PICTURING HOPE "Through their eyes" held at Asia Society

Ajay Ghosh

There are 40 Million people living with HIV/AIDS. Every 60 seconds, a child under the age of 15 dies from an AIDS related illness. Last year, 3.1 million people died from this disease - over half a million of them were children. India is facing potentially the largest number of children orphaned by AIDS. According to United Nations estimates, the number of children in India who are orphaned by AIDS is said to be approaching two million.  The voices of children whose lives have been affected and changed for ever by HIV/AIDS need to be heard to ensure their needs are considered in the global fight against HIV/AIDS. While these numbers are overwhelming, it doesn't mean that nothing can be done about them.

This year, as part of World AIDS Day, the Asia Society hosted an exhibition of photographs taken by children from India who have been affected by HIV/AIDS from November 29 to December 1^st, 2005  The exhibit, "Through Their Eyes," featured photographs from the Picturing Hope program, which is dedicated to providing a voice for children impacted by HIV/AIDS. The exhibit, which adorned the walls of the Asia Society’s galleries, highlighted the growing crisis of children affected by HIV/AIDS in India and around the world

The photographs on view in this exhibit are a collection of works by children in the PICTURING HOPE program in India.  PICTURING HOPE is dedicated to providing children impacted by HIV/AIDS (aged 8-18) the supportive environments and resources they need to explore their feelings and strengthen their sense of self.  The program’s key learning tool is photography.  Using cameras that have been donated to the program, the children are able to capture images of their surrounding communities and create their own visual narratives. India now has the second largest number of HIV infections in the world, following South Africa, and accounts for almost 13% of the global prevalence of HIV (UNAIDS). 

PICTURING HOPE programs in five countries across the globe provide children the voice with which to share their stories.  These photographs are a testament to children’s resilience in the face of the overwhelming challenges and dreadful impact of this growing pandemic.The exhibition opened with a special event on Nov. 29 during which a delegation of three children from India who were part of the Picturing Hope program in India, were welcomed and were given an opportunity to share their experiences.

During an interview with this writer, Craig  Bender shared on how an assignment brought him to the east African nation of Tanzania.  “While documenting the lives of children impacted by that country’s HIV/AIDS pandemic, I was able to witness first-hand the devastating effects of the disease, as well as the strength and hope of the Tanzanian children as they confronted it.  It changed my life and I was determined to help them with my skills.” Thus this noble, “Picturing Hope” was created. After 18 years as an international photographer, working in over 50 countries on five continents, the works of Craig Bender, the man behind the project, have brought him full circle, helping some of the world’s most vulnerable children to make the same discovery he did and to find the strength and the means to tell their stories.

While sharing with the audience, P. Meroz, 14, a student and a child mentor with Vasavya Mahila Mandali (VMM), said, he is involved with many different activities at VMM including special events where he interprets for volunteers and guests.  He said, he enjoys teaching and sharing his skills with other children at VMM.  He also loves photography, which he is learning about through participation in Picturing Hope.  “My dream is to educate the street children affected by AIDS to teach them certain skill so that they can stand on their own.  I will conduct as many as children camps in slum areas like Kandrika and Rajeev Nagar.  I want them to make a living.  There are some children doing mechanic work.  So I will help them learn some more skills.  I want to abolish child labour,” Meroz said.

 Pothala Venkata Ramu, 19, from Andhra Pradesh, shared with the audience, how his contacting the sexually transmitted infection while working as an assistant in a truck firm in Vijayawada changed his life for ever. Unable to continue with his work, Ramu said, he received medical support through Vasavya Mahila Mandali (VMM).  In June 2004, he joined VMM as a peer educator.  Today, he continues with his work in community outreach, promoting sexual health among street kids in Vijayawada. Pothala has been trained as a photographer through VMM’s involvement with the Picturing Hope program.  He hopes to become a good photographer and use his skills to teach children.

K. Revathi, 16, another youth, who was part of the Indian delegation, spoke of the social taboos and other hardships she had to undergo when her mother, father and brother were diagnosed with this deadly illness. “It hurts me when my brother is not well and sometimes gets opportunist infections due to HIV and I can see his suffering.  Sometimes when I am in happy mood and if I remember the suffering of my brother I go into negative moods…  I wish to become a doctor to give life to many and serve many people in need.  So to fulfill my wish from now onwards I started studying hard and I am determined to achieve my goal,” she said.

Reeta Roy, Divisional Vice President, Global Citizenship and Policy, Abbott, in her remarks said, the Abbott Fund's Step Forward program provides care and support for orphans and vulnerable children affected by HIV/AIDS in developing countries.  In 2001, Step Forward began working with the India HIV/AIDS Alliance to help provide services to children affected by HIV/AIDS in India.  To date, Step Forward has committed more than $4.6 million to programs in India.

Ann Veneman, executive director of UNICEF, after viewing the exhibition, told the audience, how young children’s ways of expressing the problems can lead to action by the larger society that can transform the society. While stating that the need to address this growing problem is great, she lauded the efforts of several grass root level organizations. She said, the problem is much larger than many countries are willing to admit, she said. “The Millennium Goals of the United Nations can be achieved by each nation only if the growing AIDS epidemic is arrested and contained,” she said.

For instance, by 2005, India may have more people infected with HIV than any other country in the world. Current estimates of the number of individuals infected range from four million to eight million, expected to rise to 15 million in the coming decade. HIV/AIDS greatly impacts the social fabric of Indian society, especially through the escalating AIDS related crises such as the unprecedented number of orphans being left with little or no adult protection and care. The number of children in India orphaned by AIDS is approaching two million, according to UN estimates.

In her opening remarks, Vishkha Desai, President of Asia Society, described the current event as part of the larger program that the Asia Society is organizing while seeking to focus on AIDS. The main obejective of the event, she said, was to engage the larger society in acknowledging and helping contain the problem that is threatening a large section of population in several countries. The HIV/AIDS pandemic’s evolution in sub-Saharan Africa is likely to be repeated in India, she said. Numbers and projections in these African countries are being widely used as a guide to the progression of the pandemic in India. As a result of current numbers of people living with HIV/AIDS at the present sero-prevalence rate, India is expected to become the next epicenter of the AIDS orphaning crisis, raising concerns about preparedness for a scenario as dire as in sub- Saharan Africa.

The social costs of the AIDS pandemic are long-term and affect children disproportionately. Interventions must respond to the need for large-scale and long-term efforts that address both the direct and indirect impact on orphaned children. Efforts by Asia Society, UNICEF, Abbott, and Picturing Hope, are a way to address this larger issue in  a significant way with a view to bring about changes in the perception and action to contain the epidemic and give hope to those millions who are victims of it.

|