Kuunganisha: Reconnection

In anticipation of upcoming talks and shows, I have spent the week reconnecting with the writing created by Daraja students. I began combing through for lines that could be layered on top of photos to help the girls tell their stories more completely. Incredible words emerged from each poem, although one in particular was too beautiful to break apart: 

Here I Am

by Gitwa

The sweet aroma of cooked pilau bounces in the air vigorously as it competes to fill my nostrils.

When I wake up at the crack of dawn, I hear the birds singing their melodious songs which carries away my sadness, anger, and stress. 

I have never seen kind creatures like the birds. 

I enjoy watching them as they fly higher in the sky and as they enjoy their moves.

The enjoyable meeting after dinner, praising, worshiping, and praying, comforts my heart. 

It strengthens my foundation. 

When I see an organized family I see a peaceful family.

We live in Embu from all those centuries past.

My future dream is to become a role model to many. 

The everyday item that I play with is a pen, a book and my mind. 

I work hard to fulfill my dreams.

I am from boring to exciting moments.

I am from nobody to somebody.

I am from weak to strong.

I believe in “I can make it.”

I promise and trust myself.

Each day, to make it a success.

The goal? To use these words and images to inspire meaningful interactions. From speaking to packed houses at the Foundation For Women to cross-cultural project and letter exchanges with students at High Tech High International, conversations about girls, education, and self-efficacy have sprung up across San Diego. And this is before the images have been unveiled!! I can't wait to see what ripples out from here. 

I need your help to share the visions and viewpoints composed by Daraja students during the Outside The Lens project in a traveling exhibit. Talented graphic artists are donating their time to help me create 10 photoboards that combine multiple images shot by the Daraja girls with handwritten lines of poetry on them. 

To produce this traveling collection the way it deserves, my target is $5000. If you would like to support this goal, you can donate through Outside The Lens' Cause page.

In so much gratitude,

Debi

Empowering Women A World Away: San Diego Talk at Foundation For Women this Friday

Hello friends and followers, 

I hope you've had a wonderful start to your new year! If you are in the San Diego area during the day this Friday, January 7th, I will be providing the most indepth talk about the girls' work since I returned stateside. Here is the release by Foundation For Women-

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              Kicking off the Foundation For Women’s initial First Friday of 2011, we are honored to have Debi Spindelman as our guest speaker. A photographer and anthropologist, Debi currently serves as Project Director for Outside The Lens, spearheading their participatory photography partnership with Kenya’s Daraja Academy. The first free all-girls secondary school in east Africa, Daraja Academy’s students are young women of promise from Nairobi slums, nomadic Northern tribes, and the turbulent Rift Valley Province. This fall, Debi worked closely with each of Daraja’s 52 students to create a participatory photography project titled Hapa Mimi: Here I Am.

              Driven by the desire to share with the world the visions and viewpoints of a population more likely to be the subjects of photographs than the force wielding the lens, Debi utilized Outside The Lens’ innovative curriculum to teach media literacy, visual training strategies, digital camera skills, creative writing, and self-reflection tools. Through this work Daraja students identified the smells, sounds, and objects that shaped who they are, how these experiences brought them to where they are today, and how this has emboldened their dreams for the future.

As a Luo, there is little value placed on educating girls like myself. But I am a

girl who is focused, determined, and dreams of being a cornerstone to many.

I believe girls can, when given the chance.  –Teddy, Form 1

Join the Foundation For Women on Friday, January 7^th at 11:30am as Debi shares the images and words created by these exceptional young women as they reflect on the value of girls education in their lives, the lives of their families, tribes, nation, and continent.

Location:           Foundation For Women Conference Room

                             4747 Morena Blvd. Ste. 375 

                            San Diego, CA 92117

Time:                  11:30am-1:00pm

Luncheon Cost: $20, includes handmade tamales by microcredit entrepreneurs supported by FFW

To reserve your spot, please email cory@foundationforwomen.org or call (858) 483-0400

See you there!