Leaving Something Behind in Kenya: Gary Marshall

My goals when leading a trip of a dozen adults and teens to Kenya in 2009 were threefold. I was charged with producing portraits of 70+ children at a home for orphaned and abandoned children, 1/3 of which are infected with HIV. I also desired to share with members of my church, a ministry that I supported and deeply cared about. Finally I wanted to fulfill my goal of getting my children exposed to the third world before they got out of my house and off to college. I didn’t anticipate how much I would take for granted my ability to capture and easily share digital images of this trip and these children in my world, and how hard it would be to share them with the children that were the subjects of them.

This is why I am so excited about the Prints For Prints project. After each photo I would shoot of a beaming child in my make-shift outdoor studio, made up of a bush backdrop and windbreaker sun shield on the equatorial grounds of Christian Ministries in Africa (CMIA) in Langata Kenya, I would have dozens of children jockey for position between me and my camera back to gaze at the 2” LCD screen of my Pentax K10-d. They were desperate to catch a fleeting glimpse of a friend captured on that tiny screen before the next child could be coaxed into a cheerful pose for the next portrait.

How much more powerful would it have been to have the ability to print out a set of these portraits for the children to attach to the walls of their communal rooms? I know it would have a transforming impact on the self-image of these children.

At this Langata compound, there are several photos that donors have sent to the children they support, but none that would be characterized as a portrait. In contrast, at the CMIA sponsored schools in the Nairobi slums of Kibera and Ruben, the children have most likely never seen a printed picture of themselves or their friends. At these locations, having the ability to leave a lasting memory would be even more powerful.

Since my trip in 2009, technology has changed. I have changed. I look forward to being able to go back to these locations someday in the near future. Next time I plan on having a printer in tow as well as my camera gear. Prints For Prints has inspired me to add another goal to my list. To leave something tangible behind.

Gary Marshall, Bellevue, Washington, USA