Projects

Project Zambia

Our current project is taking place in the province of Monze, Zambia, a southern region of the African continent. Currently, within this area, education is unavailable to the over 60+ children who are deaf or hard of hearing. Parents or guardians have no resources to give these children the proper education, health and adequate living conditions required to ensure their survival. At the same time, many of these children live in small villages kilometers from Monze without any means of transportation to reach school. Our focus for this region will be not only to build an educational institution in which to instruct and house these children, but to also create self-sustaining projects necessary to keep the school operating once it has been constructed.

Our challenge

We need your help to make this project a reality! At this moment we are in the process of raising funds for the current school year of Project Zambia. What little schooling is provided for the deaf in Zambia, is not enough to accommodate all deaf children in the country and to date there are no school that caters for Monze and the surrounding areas. Our budget for the school term includes expenses such as transportation, accommodations, food, instructional supplies and building resources. It is our hope to raise funds in order to provide not only instruction, but an actual space in which educating can take place.

Directed by Rochester based photographer Rigel Klingman, ZA!PP (Zambian Action Photography Program) aims to give deaf Zambian children the ability to not only document how they see their world, but provides them with the basic tools afforded any good artist, the ability to express how they feel about what goes on around them. Our utmost hope is that in giving children the ability to express not only themselves but their environment, that they become able to makes themselves be heard in a language that needs no translating, that of the powerful image. On a broader level, we are also giving children the ability to balance Africa’s image to the world, aside from constant reports of Aids epidemics, civil wars and dire poverty; to show a country and continent vibrant and alive with colors, sights, and cultural definition.

We will update you once we are in Africa about the program's progress as well as images that the children create.

Help us make this undertaking come true. Click the "Donate" button below and begin the process of providing schooling for children who so desperately need your help. Donation amounts can take place in any size! Donate $20, $50, $100 so that we can make our school year budget a reality. Or have the distinction of a being a primary contributor by completely providing for a specific aspect of our budget. You can focus on any one of the following: