Mentally + Physically Challenged, Kisumu, Kenya, 2007

Over 16 years ago it was my privilege to visit this region and photography two homes for mentally and physically challenged individuals.  I was deeply moved by the dedication of the staff and the resilience of the occupants. The young girl in the background of this image was a force of nature herself, as she went back and forth between friends in order to help them with their portraits. She was the first person I met with Down's Syndrome thru my photography and will never be forgotten.

Etsy 

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Best Friends + Home for Mentally/Physically Challenged, Kisumu, Kenya, 2007

Over thirteen years ago her portrait was made during a visit to eastern Kenya. Thanks to the kindness of a foundation called Maragoli Community Development Foundation, we visited many schools as well as homes for children with special needs. On this day we visited a school on the outskirts of the city and photographed its students against the backdrop of a school wall. This was the only dress that they owned, and had put them on as we arrived. Their hardships are unimaginable and this is an improvement over experiences with their own families, with some chained to trees for much of the time. Now they are in great hands with a passionate team.

Note: printed in the darkroom just today onto fiber paper, tones in selenium for permanence.

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Mentally and Physically Challenged, Kisumu, Kenya, 2007

As I get ready for the darkroom tomorrow, I am reminded that countless others have infinitely less. In this series are children who live in a group home outside of Kisumu, Kenya. They have one set of clothes and sleep in a large room with others. Yet they have the most attentive, loving team looking after them... helping them even with their pictures for our session. I'm humbled by their strength in the face of such odds, and will wait patiently until it's time for me to come home.

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Best Friends, Kisumu, Kenya, 2007

As prints wash in the darkroom tonight, I am reminded that countless others have infinitely less. In this series are children who live in a group home outside of Kisumu, Kenya. They have one set of clothes and sleep in a large room with others. Yet they have the most attentive, loving team looking after them... helping them even with their pictures for our session. I'm humbled by their strength in the face of such odds.

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Challenged + School, Kisumu, Kenya, 2007

As I once again get ready to sleep tonight thousands of kilometers away from home, I am reminded that countless others have infinitely less. In this series are children who live in a group home outside of Kisumu, Kenya. They have one set of clothes and sleep in a large room with others. Yet they have the most attentive, loving team looking after them... helping them even with their pictures for our session.

This young boy however did his best to compose himself for his portrait, all under his own power. What it took him to do so one cannot imagine... even 14 years after this series was made. I'm humbled by his strength in the face of such odds, and will wait patiently until it's time for me to go home.

Mentally and Physically Challenged, Chamacanga, Western Kenya, 2007

Her home is a small group of buildings resembling a school campus in Western Kenya. She lives with perhaps two dozen children and the caretakers of the facility, religious figures as well as laypeople.

All of the children are inflicted by either physical or mental challenges, often times a combination of both. The people of this wonderful home have taken it upon themselves to speak to the communities around them, gaining access to these vulnerable children. In many instances, the families of these beautiful children keep them from public view, afraid of the social stigma associated with having such children. The caretakers shared stories with me that made me reflect deeply on the human family, and wonder quite a bit about our innate goodness.

In the middle of rural Kenya and with very little other than the buildings in which the children are housed, good people tend to daily chores associated with a most difficult situation. Without access to medical personnel or basic supplies or luxuries such as the internet, they do their best. All of the children have uniforms, and rooms in which to sleep. It feels like a large family, with many of the children treating each other like sisters and brothers.

On a sunny day we make portraits of the entire population within the campus, including all of the children. In a few instances the good staff help children stand still for their portraits, and in a few other instances a wheelchair is provided for support. Some of the children laugh uncontrollably with the joy of the moment, while some take this opportunity to share with me a snapshot of unimaginable difficulty.

From this day forward, I take it upon myself to locate such a school in each country visited by me, and to tell such stories. This is the least one can do, while aspiring to do much more.

As Father Felix of the school tells me in an interview:

'What it means to me having children of this type is that I will look at them as Gods' creatures who need all of the assistance possible to live the life god meant them to live as human beings when he crated them, so that's why we struggle hard to make sure that they are helped positively, physically, mentally and even spiritually... like on Sundays they attend mass, those who can listen they listen a bit and they are just there with the hope that God blesses them as they come because our intention towards them is something very positive.'

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Halim Ina Photography

Caretaker, Home for Mentally & Physically Challenged Children, MACODEF, Western Kenya, 2007

In the sweetest of voices, she tells me of her struggles, of her needs regarding the children. Most of the time, there is barely enough to provide in terms of food, clothing and even shelter.

She and her staff work feverishly to make sure that the children have the bare minimum to eat. Since the children in this home are mentally and physically challenged, the process of feeding them is much more difficult.

She nonetheless tends to them like her children, speaks about them in this way. Her tone is very soft and calm, perhaps accustomed to speaking to children in need of such care. These children come from homes perhaps where they had been treated differently. She shares with me some of their stories, of how some had been locked in rooms and others chained to a tree stump.

This is the pain that she caries on her shoulders and does so on behalf of the children, taking the burden from them so that they can concentrate on their progress, on their well being.

She is the caretaker of the children's home described two posts ago. You may learn more and perhaps become active through the following link.

MACODEF

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Mentally & Physically Challenged Orphan, MACODEF, Western Kenya, February, 2007

The people tell me that this is his only shirt, as is the case with the two dozen or so children in this small orphanage. We arrive early this morning before the children wake, many of them sleeping almost naked in their simple beds.

The simple building is located on the outskirts of a government school where the other children from the area attend classes. The orphans in this small building however will never attend classes on even this simple campus. For them to even receive the minimum care in the orphanage, their families needed to be convinced.

The reality is that before the orphanage these children were hidden from Society, some locked in rooms while others chained and restrained. There is a stigma involved with their physical and mental condition, as perhaps in many other parts of the world. In their present home, they sleep peacefully and are attended to by kind and gentle spirits.

Another fact is shared with me by the people in the orphanage: many of these children are anything but orphans. They do have families but their families have chosen to place them in the orphanage for various reasons, ranging from shame to inability to maintain proper care.

So we arrive this morning and see the children get ready for their photographic session with speed and excitement. The sight of children moving quickly in the shadows of the building gives me an immense sense of honor, of humility. Here are children facing daily hardships that most in the world will never glimpse. Yet they get up this morning and give of themselves without asking for anything in return.

The children from the neighboring school gather on the fence and watch with genuine curiosity. Like the children in the orphanage, they face an extreme life regardless of their mental and physical abilities. They stand in silence and lend their support to their brothers and sisters being photographed, until they are called in by their headmaster.

We photograph for perhaps one hour, against the back wall of the building. The caretakers handle the children with gentle hands, guide them to the camera and allow the children to make their own expressions, to claim their own identity. The young man in the portraits above does just that, without guidance from anyone. He stands his ground and tells his story.

One may view more regarding the foundation doing good works on behalf of the children below.

MACODEF

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Physically Challenged, MACODEF, 2007

When we arrived at the school we were greeted with open arms. The wonderful caretakers of these children went about getting the children ready for their photographs. The school was very organized, with many adults in place for the children's care.

We found a soft spot under a tree and began making portraits. Some of the children came on their own, and some of the children needed the help of the adults. Some were held, and some had the use of a wheelchair, such as this young man. The entire time, the adults did their best to create a peaceful mood for the sake of the children.

This young boy had a profound presence about him, and affected me deeply. He looked through the camera and past me, a gift which few truly have. We have to imagine ourselves looking at a stranger with a camera, and understand how difficult that would be for us. What a remarkable, young boy!

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Mentally Challenged, Western Kenya, 2007

We arrive so early in the morning that the girls and boys of this home are still asleep. As we walk closer, we notice movement inside, all seem to be dressing for the session. We set up behind the home in open view of the children of a public school. We are an attraction until they are called in for classes. The number of children in this home is small and so the task at hand quite attainable without moving quickly. 

The children arrange themselves with the help of the wonderful staff, take their turn to stand for their portraits. The one above represents a moment in waiting for someone else. The young girl on the right finds it very difficult to stand alone for her portrait. Her friend to her right holds her hand and calms her enough to take her turn. They stand in unison for five exposures. These children are mentally challenged individuals. Many of them come from families that find it nearly impossible to provide the special attention necessary for their care. 

The caretaker of this home describes certain children and their environment before their placement in this home, with a few of the children being locked in a room or tied down to a tree. Many of these children were hidden within the homes in order to keep them from the view of the neighbors. After the photography, the girls show their skills by singing songs, by collaborating on poems. We leave knowing that they are in wonderful hands.

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