MADURAI, INDIA

100CAMERAS X LOCAL FOUNDATION IN MADURAI DISTRICT

100cameras X Russ Foundation is a part of a 8 class course that is custom designed by 100cameras to empower kids in a community they care about with the opportunity to learn how to process their stories and create change. Pictured here are 100cameras students during the course. — ***100cameras X Local Foundation in Madurai District*** *is a part of a 8 class course that is custom designed by 100cameras to empower youth in a community they care about with the opportunity to learn how to process their stories and create change.* ***Pictured here*** *are 100cameras students during the course.*

ABOUT THE PROGRAM

In 2012, 100cameras partnered with a local foundation that brings vital changes to the Madurai District in southern India through a children’s home, community health services, and AIDS prevention and care. Through the sales of our students' images, we supported the foundation’s work by helping to provide medicine for over 700 children in addition to access to mobile medical care for over 2,500 community members through the services provided by their Community Health and HIV Care and Support Programs.

India, an ancient culture with a beautifully rich heritage, is also home to one third of the world’s poor. In the Madurai District, it is extreme poverty and lack of employment opportunities that have led to an increase of women and children that have been entered into the sex industry. The foundation recognizes the correlation of major issues in their community such as poverty, access to health care, AIDS prevention, and education, and they work tirelessly to provide a holistic range of programs. Specifically, the children’s home offers refuge and care to many children that have been rescued from the sex industry or have lost parents to HIV. Believing wholeheartedly in empowering the future generation to lead the remedy, kids are given the opportunity to pursue higher education or vocational training.

As we can see through their photo narratives, our students find a great sense of stillness when interacting with nature and animals in their daily lives. During the storytelling portions of our curriculum, students tended to only focus on their past by narrowing in on what they had overcome as a guide to help them identify who they are now and where they want to go in the future. At such a young age and after surviving so much, they had already tapped into the power of finding inner peace in current circumstances and hope in moving forward.