Meet the children: P. Annam

Like all the children at the Illam P. Annam was always smiling.  She is 13 years old, loves cricket and  plans on studying for a degree in business studies.

She was one of the most prolific photographers, with a knack of capturing wonderful moments in the lives of the girls.

Meet the Children - Suruthi

A talented artist and dancer, 12 year old Suruthi was a natural with a camera in her hands.  "Leading lines, Aunty" she explained when showing me this image.  She quickly became aware of changing light and would arrange subjects in her photos.

I was surprised to learn that photography is regarded as a male occupation in India.  Wedding photography in particular is a very big industry, which is understandable given how many took place during my visit alone.  With no female photographers at all in the local region (they told me this was the same across all of India) I hope some of the girls might now at least consider this as a possible career.

Although Suruthi's ambition is to be a doctor she could easily use her talents in the arts. However, sadly it seems that artistic careers aren't a desirable choice, and children aim to be doctors, engineers or "work for the government". 

Where to from here?

It is hard to believe that nearly a week has passed since I left the illam.  Already I miss the clear blue skies and the amazing sunrises and sunsets.  It sure beats the grey fogginess of London in December, and I defy anyone not to miss the laughter and the energy of the children.  This is the view that gazes across the landscape between my little abode and where the girls live.  Some mornings the field would be filled with goats, sometimes not, but it was always a magical view.

The next step in the story of the children of the illam will happen in London. I plan bring some of the magic, the images, and the stories of the children, many that they created themselves, to be seen here first.  Images and introductions will appear on the blog throughout the Christmas period.  An exhibition is planned for January. Stay posted for updates.

The Exhibition

Last night we held an exhibition of the children's photographs at the DHAN Foundation headquarters in Madurai.  We even had a number of International guests attend the opening.

Something special for our photographers to put on their CV's.

Learning Camera Skills

We’re off to a flying start with learning camera skills and being creative.  With the assistance of Mr Veera from the DHAN media team, as translator we had our first workshop on composition. 

 Everyone turned up for the event. If only I had 40 cameras instead of eight!  Working collaboratively is very powerful, the limitations of equipment may prove to be a blessing in disguise.  Necessity being the mother of invention and all that.

Perhaps not surprisingly the cameras do not include Tamil in the dozens of languages on their systems.  The plus side is that they are increasing their English vocabulary as a result. I am not increasing my Tamil word count at anywhere near the same rate.

Sunday is the children’s free day so last Sunday we spent a good part of the day experimenting with the cameras. It was such a joy to watch them in action.

A Voyage to India

In a the small village of Nilakottai about an hours drive from Madurai in the Tamil Nadu region of India a little bit of magic takes place each day, changing the lives of disadvantaged children by giving them the chance to turn impossible dreams into reality.

It all started 25 years ago when Jean Watson a New Zealand (NZ) writer came to India on a holiday, and in spirit never left.  A chance meeting resulted in Jean selling her home in NZ to establish a children’s home in Tamil Nadu, South India.

The Karunai Illam Trust (KIT) a New Zealand charitable trust was set up in 1991 to help Jean fund the day to day running of the Illam. Karunai means grace and Illam means home.  It is a place that provides the children with a loving and stable home environment ensuring they are well fed and clothed.  They are given everything they need to attend the local schools for an education denied them before coming to the Illam, due to poverty, dysfunctional family or losing one or both parents.  At the Illam the children also receive tutoring over and above their school day, in academic subjects, sports, arts and culture.   Jean spent the rest of her life dividing her time between NZ and the Illam until her death in 2014 from a short illness.

In 2007 a partnership with the Development for Humane Action (DHAN) was established guaranteeing the future of the home and renamed to DHAN Karunai Illam (DKI).  Since then a nursery and primary school for local children has been set up offering places for around 250 children.  In addition DKI has established a vocational training school called ‘LIFE’ offering skill training in trades such as mobile phone repairing, computer training, beautician and tailoring, giving them a greater opportunity to earn a living.

How did I come to be here?  My journey is a more recent one, which began with a chance meeting with one of the NZ trustees of the Karunai Illam on a visit  “down under” in 2014.  I couldn’t help but be moved by the achievements of the charity, so when earlier this year they asked me if I could help them with their new project of course my answer was “yes”. 

At present the Illam provides a home for 36 girls and 8 boys, simply because that is what the current buildings can accommodate. The plan is to have an equal number of boys and girls.  In order to achieve this a new dormitory building for the boys is required.

I am a photographer so they asked if I could engage with the Illam and take photographs that could then be used to help raise funds for the new building - around INR 7,500,000 (GBP £90,000) is needed.

My aim is to develop a collaborative project of life at the Illam that enables the children’s voice to be heard with them telling their own stories using photography. So now with a handful of cameras kindly loaned by Photovoice, and buckets of enthusiasm, I am here guiding the children to learn camera skills and trying my best to remember everyone’s name.