Sponsorship-United Electronic Company

A big thank you, to the United Electronic Company for sponsoring our campaign with a Canon Digital IXUS 12015 Camera. Without their support we would not have been able to complete this project. This camera will go to the child who wins the Sawerni project, and they will have the camera for their own use.

Sawerni Project Day 3

On Friday March 2nd, we spent about 4 hours down at the camp working on project with the kids. The project consisted of making frames around pictures. Each child chose a picture that was taken by us at the camp, and they were asked to make frames using glue and macaroni. They enjoyed it a lot and they found it fun. 

The Sawerni Project-Day 2

The second session for the Sawerni project took place on the 4th of January, we spent about 4 hours working with the kids on making a collage of pictures that they chose from magazines, and they cut and pasted pictures that they had found interesting to their own lives to the piece of cardboard paper they were provided. Later the kids took us around the camp to do a photography session with taking photos around their own camp. They took me to many areas, and including one beautiful hill where you can see the entire camp from. They even taught me how to play a game called "Ran" which was awesome! We also gave the kids a brief presentation on the history of photography, where it came from, and how it developed over the years. I'm excited for the next visit.

The Sawerni Project-Day 1

Day One At The Camp

It was my first time visiting the Gaza refugee camp, and it was a great experience. I met some of the kids who would be participating in my project, and getting to know them was great. At first they were mostly shy. They were keeping to themselves and saying one or two words. However towards the end of our meeting with them, they became more comfortable with us and they began to speak out a bit about their views and beliefs. Some were more religious than others, one kid told me that going to the dead sea was "haram." The girls were shy as well and they did not want to be photographed (that is why they are not present in the picture). Part of the first day activity was giving the kids a photograph and asking their reaction to it and seeing how they feel about it. I was astonished at some of the kids reactions to seeing how deep they were. One of the young men told me that he would love to be one of the men in the picture because he would love to die in his country's honor (the picture was of palestinian freedom fighters waving their flags infront of an Israeli tank). I was very pleased with how they viewed things and especially listening to their responses on the different types of images. My next trip down will be next week and there will be a different activity for the kids to participate in and the post will be up sometime next week! Support and spread the word!

A picture is worth a thousand words. What does your picture say? 

This is the Sawerni Project. 

"Sawerni" is about looking at photos from a different perspective. As part of my senior project at ACS, I will be conducting a 4-month project that aims to bring together approximately 20 children between the ages of 10-15 living in the Gaza Refugee Camp (in Jerash, Jordan) to work on skills development, photography lessons and field trips around Jordan to utilize the skills taught on a wider scale. The chosen kids will be those whom will be selected after filling out an application and succeeded in the interview process. Sawerni is about looking through the eyes of these 20 children. 

Sawerni will aim to explore and deconstruct the "creative" element found in the lives of these 20 individuals. Through multiple sessions, the children will be given disposable cameras of their own to take pictures that would represent their lives. Within a particular period, the kids will be expected to put together "scrapbooks" that would illustrate their lives through the images they capture. The winner will receive an SLR camera for his or her own use. Sawerni isn't just about taking pictures, but it's also about giving opportunities to kids that would otherwise not have the opportunity to explore and utilize their creative skills that they may not be aware of. Sawerni looks beyond poverty and aims to dissect the simplicity of art through multiple dimensions. To help make this project a success get in contact with us or simply make a donation. All funds collected will help fund the workshops, trips, cameras and prizes given to the kids. 

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