First Post
Whilst, sitting in my comfy abode in Zurich, Switzerland,
as I was going through the devastating images of carnage and destruction in Japan-the sheer scale of which was incomparable, a niggling thought occurred to me.
What happened to all those people who were affected by natural disasters the year before?
The media scrutiny had moved on. Their local government's focus had moved on. As luck would have it, most areas were also poverty-stricken in the third-world countries where corruption was rife. NGOs had their hands full with the unrelenting global disasters that showed no signs of subsiding. Who was helping the people who were left behind even after no one was interested in helping them anymore? Had it turned into a silent tragedy, where no one heard their sighs anymore? Most of the people had already generously spared whatever they could to help out of their hard-earned money. So who would help them now?! Didn't they still need help? What had been done? More importantly, what could still be done?! A lot of questions raised in my mind, were there any tangible answers?
I had to see for myself!
Places that immediately came to my mind were Pakistan (1/5th of the country was submerged), Haiti and Peru. Peru was not even covered properly by the media. I happened to know the scale of misery through a friend who had his farm there.
The list, however, is not comprehensive by any means and I am open to adding other places resources permitting.
I began contacting friends and presented the following idea;
I would visit the natural-disasters-affected-areas. Utilise my photographic skills to document the rehabilitation process, capture life and people. Focus on the resilience of human spirit to bounce back to life.
Highlight the efforts of generous souls involved in helping the rehabilitation process when everyone else has moved on.
Raise awareness through exhibitions around the world. All profits of any revenue generated through the sales of my prints and exhibitions would be allocated to those communities in need.
Welcome anyone who wants to join hands to accomplish this daunting task.
Some of my friends came forward with generous offers to help in whatever capacity they could on the ground and afterward when I had some material in my hand. Full of encouragement and hope to bring whatever positivity I could to those areas, I commenced "The Human Resilience Project". What kind of help?! That remained to be seen.
The journey of a thousand steps thus began.
More to follow!
www.beakayani.co.uk
https://www.facebook.com/bea.kayani#!/pages/Bea-Kayani-Art-Photography/137557889644774
http://twitter.com/#!/BeaKayani
Please "Follow" the blog and "subscribe" to stay updated. Join hands to make a difference!
I am interested in sharing ideas so feel free to write to me.
