Andhra Pradesh - Vijayawada   

`Hope' frames childrens' skills

By Our Staff Reporter

VIJAYAWADA, MAY 1. It was a unique photo exhibition aptly christened as "Picturing Hope.''

A photo safari project jointly initiated by a US-based organisation Step Forward which is supported by an American pharmaceutical company, Abbott Laboratories and the International HIV/AIDS Alliance of United Kingdom, gave a perfect platform for children drawn from financially poor background, to bring out their innate talent in photography. And teaching them the nitty-gritty of photography is Craig Bender, a Paris-based lensman and director of the Picturing Hope project. The photo exhibition was a display of scores of photographs shot by some 14 children (some of them street kids and others hailing from HIV-affected households).

In a meeting organised in this connection, the kids narrated their exciting experiences which formed their training classes in the past one week. Revathi and Sunita, both from Kandriga, were elated at the very idea of learning photography. Speaking at the meeting, they said they were completely at ease with the camera which once appeared to be a complicated operation. Nagalakshmi from Chillakal profusely thanked the VMM for giving her a chance to learn such wonderful art. For street kids Bobby and Pandu, photography has now become a passion.

Most of them expressed their desire to pursue a career in the same line to become someone like their `Sir' (Mr. Craig).

Speaking to The Hindu , Mr. Craig said the photographs shot by the kids would be displayed at an exhibition to be organised in Bangkok from July 10 to 15. "The whole project is not essentially about photography. It could be even trying to help the kids open up, talk and share their distress with others,'' he explained. The children are also working on a journal comprising a vivid display of their aims, hopes and dreams, through photography.

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