The website:  Uniting for Children, better options for orphans and vulnerable children

And a quick description: Uniting for Children (unitingforchildren.org) is expanding the conversation about the best ways to care for orphans and vulnerable children. Go there for articles, videos, an original comic strip (Po’s World) and reference information. Send people there who are considering starting, supporting, or visiting an orphanage. Uniting For Children has a positive message with hope for a better future for vulnerable children.

Renewed Central Market with new buildings rising in the background

Intersection and construction near the Stung Meanchey bridge (goes along with a previous post)

]]> http://www.photosensibility.com/2012/11/09/phnom-penh-skyline-old-and-new/feed/ 0 http://www.photosensibility.com/2012/11/08/waiting-for-mom/ http://www.photosensibility.com/2012/11/08/waiting-for-mom/#comments Thu, 08 Nov 2012 14:32:48 +0000 Andy Gray http://www.photosensibility.com/?p=3650

I’ve been all over this part of Phnom Penh the past two days shooting video and a few pictures as I try to finish my project relating to orphans and vulnerable children. More on that later… The boy perched on the motorcycle was cute but not very communicative. His mother was selling barbecued chicken nearby, and I suspect he “rides” that motorcycle every evening watching and waiting as the world passes by.

He and his sisters were sitting with their mother while she was selling bananas in the market at Stung Meanchey.

I appreciate this graphic via Staying For Tea, but it’s important to understand the context. The original intent was to show that a variety of programs and activities get lumped together, fairly or unfairly, under the negative label of poverty tourism.

Now poverty tourism is a horrible term, and I want nothing to do with it. “Poverty” as a destination is reductive and degrading of people, as if people in poverty, or who happen to own homes in slums, were all the same–or poor in every aspect of their lives. “Tourism” implies a consumer experience that can be bought and sold. “Poverty tourism” suggests we can turn the plight of people in need into an experience travelers can (comfortably and passively) purchase.  In practice, poverty tourism often means groups of people who consider themselves wealthy and enlightened traipsing through communities they consider poor and taking pictures of everything in sight.

ALL of the activities above, even when they’re sincerely enacted, may include poverty tourism in its worst forms, but they don’t all have to turn out that way.  I think some of the activities could be moved to a new chart under a new umbrella, such as: Opportunities for positive, educational travel across cultural and economic divides.

We have been bringing groups from Japan to Cambodia for four years in a way that fits under “Educational Travel” on the graphic above. From the start we emphasized learning first and described our programs as cultural exchange and service learning. I’m sorry to say that despite good intentions we’ve often crossed the poverty tourism line. We’ve learned and made adjustments along the way, and now we’re working on structural changes that we hope will tip the balance for good.

Here are some things we’re thinking about as we reconfigure:

1. Who has the power and initiative?

It’s so easy to talk about empowering others without actually handing over power and initiative. It’s much more convenient to do all the planning ourselves and then get locals to help make our plans work. I won’t go into all the reasons why this type of thinking is foolish and harmful. As for ourselves, I think we have to restructure our program if we really want to change. Putting power and initiative in the hands of our local partners means we have to go to them in advance and submit significant parts of our program to their disposal. (Those words in italics are challenging; it’s tempting just to forget them.)

2. How do we value relationships when the faces are always changing?

We have a strong value for relationships, but we bring groups from Japan for just ten days at a time. Even our interns come for short stays. How can we say that we value relationships? Our answer has always been that I have long term relationships with our local partners. I wonder if we need to cultivate more long term relationships with both Cambodians and Japanese (e.g., actively seeking capable long term interns).

On another note, many of the group members want to have relationships with Cambodians despite only being here for nine days. That’s great, but it can lead in some unhealthy directions. Transferring power and initiative into local hands (#1 above) should help by giving the Japanese a clearer sense of their place as visitors and learners. We’re also working on stricter policies about how Japanese (and our staff) relate with Cambodians, especially with children and across genders. I’m postmodern; I hate rules! But experience is teaching me that we need to have these policies and communicate them clearly.

3. What are our goals in Cambodia and for the Japanese participants?

We want to encourage our Cambodian partners and their visions to make a difference in Cambodia, and we want to encourage Japanese to make a difference starting from Japan, where they can be most effective.

Here in Cambodia, in terms of structure, it means not attempting to work without without local partners who can take the lead. We have a long way to go, but we have relationships to be hopeful about.

We’ve always understood that most of our Japanese participants would better take their lessons from Cambodia and apply them in Japan. They might have a voice in how Japanese use their wealth and power in the world, and they might do something about the deep rooted forms of hidden poverty and injustice in Japan. I’m excited to think about what our past participants might do in Japan, especially acting together. But as a person who loves living cross-culturally, I haven’t really embraced this goal. I haven’t thought practically about how we can help the Japanese process their lessons and apply them in Japan, nor have I built this goal into the structure of our program yet.

Andrew Sullivan posted last week about How to Survive a Plague, a documentary about the AIDS epidemic in America. Then a follow-up post with reader comments caught my attention. They were reflecting on a terrible crisis that has largely passed in America. One person wrote about his daily dose of Complera: “One pill. Every morning. Forever. And I’ll be fine.”  I read that and typed the following response:

My friend died of AIDS on April 25 this year. Unlike your reader, he
wasn’t taking Complera but a combination of outdated drugs every
morning and evening.  The drugs themselves were attacking his organs
over time. He was only nine. He is survived by his older sister and
many friends who are also living with HIV.

The long term survival of all my young friends living with HIV is very
much in question today, because they are poor. A decade ago life
saving ARV’s were finally produced for the poor, and today they are
still taking the same drugs. There are only two levels of treatment
available for them. I hate to think what will happen when the kids on
second level treatment start failing, and the time will come. They are
dying because their medications are toxic and time limited. A new ARV
option would be a major gift for them.

Now that people in the developed world have Complera, will there be
another great campaign to provide similar treatment in generic form
for the poor?

I am attaching photos of my friend along with a picture he painted of
his mother shortly before he died. The picture depicts her caring for
him when he was sick with TB (and recovered) last year. He was finally
taken down by an infection that attacked his brain. His name was Jon
Sochea, but his friends called him Lankrome (which means “Bus”). He
was 10 years old.

I have permission from Lankrome’s mother to share his story and these pictures. I know lots of children living with HIV. One of them is Lankrome’s sister, who I have written about before. I want them to live. I don’t want their organs to start failing when they are still young. I want them to have better drugs soon. I want people to know they matter and move mountains again.

A friend who was there at the end wrote about Lankrome’s death here.

Lankrome taking his evening dose of ARV drugs in 2008

A painting by Lankrome of his mother caring for him when he was sick
with TB in 2011 (painted during a community art party in May, 2011)

UPDATE: I’m not an expert on ARV drugs. I just know that poor kids in Cambodia are getting drugs that are no longer used in developed countries because they fail over time and have detrimental side effects, including organ damage. More than a decade ago, pharmaceutical companies spent millions and played rough politics worldwide to resist the production of cheap, generic ARV’s for the poor. They self-righteously offered to discount ARV’s, hoping that public sentiment would lead government aid agencies to buy their drugs “on sale” with huge profit windfalls. Ironically, these companies poured money into electing George Bush, who refused to exert pressure to stop the “illegal” production and distribution of generic ARV drugs (mainly from India). Today the fight continues. The pharmaceutical industry in India has grown significantly in size and capability in the past decade, but their are ongoing efforts to constrain the industry to prevent a fresh round of generic ARV’s from getting out to the poor who desperately need them.

These are the guys who can help make your tuk-tuk as good as new again. See the black and white version below.

I’ve been busy lately doing things that I hope will have a positive impact here in Cambodia. I’m working on a video project that will educate people about alternative care strategies for orphans and vulnerable children beyond orphanages and children’s centers. There is a rising call in the developing world to move away from institutions toward family based care, and I want to help educate people about the options. I hope to have the video ready by the end of the summer.

I took this shot while I was out gathering scenes of life in Phnom Penh. For some time I have wanted to photograph Cambodians at work at all levels. Cambodia has been cast as a country of endless corruption and poverty, but my overall impression is one of hard work and honesty.

This recipe makes a very tasty pot of stewed lentils with pork and vegetables. It’s a huge amount in order to provide leftovers for days, so you might want to cut the recipe in half, especially if you don’t have a really big wok and/or stock pot.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup olive oil or vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2-3 carrots, diced
• 4-6 cloves garlic, minced
• The spices I used: a pinch of sage, a few shakes of thyme, even more shakes of parsley, more shakes of ground oregano, and 2 or 3 tablespoons of goram masala (I buy cheap spices at the grocery store in Paragon and all kinds of Indian spices at the India/Bangladesh grocer on Street 282 just 50 meters west of 63 in BKK)
• 1 (28 ounce) can of tomatoes (whole or crushed)
• 4-5 cups dry lentils (washed and soaked in advance) (I used one bag of the yellow split ones, for faster cooking, which I got at the India/Bangladesh grocer mentioned above)
• 6 cups chicken broth plus 2 cups water (I used a large can of Swansons from Lucky Market)
• 4 cups of mustard greens, rinsed and chopped (also from Lucky)
• 3 potatoes, cubed
•  1 package ground pork (320 grams, from Lucky)
• salt and pepper, to taste

1. Cut and prepare the vegetables in advance. Make sure you have a really big wok and/or a big stock pot. If not cut the recipe in half.)

2. Add olive oil and butter to a very large wok  (or large soup pot) on medium heat.

3. Add minced garlic and ground pork. Cook until pork is browned.

4. Add lentils and cook about 8 minutes while stirring constantly.

5. Add vegetables. Keep stirring  and cook a few more minutes (until the mixture is just starting to stick to the wok).

5. Pour in the can of chicken broth and the can of tomatoes. (Note: If you can only find whole tomatoes, cut them up in the can a bit…)

6. Add the spices and then salt and pepper to taste.

7.  Cover and simmer for at least 2 hours. Add 2 cups of water more or less as needed. (Note: I transferred the soup into a large stock pot at this point.)

8. Remove from heat and let it rest. Or eat it right away if it’s already 8:30 at night and you have starving kids who can’t wait any longer. I suggest serving it with fresh baguettes.

Or take out a loaf of bread and dust off the ants like we did.

The soup turned out very well. All five of us liked it very much. The soup had a lot of flavor thanks to the hearty combination of pork, lentils, chicken broth, and spices. I wanted to get spinach, but I think the mustard greens were perfect.

I would do this again without changing a thing.

Past the pond and brooding tree

cross the sand and clay muck

where oxen wander

boys hid

in brush caverns

gathered sticks

from a baked rice paddy

lashed bundled heaps and entered

water brown as skin

cool as coffee

after a long morning

floated under the brooding tree and sky

and Cambodian sun

]]> http://www.photosensibility.com/2012/04/07/under-the-brooding-tree/feed/ 1 http://www.photosensibility.com/2012/03/03/sebastiao-salgado-digita/ http://www.photosensibility.com/2012/03/03/sebastiao-salgado-digita/#comments Sat, 03 Mar 2012 09:31:48 +0000 Andy Gray http://www.photosensibility.com/?p=3523 I just found out that Sebastiao Salgado shoots digital.

Salgado captures life in photographs without succumbing to nihilism and expressionism. He is subjective, as any artist must be, but each of his subjects and places have an authentic breath and voice. They aren’t co-opted merely to serve an agenda, although his work has a strong point of view. I don’t want to compare myself with Salgado, but he encourages me to take photographs that communicate truth in life, and not to worry so much about being fashionable.

The fact that he has moved from film to digital, despite reservations, proves again that photography is not about equipment, and the best documentary photography doesn’t have to be done on a Leica (he currently uses a Canon and converts the best images to film negatives before printing).

I would love to sit down for coffee together and learn more about what he sees in pictures. We have lots of good coffee shops here in Phnom Penh…

Shadow Puppets: Last night behind the screen at Sovannna Phum

New shadow puppets in action for the first time at Sovanna Phum

I hardly took out my camera last month. I needed the break, and my other work takes priority. But a few days ago, I stopped by Sovanna Phum and learned they had a special event that evening–a ceremony and special performance to launch their new set of shadow puppets.  The event was attended by many of the regular artists plus people from the community, a couple of donors or their representatives, and others who straggled in like myself.

Eating in a quiet spot backstage

I’m interested in the families of performers. This boy’s father and mother are traditional arts performers. He is studying to become a drummer and his younger sister is studying dance.

During the next few weeks, I’m going to blog my way through a book, Walking With the Poor: Principles and Practices of Transformational Development, by Bryant Myers (1999).  I hope it will help answer some questions that I have about my own work here.

How can I walk alongside the poor in a way that lifts them up, rather than lifting up myself? How can I lead in a way that doesn’t seek control but respects the ability and freedom of the poor to make their own choices for change?  What can I do to support genuine, lasting transformation in individuals, communities, and society?

Who is this for?

In the Foreword, Paul Hiebert says Walking with the Poor is “a masterpiece of integration and application in thinking about Christian ministry.”

Christians have a mixed reputation in development. Frankly, so do non-Christians. Human beings helping others, despite our best intentions, have similar habits of playing god and under-appreciating the abilities of the poor to help themselves, even as we talk about mutual respect and empowerment.

The book is for people who want to follow Jesus alongside the poor. It’s an important book calling for much needed changes in understanding and practice. As for my blog, it’s for anyone who wants to listen and join the conversation.

Key ideas

Myers states some key ideas at the outset. I’ll list them here:

1. The Western worldview separates the world into material and spiritual sides of reality but struggles to see how the two meet and overlap. As Westerners, we tend to focus selectively on material OR spiritual reality, faith OR reason, secular OR sacred, etc.  When we want to get things done, we choose tools for either/or, but we struggle to operate in both at the same time.  Most non-Western people do not separate material and spiritual reality, but they perceive their lives in the overlapping space where both meet. They perceive unseen realities at work in the material world (such as luck, taboos, ghosts, spirits, gods , God, etc). In practice, Westerners speak of acting holistically, but it doesn’t come naturally to think that way.

2. Separating material and spiritual reality affects our definition of poverty. Westerners, and people who adopt a Western worldview, tend to define poverty and its solutions in material terms.  Jayakumar Christian, an Indian development practitioner who works with World Vision (and continually challenges that organization to its core), says “poverty is experienced most fundamentally by the poor as a marring of their identity and that this is caused both by the grind of being poor and also by being captive to the god-complexes of the non-poor. ” (Italics added.)

3. Myers says, “to the idea that playing god in the lives of the poor results in a marring of the identity of the poor, I add that it also mars the identity of the non-poor…The poor and the non-poor need God’s redemptive help to recover their true identity as children of God made in God’s image and their true vocation as productive stewards, given gifts by God to contribute to the well-being of all.”

I’m concerned about what the author calls “god-complexes,” a term that fits all to well. You would think Christians wouldn’t develop “god-complexes” (or perhaps you think the opposite). It suggests Christians have a concept of God that doesn’t really work in the “real world” (e.g., Since God apparently isn’t acting quickly or clearly enough in the people I want to change, I have to produce results myself). Are non-Christians and other religious or spiritual people prone to god-complexes, too? I think so.

I’m not reading this book to play with ideas but to consider what the author says critically and put what I learn into practice.  Welcome to the journey, and I’ll share more after I read Chapter One.