February 8, 2006
Guatemala children focus of mission
Traverse City photographer plans on documenting the lives of kids in Guatemala garbage dumps
By Kristen Hains
Special to the Herald
As winter moves into full-swing in northern Michigan, many dream of heading off to warmer climates. But few dream of trudging through the garbage dumps of Guatemala.
Elizabeth Price, owner of Priceless Photography in Traverse City, will head to Guatemala on February 24. She will spend two and one-half weeks working with Safe Passage, a group whose mission is to provide Guatemalan children with an education and a future and save them from the garbage dumps that they currently call home.
Price, a 31-year-old Traverse City native and 1999 graduate of Santa Barbara's Brooks Institute of Photography first heard of Safe Passage through Paul Sutherland who owns Financial & Investment Management Group (FIM) in Traverse City. Sutherland had a chance meeting on an airplane with Safe Passage founder, Hanley Denning.
Price noted that Denning went to Guatemala to volunteer with a local education and social work project, but ended up getting an education of her own. "She found children and their families who were living out of garbage dumps," Price said.
Denning knew she had to take action and help these children change their destiny. Safe Passage was founded in 1999, giving children the opportunity to go to school.
The group's expansion is spreading to the United States. Recently, Sutherland established the Great Lakes Friends of Safe Passage. Price became involved with this group and saw an opportunity to use her photography talents to help expand the group's mission.
"I'm going down to document Safe Passage and the garbage dump and basically create a body of work for Safe Passage to use for promotional purposes," she said. "Right now they just want the pictures for promotional purposes for their website. They want to create a Power Point presentation so that different members can go around and give talks about Safe Passage and have this presentation to show."
Children in the program go to school for half-day with Safe Passages covering the expenses of books and uniforms, Price said. The other half-day is spent at the Safe Passage Club where children eat lunch, have a snack, get help with homework and participate in fitness activities.
"They are also working on teaching them a trade or skill like sewing or carpentry," she said. "These kids can basically turn around and end poverty and not live the life their parents live."
There's one other important item that Safe Passage gives the students, Price said.
"At the end of each day they give each child a sack of food to take home," she said. "Their parents probably wouldn't let them go if they didn't have incentive to go and bring back something for the family because they're considered another pair of hands."
What started as a handful of kids in 1999 has grown to 538 students this year. Safe Passage saw the fruits of their labor earlier this year as several of their graduates went to Guatemala City and were accepted at the top trade school there.
During her visit Price hopes that by spending time with the children she will gain their trust, enabling her to see life in the garbage dump through their eyes.
"They get to know you and your presence and then they don't know that you're there when you're taking pictures," she said. "Once you become familiar with people and they become familiar with you, it opens many doors for photographic opportunity because they're comfortable with you."
Price believes the closer she gets to her subject the better she will be able to relay their story on film. "That's where I feel like I can really help out," she said. "Because I can make images that will speak for themselves and create awareness just by looking at one of my photos."
Price said the opportunity exists for others in this area to help Safe Passage without ever leaving the city limits. Price hopes to load up many extra suitcases all filled with items that are considered luxury by the Guatemalan people.
Items that Price is looking to take with her are chewable vitamins for children, backpacks (used or new), art supplies (paint, paintbrushes, tissue paper, markers, crayons, colored pencils), sewing machines, school supplies (pens, paper, notebooks), educational toys and games (in Spanish if available), toothbrushes and toothpaste, lice shampoo, towels, cough syrup, skin creme, scabies creme, first aid supplies, carpentry tools and outdoor play (basketballs, rubber playground balls, soccer balls, jump ropes, etc.)
Price sees the donations as an excellent opportunity for children to help other children. She hopes to speak with youth groups and school groups when she returns and to encourage them to donate items to the children of the Safe Passage program.
"I think it's really neat too because kids can feel good about helping other kids that are less fortunate," she said. "I think that kids today do take a lot for granted but then they don't know what lays on the other side world."
For more information on Safe Passage visit www.safepassage.org. To donate items for Price to deliver, call 883-9384 or email elizabeth@pricelessphotography.com