I wanted my photo essay to be a source of inspiration to people living in circumstances of poverty, so that they may see the potential that they have within them to take action. I focused my story on two groups of people who using very different skills try to make a living for themselves and their families.
I wanted my photo essay to be a source of inspiration to people living in circumstances of poverty, so that they may see the potential that they have within them to take action. I focused my story on two groups of people who using very different skills try to make a living for themselves and their families.
The first group are known in their neighbourhood of Fingo Village in Grahamstown as the “Bush Mechanics”, because they can fix almost any car. Eugene Charles Mop, Mbuyiseli Yani and Likhaya Sinxo explained to me how they repair cars in order to keep themselves out of trouble and make some money to support their families.
They tried to find jobs in town with some of the local garages but were told that there were no vacancies. They had to decide whether to wallow in the horrid situation in which they found themselves or they could take what skills they have and put them to a better use.
In their case they decided to put their mechanic skills to use and start their own business on the side of the road outside their house.
Although they do get quite a few customers, they do experience problems of people not paying.
In the second group of people that I focus on, strong women have decided that they cannot sit idly while their families suffer but that they need to use what skills they have to earn a living. These women are Nothemba Makanana, Mama Nothembele Sunday and Nowethu January, who sell their beadwork next to
the Rhodes University Drostdy Arch.
I believe that if we are able to make visible the human condition of issues like poverty and allow people to see a subject that they encounter daily in their lives in a different light. That perhaps we can begin to see the potential in poverty situations instead of just focusing on the negative.
I am not advocating a rose-tinted view of poverty that neglects to show the plight of people in need, but we should also take the time to show that everyone has within them an irreducible part of humanity that is inherent and that potential can grow from there.
