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.

Incomparable, La Habana, Cuba, July of 2008

Her name has been misspelled by everyone working with me in the streets of this beautiful island. To this day I am unsure of the spelling, but feel that Cosette is most correct. When I see her this summer I will be sure to ask her to spell it for me in my notebook. Only then will I be sure.

She was one of the first photographed by me, and remains in my work until now. Just this past summer we visited with each other and made her portrait once again. She has grown up beautifully and has overcome incredible obstacles.

She lives with her two brothers and mother in the smallest of spaces, broken up into two partitions vertically so as to create space above for sleeping. The kitchen is a countertop the size of a small table, and the bathroom a small space with a curtain for privacy.

In addition to the physical limitations of her living space, this most beautiful young woman also suffers from a curvature of her spine. She has undergone multiple surgeries her lifetime, one as recent as last year. Throughout all of this her smile has never wavered, and has only grown more divine with time.

I met her one day while walking through the streets of the city, looking for faces to photograph. We noticed her walking across the street to her home and asked to photograph her. She had a serious look on her face, serious mixed with curious, and answered us with a polite refusal. As we were about twenty or so meters away she asked an older man to call for us.

Her serious look had turned into a smile like the one above, and she now wanted to be photographed. We set our bags down and proceeded to make a quick portrait of her just when all of her friends came running. We ended up photographing everyone and were in turn shown a wonderful time. From that moment to the present she and her family have treated me like one of their own.

This past year a new spirit arrived and she has become a mother. I look forward to visiting the family in July and making a portrait of a transformed woman.

halim.ina@gmail.com
Halim Ina Photography

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.'

halim.ina@gmail.com
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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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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