EGYPT: Lebanese-American Sara Khazem starts photography workshop for street children and orphans in Cairo called "Capturing Neverland"

Record ID: 594088

  • Title: EGYPT: Lebanese-American Sara Khazem starts photography workshop for street children and orphans in Cairo called "Capturing Neverland"
  • Date: 24th March 2010
  • Summary: CAIRO, EGYPT (MARCH 20, 2010) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF HOMELESS CHILDREN RUMMAGING IN GARBAGE BINS AND GARBAGE CAIRO, EGYPT (MARCH 19, 2010) (REUTERS) HEAD OF 'CAPTURING NEVERLAND' PROJECT, SARAH KHAZEM, ON BOARDWALK IN CAIRO WITH STREET CHILDREN VARIOUS OF STREET CHILDREN ON BOARDWALK TAKING PICTURES VARIOUS OF KHAZEM AND CHILDREN WALKING DOWN CAIRO STREET AS CHILDREN TAKE PICTURES CHILD TAKING PICTURE KHAZEM AND CHILDREN WALKING DOWN CAIRO STREET AS CHILDREN TAKE PICTURES VARIOUS OF KHAZEM INSTRUCTING CHILDREN AS THEY TAKE PICTURES (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) FOUNDER OF 'CAPTURING NEVERLAND' PROJECT, SARAH KHAZEM, SAYING: "I'm trying to continue my work in Egypt, but there are some difficulties. For example the group I work with and became acquainted directly, not through charities, or whom I got permission from through their families, I think it is easier for me than to work with charities. I want to continue with the children of the group, and maybe other children also not through charities. Another country? For the time being I'm not thinking about that. In Egypt there certainly is some work that I would like to do. There are gifted children that need someone to follow up with them, but I know that nobody around me will follow up with them, so I feel obliged to help them because it was me who discovered their talents so it became an obligation." KHAZEM INSTRUCTING GIRL AS SHE TAKES PICTURE KHAZEM AND CHILDREN WALKING DOWN STREET AS THEY TAKE PICTURES CAIRO, EGYPT (MARCH 15, 2010) (REUTERS) WIDE OF CAIRO OPERA HOUSE PEOPLE LOOKING AT PHOTOS ON DISPLAY DURING 'CAPTURING NEVERLAND' EXHIBIT OPENING VARIOUS OF PICTURE ON EXHIBIT VARIOUS OF PEOPLE LOOKING AT PHOTOS ON DISPLAY (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) EDITOR OF ALEXANDRIA PHOTOGRAPHY NEWS AGENCY, TAREK FATHI, SAYING: "They have proven through the image, the colour, the composition, and the visual message that they have sent, that there is no doubt about their intelligence or their genius." VARIOUS OF PHOTOS ON DISPLAY MAN LOOKING AT BROCHURE FOR EXHIBIT CLOSE ON BROCHURE FOR 'CAPTURING NEVERLAND' EXHIBIT STREET CHILD TAKING PICTURE OF DISPLAY CLOSE ON DETAIL OF PHOTO OF DONKEY ON DISPLAY (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) STREET CHILD TAKING PART IN PROJECT, HAZEM MOSTAFA, SAYING: "She used to tell me, 'hold the camera like this', and 'put your hand on the button' like this, and shoot. She used to tell me, leave a space here and a space there, also a space above and a space below. I would shoot the way she said to, and then she would say I'm clever." PEOPLE LOOKING AT PHOTO EXHIBIT
  • Embargoed: 8th April 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Egypt
  • Country: Egypt
  • Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment / Showbiz
  • Reuters ID: LVADSEBDWCWUTKL6TCRPZEK0YXP2
  • Story Text: For the thousands of children fated to fend for themselves in Egypt's sprawling capital, the streets of Cairo can be an unforgiving place.
    While charities are able to help some of the untold numbers of street children, others have to survive on the refuse they salvage from garbage dumps.
    A small number of the children who have been taken off the streets are now being given a unique opportunity to express themselves.
    A young Lebanese-American photographer has started a project to teach street kids and orphans photography, and so far, the results have been startling.
    Twenty-four-year-old professional photographer Sara Khazem arrived in Egypt in December with a simple, yet ambitious dream: to give Egyptian street children and orphans some basic tools and a little guidance, and watch them develop into young artists.
    The result is "Capturing Neverland", an ongoing workshop for the children that takes as its inspiration Peter Pan's infamous land where children never grow old.
    Khazem found the children through the Hope Village Society and Ana El-Masry charities, and says that working with Egyptian civil society has been a challenge at times, but that focusing on the children has made the effort worthwhile.
    "I'm trying to continue my work in Egypt, but there are some difficulties. For example the group I work with and became acquainted directly, not through charities, or whom I got permission from through their families, I think it is easier for me than to work with charities. I want to continue with the children of the group, and maybe other children also not through charities. Another country? For the time being I'm not thinking about that. In Egypt there certainly is some work that I would like to do. There are gifted children that need someone to follow up with them, but I know that nobody around me will follow up with them, so I feel obliged to help them because it was me who discovered their talents so it became an obligation," she said.
    Khazem began by teaching the children the basics of photography in the classroom, using point and shoot cameras she bought after raising money mostly through private donors in the US, where she has lived since 2001.
    She says the kids soaked up lessons on composition and storytelling through photography, and that their skills grew in leaps and bounds with field trips to places like the Khan al-Khalili Bazar and the Pyramids.
    Many of the children's photos reflect the influence of their teacher, who specializes in portrait photography.
    The results of their work went on display last week at Cairo's Opera House, where "Capturing Neverland" was debuted to an audience that included many professional photographers.
    Photographer Tarek Fathi says he was taken aback by the children's work.
    "They have proven through the image, the colour, the composition, and the visual message that they have sent, that there is no doubt about their intelligence or their genius," he said.
    Cairo's street kids and orphans often come from abusive families, and face lives blighted by violence and abuse on the city's streets.
    Khazem hopes that her project will not only allow the children to express themselves and find some outlet for their experiences, but that some may even find a way out of their circumstances through photography.
    Hazem Mostafa recalls Sara's careful instructions, and encouragement.
    "She used to tell me, 'hold the camera like this', and 'put your hand on the button' like this, and shoot. She used to tell me, leave a space here and a space there, also a space above and a space below. I would film the way she said to, and then she would say I'm clever,' he says.
    Khazem has created a web site and Facebook group to promote "Capturing Neverland", in the hopes that she will gain enough backing to keep the project she started on a shoestring budget going.
    And if the reaction to the startling work in their first exhibit is any indication, she should have little trouble convincing others these kids have a future worth investing in.
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