The Escuela Laura Vicuña is a school for children and teenagers with disabilities that is supported by the Don Bosco Mission. Fairpicture was approached to find freelancers who could portray the everyday life of two students at school and with their families in a way that fairness in representation. The images were to be used primarily for a Don Bosco fundraising letter, encouraging the viewer to give a donation supporting projects like the school.
Client
Don Bosco Mission
Visual Creator
Tamara Merino
Theme
Children with Disabilities
Locations
Chile, Los Lagos
Date
Oct. 1, 2021
Don Bosco required two photographic stories showing the school’s children with their therapists, teachers and parents. Additional text provided by the visual creator was to be the basis for the text prepared by the Don Bosco editors in Germany.
The children and teenagers who attend the Escuela Laura Vicuña primarily come from economically disadvantaged families and some have indigenous heritage. The school's goal is to support the children with the necessary therapies and education, so they can have more independence in adulthood. To facilitate this, the school works closely with companies to prepare the students for future work options.
For disabled people, their families and their support systems, it is not self-evident that they will be treated with respect in media. Having a production can also be incredibly stressful for a school, yet Don Bosco and the families involved found the collaboration with Tamara and Fairpicture to be simple and supportive. The images and stories were used for a fundraising campaign, as well as in the Don Bosco digital magazine.
November 2021 - Angela Ponce, Omar Quezada, Nyimas Laula
A nine-part web series with three short films and photographs. The concept: local visual creators from the Fairpicture network visited Fairtrade cooperatives in Peru, Indonesia, and Kenya to document the effects of the pandemic and the COVID Relief Programme.
January 2022 - Ruvin De Silva
Focusing on local approaches, strengthening the agency of local communities, keeping economic resources where they belong – a reportage on local tea production by Ruvin De Silva.
May 2022 - Avijit Ghosh
The Palgarh district is one of the driest terrains in India. Fairpicture photographer Avijit Ghosh documented the installation of water pumps and got fascinated on how it’s changing people’s lives.