Staged at Saint Mary’s Hospital Luodong, “2015 Latitude 21-28” features head and shoulder shots of earthquake victims in Nepal taken by seven photographers.
Wu Ming-hui, president of organizer Taipei City-headquartered A Beautiful World Organization, said the event heightens public awareness of children whose education rights are being denied by living below the daily US$2 poverty line.
“A disproportionately large number of kids in South Asia are forced to carry out exhaustively long lists of household chores or sold as laborers,” Wu said, adding that all revenues from the exhibition will be allocated to Shristi Children’s Home and help with post-temblor school reconstruction in Nepal.
Launched last year, the home is a charity institution that housed eight youngsters and helped them return to school in June. Further plans are in the works to increase this number to between 20 and 30 by 2018.
According to Wu, highlights of the event include a collection by Chuang Hsin-hung, Lee Su-chin and Wu Ming-hui of Taiwan, as well as Yam Newar from Nepal, who captured the emotive images after a magnitude-7.9 earthquake devastated large swathes of the landlocked Himalayan nation in April.
“It is incredible to see all those affected by the disaster smiling radiantly and displaying a positive attitude despite the massive upheaval in their lives,” she said.
Equally impressive is Lee’s solo work “Shristi from Zero to Infinite” featuring photographs of children.
“Shristi means to create or to innovate in Nepali,” said Lee, who doubles as ABWO secretary. “I believe this quality is inherent in all Nepalese kids and can be unlocked given the right circumstances.”
After the exhibition wraps up Oct. 30, ABWO will collate the photographs and produce a charity 2016 desk calendar. The item is expected to maintain the momentum of the group’s fundraising initiative into the new year. (YCH-JSM)
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