Odette tells the story of selling chickens and eggs as a child in order to care for the needs of herself and her friends in the refugee camps of Uganda. By the time we finished, she likes to say. We felt like those ladies from the big organizations who lend people money.
I always loved that part of the story–little girls feeling as powerful as grownups who were committed to making a change–but I didn’t really know what she meant. Until Tanzania.
In Tanzania, I met those ladies and immediately fell under their spell. They are quiet, they are wise. They are measured in their energy and fierce in their focus. They are staring down poverty–its ravages, its sources, its brutal effects–and they know what to do. They are executing their own particular brand of justice–passing over the one they are supposed to favor for that girl in the back with fire in her eyes. They are placing their bets on that live wire, even as they readjust their enormous handbags and stamp the dust out of their fashionable shoes.
They are believing the girls they choose can show the rest how to escape the bowels of hell.
Meet Juliet, the program trainer for BEST (Business and Entrepreneurship Support Tanzania). It is her job to teach the entrepreneurial skills the poorest of the poor need to enter the market. I watched as she checked in on the women she serves, questioning them like your favorite aunt–the one who believes in you and at the same time won’t mince words if you need to hear the truth. She is tending them like a garden of possibility, one promising seedling at a time.
I don’t always take a good picture, she told me. But I doubted it could possibly be true. How could the camera not love this radiance? How could the lens turn away from this bedrock determination that everything is going to be just fine?
Marcie says
Wonderful portrait. Love how you’ve captured her spirit!!!
Erin Wilson says
Beautiful, in every way possible.
camerashymomma ~ meredith winn says
amazing story. amazing portrait! you can really feel her joy. (now i want to know what lens you used)
Si says
I think a smile paints a world of joy, such a natural portrait, love it.
Si
georgia says
wow. she is quite beautiful. her smile and obvious joy in the midst of what she sees and witnesses has made me feel silly for my petty complaints. but more than that, it inspires me to smile broadly with gratitude. so glad i came over to read this today. it was a good way to start the day.
margie says
my post today is about your journey of hope. you are to be commended for this photo story.
Kalis says
Odette is beauty.
Wanda says
Love the portrait and the story. And Jen, I love your eye and your words. Thank you so much.
jakki says
Radiant, indeed…beautiful
Susan says
"She is tending them like a garden of possibility, one promising seedling at a time." What a powerful statement … what a beautiful woman.
mary says
what a beautiful portrait of a strong and good woman!
Melissa G says
Beyond beautiful. Thank you for your stories and images.
kosenrufu mama says
this is a wonderful portrait!!! full of strenght and happiness!