Say Cheese

Today I have a special request for those of you out there who have a spare digital camera tucked in the back corner of your junk drawer. (Remember when all the cameras on the market were 3.2 megapixels? Sure, you can’t enlarge the shots to create a flawless photo mural, but they still make very decent prints.)

The school year is coming to a close in Cape Verde, and the children are all about to be released for nearly 3 months to pursue their daily whims. Unfortunately, in our sleepy little town, daily whims are severely limited. The kids will continue handling their chores, watching bad Brazilian tv during the electricity hours, and improvising games with the neighbors. Life will be the same as always except that there will be an extra 5 hours to fill. A good amount of that time will likely be spent staring off into space or thinking up ways to get into trouble… including drinking and early sexual activity.

This is where you come in. The Peace Corps encourages Volunteers to initiate community programs, in addition to their regular work duties, that coincide with their own interests and hobbies. I’ve got it in my head that I would like to organize a photography club for 4th to 8th graders.

The club would teach the basics of camera usage and some photography elements. Since most of the kids here have never held a camera in their hands, I anticipate them being pretty excited at the opportunity to practice with technology. In addition, and more importantly, I plan to use the club as a means to develop community appreciation and cultural pride. Child development studies show that instilling cultural pride and a sense of belonging in at-risk kids is often the first step towards making positive life decision.

I envision the photography club kids taking pictures of family members that are important to them and writing letters of thanks. I’m hoping that we can walk through our protected natural areas and learn through the camera lens about the importance of biodiversity. I’d like for us to capture images of artisans and the work that they do to preserve Cape Verdean traditions.

Our club meetings will culminate in a community art show with a display of the photographs and a chance for grown-ups to express praise and pride in the children.

My goal is to arrange 5 or more digital cameras (with memory cards) so that the kids can take pictures in teams of 4. I would be delighted if any of you could help me in this effort. If you’d be willing to donate a camera, please contact me at melissabenton@hotmail.com as quickly as possible since cross-Atlantic mail services is pretty stinking slow.


What else is new?
On Sunday, we hosted the much anticipated Women’s Day activity. It was 2 months off from the actual national holiday, but better late than never, right? There were some setbacks: our domestic violence and women’s health presenters bailed. But there were also victories. Never before has there been any recognition of Women’s Day in our community, and ladies have already begun talking about making the activities an annual occurrence. The greatest point of celebration was the example of 6 men who worked very hard to cook for the 100 or so women who were in attendance. The guys even put on flowered aprons for the task- a real statement in a rather machismo society. Preparations and the day of the event were exhausting and a true trial of patience and flexibility. In the end, however, I think that the day counted as a success. If for no other reason than the lasting statement of men supporting their women.

Scott was one of the heroic cooks. He’s also been very busy lately working in partnership with another Ministry of Agriculture employee to train forestry guards in tree identification and record-keeping of plant lifecycles. It’s a challenging tasks since most of the guards are unable to read. He’s also planning a “Planet Earth” film showing this weekend. (He’s the BBC’s best commercial for that series. He’s probably already forced you to borrow it from us ; ) He’ll be taking advantage of the gathering to present on the health benefits of the moringa tree and distribute seedlings.

All good things and reasons to say ‘cheese.’