Bridge 4: Imbalanced Democracy

My chosen theme for this project was amplify. I decided to focus on the broad topic of poverty. More specifically, I wanted to focus more on the poverty towards the children in Zimbabwe, and how they dealt with this during over the years. If it was extremely obvious that poverty was getting worse, why did everyone turn away from it? Why did no one help these children? I believe that most, if not all of this has been caused by the government group, ZanuPF. A country with so much potential to be great is only regressing; and this started in the 80s. It is now 2018. Poverty in Zimbabwe is an issue that is only getting worse. More importantly, children are being hit the hardest. I created a piece to speak for these children, and to raise awareness for the life of children in Zimbabwe, who are experiencing extreme poverty. The main concept was to exchange a brand new item for the same item of theirs. In this case, I gave a brand new pair of shoes to a child on the condition that I received their worn out shoes in return. These interactions were filmed and photographed, and the reaction of the child is very significant. Perhaps these reactions portray the hopeless and unfortunate lives that these children live.

In this interview I included some snippets from interviews of Zimbabweans that have been published to back up the facts stated by my father. Interview with Dad -u7h9yv

Cathy is a woman who played a huge role in bringing me up. She explains how her and her family were forced to vote for mugabe, against her wishes, and therefore allowing the country to be corrupted more. Interview with Cathy-29txsab

: My mood board emphasises how these children are living within poverty, and pollution. Additionally, they do not have shoes to wear, and this mood board highlights this aspect of fashion in a developing country.

: For those who do not know much about Zimbabwe, I thought that it was significant to understand a little. I spent some time photographing some people on their everyday lives. It is evident that the majority of the country live in poverty, just from these photographs.

: The first step was to purchase the shoes, and arrange them in a way that was efficient and productive for the project. Before commencing, my sister and I laced the shoes, and prepared them in the back of the truck. While driving around, I wanted to sit here because I would be able to keep a lookout for these children, and once I found them, I was able to immediately break the ice as there was nothing in between us.

: The first child I approached was Kelly. This was definitely the most emotional experience for me. Although I have spent some time in the orphanages each time I am home, I haven’t reached out to children in Zimbabwe, who are living in poverty. In the beginning, her mother told her in Shona (the native language in Zimbabwe), to be cautious and to not speak to me. After some convincing, I explained to that I wanted to trade her old shoes for a new pair.

: As soon as I was given permission to trade shoes with Kelly, her mother disappeared, and trusted me completely with her child. This was a big lesson to me. She went to collect an older pair of shoes than the sandals she was wearing, and called some of her friends so they would be able to receive new shoes as well. Another lesson to me. This photo was taken when I was putting the new shoes on for Kelly, and how she was immediately comfortable enough to find balance my head.

: Shepherd was the second child I exchanged shoes with. He is 8 years old. When Kelly’s mother returned with shoes to trade, she brought along Shepherd and his mother, and was shouting to her friend down the road to prepare an old pair of shoes. Shepherd was very quiet when I gave him a new pair of shoes, and perhaps even suspicious. However, he was gently smiling and grateful towards his new pair. Here is a picture of him walking away with his new pair of shoes.

: Putting shoes on to the third child I encountered, Mike. He was also unsure about the situation. The only answer I could come up with is that he was unfamiliar with receiving a gift of any kind.

: Mike’s reaction to his brand new shoes. He seems a little suspicious and surprised.

: The fourth child I switched shoes with was Anisha. The reaction of each child was something that was very significant to me. I received many different reactions, some of which I did not expect. Although Anisha is smiling in this photo, she was unsure about the concept in the beginning.

: Anisha’s reaction while her shoes were being put on for her.

: The fifth child was Anton, Anisha’s older brother. As fitting on her shoes, he was eager to put his shoes on. In this photo, he is seen on the floor beside us, putting on his brand new shoes, in exchange for his old school shoes.

: The sixth child I encountered was called Ramai. She seemed a little intimidated and scared about the interaction. However, her mother was encouraging it, perhaps because she understood the struggle of purchasing brand new shoes.

: Here I am putting shoes on Rufaro. She was a little scared to get off her mother’s back, and agreed to the switch, as long as they were put on while she was on her mother’s back.

: Rufaro’s reaction after getting her new shoes. Once they were on her feet she agreed to get off her mother to take a photo. This reaction was very meaningful to me, just like every other reaction.

: This is Angie. She was a little hesitant about switching her shoes, until she tried them on. Just like every other reaction, her reaction taught me so much. Probably because it proved how she did not trust the idea of receiving new shoes from a stranger, or because she wasn’t used to receiving new shoes at all.

: My interaction with Tafadzwa. He was so eager and excited about his brand new pair of shoes!

: I think this reaction was definitely my favourite. He was so content and happy with his brand new shoes. In fact, his younger sister is awaiting with her shoes off, even though I had just completed giving out the 9th pair. I collected a phone number and returned the next day to give her a brand new pair of shoes.

: Here is Tafadzwa and his family. It really touched my heart to see how happy they all were for him, for receiving a brand new pair of shoes. This project has taught me so much about life, and especially about how blessed and fortunate we all are. I have high hopes for Zimbabwe, and I am driven to take part in making a change.

: Kelly and Anisha’s shoes. Why did I choose to put them in jars? To show that this is something that should be preserved and long forgotten. It is almost like saying that this evidence is so important that it needs to be preserved so people are able to view it.