blogstream by this author

• Two weeks in Mozambique
• Beginning at the beginning

blogstream by this project

• Mozambique film screening at the Egyptian Theatre for 7th Artivist Film Festival
• United Nations hosts New York City exhibition
• Mexico City exhibition details
• Maputo exhibition photo coverage
• Photo exhibition in Mozambique shows impact of AIDS through the eyes of children
• Photo essay on AOL Australia's FotoZone
• Denver exhibition TV coverage
• Upcoming exhibitions
• Storytelling as social change
• Russell talks about project in TV interview
• No jet lag with these photos
• Reflections
• Two weeks in Mozambique
• The great Maputo bagel hunt
• Impressions
• Workshop impressions
• The secret behind the camera
• Workshop report
• Hello Wednesday, August 15
• Audio recording studio setups
• Kudos to Zegó
• Hello Venice???????????????
• Hello Tuesday, August 14
• Hello Friday, August 10
• Flourishing against the odds
• Hello Thursday, August 9
• Hello Wednesday, August 8
• Shooting back
• Hello Tuesday, August 7
• Hello Monday, August 6
• Touchdown Maputo
• To foster a young filmmaker
• From Madagascar to Mozambique
• Johannesburg layover
• London layover
• Farida's introduction
• Nilza's introduction
• Marta's introduction
• Namani's introduction
• Nelson's introduction
• Aires' introduction
• Heading to Mozambique: House is Small
• imagemagick, PS batch actions, cron
• Ready to teach
• Beginning at the beginning
• Blogging from a mobile phone
• The great chasm
• iTunes

Two weeks in Mozambique

Steve Barrett Photographer

Posted 2:30PM on Thursday, August 16, 2007 Pacific Time

We have been working with these kids in Mozambique for 2 weeks now! The kids' images speak for themselves. I have been impressed with how quickly some of the students have picked up on the nuances, in spite of the obvious language and technology issues. Though being on their own (some for most of their lives) these kids are well-mannered, enthusiastic and have a good capacity to learn. By and large, most of the subjects we run into are very friendly, and don't mind having their photos taken, especially by a kid with a camera.

Max (my son who turned 13 on this trip) has been a great asset to my small group, taking notes, keeping his eyes open, operating the cell phone, helping to make lunches, doing small errands, and running interference with curious neighborhood kids so the Reencontro kids can work. He also has the stealth asset of being a disarming way to connect to these kids that are about his age.

Most of the homes I have been to have no electricity and the water is brought from outside. They typically cook outside too. It is a way of life that is largely roughing it, with bits of contemporary life that I am still processing. It probably makes for some long nights in the winter.

It has been a pleasure working with the team assembled by Lynn and Jim of Venice Arts, with each member filling niches as needed. Kudos to all!

The photographers who are here to teach were invited to not take photos for the first week and concentrate on the kids. So this week I took a few pics of my own ...

take action

If the stories on this website move you, take action now and see how easy it is to make a difference.

get podcast

Subscribe to our free iTunes podcast to get the latest audio and video updates as the project unfolds

get email alerts

Subscribe to our free newsletter to get email updates as the project unfolds