Cihannuma

My Photo scholarship 2010 entry

Worldwide | Sunday, October 17, 2010 | flickr photos

Besides capturing and thus conserving the images of the subjects of my photographs, I also want to take the challenge to contribute to the conservation of the subjects themselves. I see photography as a strong medium to create awareness about the value of biological and cultural diversity we have on this planet, undergoing inevitable change.

For many of the diverse cultures around the world, change is dictated from outside. "How do we let the world know about our concerns? How do we inform them that we are being marginalized and that our opinions are ignored?" asked me an elder of the Samburu community that hosted me for several weeks.

I want to win this scholarship to find answers to these questions for myself. With your guidance, I want to learn how I can use photography to bring attention to issues that I see as important to preserving or representing bio-cultural diversity. I care about this and I want to inspire others to care too.

I want to continue with a trip that I arranged for next year. Taking advantage of my training in anthropology, which I just finished in the UK, I will visit several indigenous communities in Southeast Asia. I aim to find ways to give something back to communities that offer me the privilege to photograph them; to tell their story as close to how they tell it to me. Eventually, I wish to come to a level where I am capable of inspiring and mentoring other people, especially those in indigenous communities.

With my submitted photographs, I attempt to tell a story of a Samburu community in a group ranch in northern Kenya. I look at the way they adapt their lifestyle to change while also adapting change to their lifestyle.

Jason, if you see the potential in me, teach me. I will work hard to make sure I deserve it.