For this
assignment I have chosen in support of a local charity that makes a bit
difference in not just in Nepal, where they have built and run a children’s
school that changes the lives of lower caste Hindu children, but also help the
homeless here in Lincoln.
The charity Lincs2Nepal, is a local charity
that focuses on the health, education & development of children in Nepal.
They have built and now run the Jeevan Jyoti school in Kohalpur.
It is a new school, growing in numbers every year. There are currently
over 200 pupils, half of whom are on scholarships through Lincs2nepal. Through their work they provide safe,
clean drinking water to families in remote villages throughout Nepal, who, without
this help, have no other option than to drink contaminated water, contributing
to the death each year of over 44,000 children under the age of 5. They also provide toilets, safe
drinking water and washing facilities in the slum areas.
Closer to home, Lincs2Nepal raise money
through Café Shanti, a vegan and vegetarian meeting place in the centre of
Lincoln which is where I first became aware of the charity. For this
assignment I was asked if I would like to take photo’s for an event called ‘You
Are Not Alone’, an event held on New Years Day, giving the homeless a hot meal,
a rucksack, and a sleeping bag. In fact, the donations were so great that they
were able to offer coats, jumpers, trousers, underwear, scarves, hats and even
perfume and toiletries. I went along to
try to capture the event, which was pretty tricky given that the café is a
relatively small space. There was a room upstairs where all the donations of
clothes had been arranged in a shop style area, where the evenings visitors,
who never get the chance to actually ‘shop’ for what they need, were able to
browse the rails and boxes for whatever they needed. I took photographs in this
area but wasn’t really happy with the content so none of these were included,
they didn’t add anything to the set. The photographs that I took have been
uploaded to the charity’s face-book page, and will be added to the website.
This image was taken early on in
the evening and was probably the first visitor to the café. His name was John
and he has been homeless for over 20 years. He had a cut over his left eye but
couldn’t remember how it had happened.
John was eager to talk to the
volunteers who were there to offer a friendly face, and after the hot meal,
encourage the selection of donated clothes and goods. This photo possibly demonstrates
the enjoyment of talking, of sharing a story.
This image shows Tracey, one of the founders of
Lincs2Nepal, busy in the kitchen preparing food. I wanted to get some images of
what was going on in the background of the event, which wasn’t easy with a 50mm
f/1.2 on a cropped sensor, but the quality of the images was worth the
restriction as the light levels were also low, I also used a speed light to
bounce light off the ceiling.
Here the visitor friends, who all
knew each other, enjoy a hot meal together, with Tracey looking on to the right
edge of the image
I found it quite hard to decide
whether to produce these images in colour or black and white as the café is so
colourful with its many items from Nepal. I much prefer black and white for the
images of the visitors, it lends a tone and texture that is lost in colour.
This image may well have looked better in colour, but kept with the theme to
aid consistency.
This lady, called Joan,
seemed to know everyone that came through the door, in fact they all seemed to
know each other, it was as if another community came to visit. What I like
about this image is the focus point, the touching of hands, the connection with
another person, which is what the evening was about ‘You Are Not Alone’. This
lady kept trying to give her last change to any of the volunteers, when
explained that everything had been donated and she was to put her money away,
she was moved to tears.
This young man, Danny, told me of
how difficult it was living on the streets with the nights getting colder, he
had been using a piece of cardboard to fold over himself. He was happy to
receive a sleeping bag and a warmer coat. He was quite a character, he chose
his new items with the view of ‘looking nice’ rather than for warmth, which was
a surprise to me but makes sense when, after talking with Danny and his friends
that they are no different than non-homeless people, in that they have lives
and relationships.
Danny wearing his new hat and
with his friend ‘Chunky’ who had been homeless for 10 years but was in the
process of being accepted for sheltered housing.
This image, when viewed next to the following image, actually strike a chord with me, these are women, who happen to be very good friends, clearly caring about each other. The first image seen above is of two women who sleep on the street, the closeness of this image is touching, and expresses the existence of community that these images set out to convey.
Tracey and volunteer Val, who can often be seen in the
café waiting on tables. This image, like the one previous, shows an affection
between women, between good friends, so similar in context but with such
different lives.
Insert photo of homeless in lincoln
I wanted to end the set with a
picture of a homeless person out on the street, hopefully ones that visited the
‘You Are Not Alone’ event and, following the generous donations from the people
of Lincoln, that they don’t feel quite as alone, and certainly warmer. I for
one will be looking out for Danny in his woolley hat and brightly coloured
sleeping bag and won’t feel so afraid to approach to offer a hot drink.
