Foto’s Blog: Foto “Max” returns to Jamaica!
Phodographer Barbara Gilbert at Barbaras Village, Jamaica, 2011
Barbara writes:
It was my 2nd journey to Jamaica as a DMW phodographer. Like last year the poor in the villages were very excited about the printing project. This year I did Dog Meets World at the site of my school on construction day, which has been a 3 year project in the works. Funding was completed a few weeks before my annual trip (my 8th) and Food For the Poor surprised me with the news when we arrived on the site that we were building my school this trip! Day 1, I met the children who were attending summer school (6 of them ages 2-6) and the picture taking began, but I did not have Max (Foto is called Max by the children in this project!) with me. We built the entire school that day! On Day 2 we returned to paint the school-yellow-the color of all my Jamaican projects.
On Day 2, I arrived with Max (Foto the dog) and the printer. We took individual school pictures of each student to print and take home. We took the class picture which the principal and teacher received copies of for the school office. The nicely dressed lady in the photo arrived at the school site and asked for me. She said she had been told we were taking pictures and she had never had her picture taken. She had dressed up for the event and was very excited. As she was walking to work, we only had time to snap the picture and I printed it up later, with the help of the kids to be given to her. The children and principal were fascinated with the printer and the kids enjoyed pushing the buttons. As the picture is printed in a series of colors the children called out the colors as it printed, thus it became a learning project. The children who attend this school all live in shacks with no electricity, bathroom or kitchen. It is an extremely poor community.