Each morning I wake up and head to my fairly well stocked
closet, I have the option of having breakfast at home or eating once I get to campus
and not once have I questioned my routine but very often I have taken it for
granted. For a recent photo journalism assignment I documented a day in the
life of a homeless couple and it was only once I experience their struggle, or
as they call it “their daily life” did I really learn to appreciate my daily
life.
Have a look at my work…
Homelessness, a
condition in which someone is unable to maintain a regular, secure dwelling,
Homelessness is a
social issue affecting everyone, whether it be directly, through an uncle who
lost his job and later everything he owned or indirectly, through that child
begging at the robots or a woman asking you for money for the shelter while you
are shopping in the city CBD. So often we become irritated by the pools of
faces of those begging, who seem to irritate us, as we go about our busy days.
Often to those begging, we, are the privileged, we are the women who, in
winter, walk around with coats to keep us warm, we are the men snacking on
McDonalds which will fill that gap before we get home to a warm, home cooked
meal, but to us, who are they, they are but the people who will forever remain
nameless.
Each Sunday night
after my family has had their Sunday dinner there would be the familiar knock,
knock, knock at our front door and once opening there would be the same voice
asking the expected question of “Hello Ma, het Ma nie asseblief iets om tee eet
nie?” and each Sunday we would give food to the same man and the same woman,
but to us they were just faces. However, one Sunday this routine changed, as
instead of the man ending with a “Dankie Ma” and walking away, he said instead
“Ma, I am Lenard and this is my wife Charmaine” and suddenly they no longer
remained nameless but they became people with a story and with a struggle. It
was at this point that I realised what my photo essay’s social issue would be,
and that was homelessness.
Up until this point of
introductions by Lenard and Charmaine, they had been faces to us, people who we
give extra food to but now that we could place a name to a face, they seemed to
become more real. At this point it occurred to me that if I never knew their
names I would never have cared about their story and I felt that this seemed to
be the general attitude held by society, this indifferent attitude towards
those less fortunate, an attitude which suggested that as long as it was not
affecting us, it was okay. I then decided to follow the couple around and
document their daily life, as my photo journalism assignment, as it is only
once I have walked in their footsteps and experienced their life that I am able
to understand their struggle and their circumstance.
With this photo essay
I aimed to gain a better understanding of those who live under different
circumstances than my own. After doing my photo essay I have learned a lot, I
have learned to be less judgemental towards others as I do not know or
understand their circumstance, I have learned to be more tolerant of the
homeless and respect their trade. I have learned a lot during my photo essay
but there are two life lessons that stood out for me, firstly, to respect all
people and their means of making money, whether it be scratching in bust bins
or working as a doctor, it is not stealing but an honest income, and secondly
and most importantly I have learned to appreciate what I have, even when I am
on a tight student budget sometimes I still have enough, as there is always
someone who is worse off than you.
Here is the YouTube link:
Hope you enjoyed that but on a lighter note, stay styled!
No comments:
Post a Comment