finish.
This is a tangible example of why I'd rather feel real, meaningful, and true to myself, than act purely to alleviate guilt. Today I feel compelled to volunteer, instead of - or as well as - doing things from a distance.
I'll do more amazing things. But those 3 days in Rio, and Kids With Cameras, may be a big part of what inspires me to do another project that I feel adds to the person I am.
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And then I wonder if these kids even have their albums still. It's unlikely that those three days affected any of them as much as they did me.
It wasn't selfless, mind you. Of course, what activity is?
Not quite the blase, cute and shallow stuff we're used to around here these days. What can I say? I've got a few layers :)
