Ahecha in Barrio San Miguel, Villarrica

I worked with 12 children and youth from Barrio San Miguel in Villarrica. The youth ranged in age from 9 to 17 years old, and included 10 girls and 2 boys. I organized 6 photo excursions for the youth to various parts of Villarrica. Varying numbers of youth attended the excursions, depending on their availability. Because we had the use of only 5 cameras, the students were often required to share a camera, which they did willingly.

The youth loved taking pictures, viewing each others pictures, and getting the instant feedback that a digital camera provides. They also enjoyed exploring different parts of Villarrica. The highlights for them included climbing to the top of the bell tower of the old church in barrio Ybaroty, climbing to the top of the stadium, visiting the private museum of the Tres Gomez (a group of singing brothers with roots in Villarrica who lived in California for a number of years and performed all over the world), and the solar oven at the Municipality.

The youth took over 1000 pictures and from this they selected the 25 photos for the exposition. The exposition was held in front of the museum downtown and was very well received by the people who stopped to view the photos and talk with the youth. The museum expressed interest in displaying a few photos of popular sites in town, and also mentioned the possibility of using a few photos to create postcards to sell to visitors to Villarrica (they often get requests for postcards but have none available). A local businessman also expressed interest in creating a photography club in Villarrica (some years ago there had been such a club) and will display some of the photos in his reception area.

All in all, the project as a lot of fun.

Thanks!
Mary Hammes
G26-Urban Youth Development