Caption: She doesn't own a computer nor does she stay up late watching late night television - doesn't own a radio, expensive shoes or
flowers in her hair but she's proud of her heritage, honored amongst friends and is respected in her village as an elder. She has never felt silk
on her back yet she understands the sun, the moon and the stars, the face of storms that rage across the desert and has the courage, to face
another day of a six year drought in finding enough food for her children to eat, in having to slake her thirst with dirty water - silently enduring
the pain of walking for miles each day at dawn on an empty stomach to gather firewood so that her family might just make it through another day.
This image is part of a series of photographs on women, created in the northern desert region of Kenya to help illustrate the need in the community
where many are suffering, under at times impossible conditions, due to the ongoing drought which still plagues East Africa. While I've created
images throughout East Africa for nearly two decades, this particular project had at it's core, a requirement to present these women, photographed
from the Eastern border with Somalia to the Western edges of Sudan, with dignity, to retain their sense of pride so evident, regardless of
conditions that most of us would find unsurmountable.
While there's no shortage of tours to parts unknown, nor cameras at the ready with the fascination to record a myriad of moments, I'm reminded
that much more important than the act of photography, irrespective of it's purpose, are the relationships created with those within the composition.
lt's important that my images are utilized to help "lift the veil," to help us understand and to "see" just a little more clearly, that there are equally
important people in equally important cultures who really are...more like us...than they are different.
A USAID professional mentioned to me once that..."one on the most important aspects of playing a role in the developing world community is
to..."do no harm" and I believe this is important for photographers at all levels, especially when working in the developing world...
when in their midst to...
do no harm...
RR
flowers in her hair but she's proud of her heritage, honored amongst friends and is respected in her village as an elder. She has never felt silk
on her back yet she understands the sun, the moon and the stars, the face of storms that rage across the desert and has the courage, to face
another day of a six year drought in finding enough food for her children to eat, in having to slake her thirst with dirty water - silently enduring
the pain of walking for miles each day at dawn on an empty stomach to gather firewood so that her family might just make it through another day.
This image is part of a series of photographs on women, created in the northern desert region of Kenya to help illustrate the need in the community
where many are suffering, under at times impossible conditions, due to the ongoing drought which still plagues East Africa. While I've created
images throughout East Africa for nearly two decades, this particular project had at it's core, a requirement to present these women, photographed
from the Eastern border with Somalia to the Western edges of Sudan, with dignity, to retain their sense of pride so evident, regardless of
conditions that most of us would find unsurmountable.
While there's no shortage of tours to parts unknown, nor cameras at the ready with the fascination to record a myriad of moments, I'm reminded
that much more important than the act of photography, irrespective of it's purpose, are the relationships created with those within the composition.
lt's important that my images are utilized to help "lift the veil," to help us understand and to "see" just a little more clearly, that there are equally
important people in equally important cultures who really are...more like us...than they are different.
A USAID professional mentioned to me once that..."one on the most important aspects of playing a role in the developing world community is
to..."do no harm" and I believe this is important for photographers at all levels, especially when working in the developing world...
when in their midst to...
do no harm...
RR
simply beautiful/burnett
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