Mother + Daughter, Kisumu, Kenya, 2006

In light of the testimonials being shared most recently through 'me too,' this portrait of mother and daughter is being shared. It was an honor to have heard their story, and a privilege to present it here.

A dozen years ago a connection was made to visit communities in western Kenya. The foundation asked me, "how many people would you like to photograph?" In my nativity, the answer was "as many as possible."

Upon landing, we immediately headed out to photograph a church and a congregation. It was clear to me that we would never run out of people to photograph. We would sometimes arrive at a school, and the teachers would have all of the students line up... well over three hundred students a few times.

So when I was told that we were going to visit a small home, I let out a sigh of relief. Then I was told that we would be visiting with a support group for individuals with HIV/AIDS. This weighed heavily on me, for my mind was on making sure the work lived up to the people being photographed.

When we arrived everyone welcomed us with such warmth, such kindness, that all anxiety melted away. There were perhaps two dozen people in the house. After introductions were made, each person courageously shared their story with us. While the people from the foundation did their best to translate, the tones of the voices as well as the expressions on their faces spoke volumes.

Each spoke while absolute silence prevailed, telling the stories of how they had been affected, of how their husbands had strayed from their marriages and brought the virus back into their beds. It was a deeply moving moment, and left me without words. Perhaps more than the stories, it was how they had told them that struck me. It was as if they had forgiven their husbands, and accepted the cards that they had been dealt. The strength in their presentations was supremely clear, a testament to their intact spirits.

All of this was happening as their children sat at their feet, a visual which stays with me to this day. My eyes moved from the mothers to their children as each spoke, and noticed the bond between them. This I will never forget.

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Note: This frame was made with a Hasselblad V system.

3 Survivors + HIV/AIDS, Near Kisumu, Kenya, 2006

One day the good people of MACODEF take me to a small house where about thirty women and a few men have gathered in anticipation of our visit. They come from different households and backgrounds but share one variable, living with HIV/AIDS.

While we usually arrive and set up the equipment shortly thereafter, this time we sit down and listen to the stories of each person, one at a time. Here are thirty or so adults, with their children around them, telling a complete stranger the story of how they contracted the virus, of how they remember their spouses as the sources of this transmission and of how their children live with the thought of losing their remaining parent.

Some of the stories are translated, some are left to be heard without translation.

There is a feeling of victory, of jubilation. These women see their tribulations as opportunities rather than obstacles. They have formed a group and through this unity have forged a way forward.

We step outside and make their portraits, first with their children and then on their own. My mind cannot imagine the tribulations each has endured, for their lives without such an unimaginable hardship is beyond my ability to comprehend.

The nearest hospital is beyond their reach and the medicine needed is as distant. Yet they find the strength to take care of themselves and their families, to gather in this group and share their stories in public… in an environment less than friendly for such stories.

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maragoli.org

Note: These images were made with a Nikon F100/105 mm lens combination.