So, I have been feeling a bit nostalgic. It was about this time, last year, when I applied to be the photographer for the Media Team that the CRWRC was sending to East Africa. I still cannot believe that I was chosen and with only two short weeks notice was on my way to Kenya. (I won't get into all the details since I have been sharing my day-to-day journey on this blog already, but feel free to check out all previous posts HERE). It was such a wonderful adventure, made all the better by the many amazing people that I had the pleasure of meeting and getting to know.I would really like to introduce you to one of these people. His name is Rufus. I would say it was our mutual love of photography that initially sparked the friendship, which was then followed up with heart-to-hearts on the truck and chats in a nearby coffee shop while we both recovered from random illnesses in Durban. Rufus is one of those people that just lights up the room with constant smiles, jokes and kindness. He is a person with more knowledge then he knows, more kindness then he thinks and more impact then he could possibly realize.I have asked Rufus to share a few words about himself. So without further ado, here he is: 
The Pursuit of Self AwarenessThis has been the one of the most intense processes I have been through in a while. Do I write about my past? Do I write about my present? Or, how about I write about Global Warming since this was how I came to have my photo taken by my dearest friend who has chosen to give me no guidelines as to what I should write, only that I should write what I wanted people to know. So here it goes……I was born Rufus Brevin Laverlott in 1981/07/28 at approximately 10pm, Summerset West Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa, to Peter and Viona Laverlott. I was raised in Uitsig, which at the time was a “previously disadvantaged community” in Cape Town, South Africa. As a typical boy I took apart every toy and tried my hand at playing with matches and almost burned down our garage (I remember trying to bury myself in the sand next to our house because I knew what was coming when my dad got home, the beat-down). Growing up I did not understand apartheid because I thought it was normal, it is only later that I would realize that this was unfair and for the rest of my life I would have to deal with feelings of entitlement, inferiority and, most of all, hatred. I soon realized that I was not the only one experiencing these emotions and that people all have these feelings and they manifest themselves in different ways. Mine manifested itself through the abuse of people's trust and drugs, squandering what opportunities were given me; after all, they said I would never amount to anything. (The community of people I come from were and are still to this day stereotyped as Gangsters, Drug Dealers and Thieves)Where is this all heading? So I accumulated ridiculous amounts of debt and ended up in prison, I sold drugs and chose to be an addict for much of my life, I was infatuated with Heroin. I have been shot, stabbed, beat up and left for dead. These were my life choices, I had no one to blame but me. Even though I blamed my dad and mom, I have come to realize that they wanted the best for me and did what they could with the information they had to be the best parents they could be for their children. Today, I look up to my father who with no education managed to put each of his children through school and tertiary education, as well as put away money so that should anything happen to him his wife would want for nothing. I know what it is to see how your mom compensates for your dads lack of emotional involvement in your life, that you abuse her and take advantage of her. I know what it is to be so addicted to drugs that you say to God, “Is this all you had created me to be, a disappointment, a stereo type, I never asked to be here?”. I know the joy of overcoming addiction and then making the same unwise decision and indulging again because this time it would be different. I know love, I know what it is to abuse love and I know what it is to be abused physically, emotionally and sexually. I know vanity, I know what racism is and what it is to be a racist; and lastly, I know freedom, not only understanding that I have the ability to choose but choosing despite how I feel or how many times I do not succeed.I celebrated my 31st birthday this year in New York City; last year, I celebrated it with the prisoners I work with, in the very same facility I served out my own sentence; and the year before that, I was being released from prison on my birthday. I wake up and fight every day to be me, navigating through life and all it has to offer with passion and love, choosing to be responsible and grateful. My parents are my greatest supporters after God. We are not perfect, and so we pursue balance, love that is reflected through our actions toward one another no matter how awkward or difficult, because feelings come and go and are essentially emotional evidence of our choices. Two years ago, I came out of prison and have by God's grace been living as a contributor to society and this planet I call home. Not just living to breath but to live the most extraordinary life I am able to, becoming self-aware and taking ownership of every choice I make. One of these choices was to travel from Kenya to Durban to raise awareness of Global Warming, to rally support from others as youth to stand up and be counted against all odds and say that this is our world, we have a voice. Being ignorant is a choice, we choose who we are and how we show up in this world.I love that I was born in Cape Town, South Africa. I love that I have seen a lot of this world and my own Country and Continent. I love that I know my history, however, it is not all I am. I am universal, sharing a space with billions of people who are as I am. We are confronted by our fears and insecurities daily, being challenged each in our own unique way.I met the loving, intensely passionate, soft and humble Karmen Jillayne Meyer in Kenya and we traveled alongside with almost 190 other young people to Durban, South Africa. You need only look at her pictures to see the reflection of her heart-beat and how she sees the world, the beauty that can be found in each moment. Don’t allow anything to take away from you your greatest human experience, which is this life you are living now! Do not be conformed by society as if you need it to validate that you matter. You have a responsibility to contribute to this planet we call earth so that those generations that come after us may to see as we have seen, the awesomeness of this life we get to experience daily. YOU HAVE NO EXCUSE!Capture life like you are a photographer…… find the beauty in each moment.RUFUS
Africa Journal {WE HAVE FAITH CARAVAN} Day 20-23 | Edmonton & International Photographer
Oh wow, it has been a long time since I have shared a little piece of my Africa adventure. So here is another teensy taste of my days on the caravan.November 21, 2011 | Gaborone, Botswana to Pretoria, South AfricaDay #20- LAUNDRY! I was down to one clean shirt and a not so clean skirt, so a chance to scrub my clothes in non-pool water was a blessing. Note to future self: Always try to find time in the daylight to wash clothes, washing at night is quite the task.November 22, 2011 | Pretoria/Johannesburg, South AfricaDay #21- We have another concert today!! Despite the HUGE thunderstorm, everyone had a great time and the whole concert sounded lovely =) There was one moment that definitely stood out... Ryan broke out in some killer dance moves. Let's just say he knows how to work the crowd!
November 23, 2011 | Pretoria, South Africa to MountainsDay #22- Apparently today things needed to be shook up. Our trucks were divided, as part of the caravan headed straight to Durban. The people on the trucks were pretty much the only consistent thing on this journey (well that and beans and bread for breakfast) so it was a shockingly hard adjustment. We missed our Truck families so much but at least is was a beautiful drive AND Ruth and I got to stay in a Cabin! Yay for private showers and a bed.
November 24, 2011 | Mountains to DurbanDay #23- Still feeling sort of misplaced and mixed up, but we're blessed with a shorter 6 hour drive. When we finally arrived in Durban it was just pouring rain, I am talking the washed out roads, disappearing bridges type rain. But it was OK because we were all promised cabins... haha just kidding!! After arrival they realized that they really did not have enough space. So tents were set up in the rain and needless to say morale was a little low. Somehow Ruth and I managed to upgrade to a little cabin, which I was so thankful for. It had power and internet and I got a bunch of work done!
WE FINALLY MADE IT TO DURBAN!!
Have you missed the beginning of our African Caravan? Check out our journey through Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia and Botswana HERE and stay tuned for more.
Amathuba Housing Project {AFRICA} | Edmonton & International Photographers
A little refresher; we are visiting a housing project called Amathuba in Embo, South Africa.We have the fantastic Robert Zuma as our generous tour guide. Since Suzi, the founder of this housing project, passed, Robert has taken on most of the leadership. Although he has no 'actual' education, Robert is driven and knows how to work with his hands.
He teaches others in the community to work with wood, metal and whatever materials are available. He works hard to find funding so that they can continue working on the communities homes, schools and buildings. He wants homes that are strong and reliable, so that his friends and family can be more healthy, both physically and mentally. He wishes that they will be able to go to work and not worry about coming home to find that the rainfall has seeped through the roof and walls to drench their beds and spoil their food.He really is a remarkable and passionate man. We are so thankful that he took the time to show us around.
So... continuing from where we left Lillian. Robert took us to meet some more remarkable people and families.
We had to climb down a very steep hill, NOT a good day to wear flip-flops and carry a camera! But, by some sort of miracle both my camera and I made it to the next 'level' of homes.O and I made a new friend! She never did tell me her name, in fact I am not sure if she new much English at all, but we got along just fine.
The views were stunning. You look one way to see rolling hills and large rural homes, then turn to see a hillside covered in homes made out of random available materials, their roofs held on by stones and tires. Unfortunately, wealthy communities side by side with large slums is a common sight in South Africa.
We met several other families. One, most memorably, welcomed us into their home with a song and dance. There was so much joy and positivity, some times it was hard remember that they were the very same people living in these unfortunate conditions.
Sadly, after just a few more introductions and stories and it was time for goodbye.
© Karmen Meyer Photography 2011. All images are property of Karmen Meyer.
kmeyerphotography.com….. kmeyerphotography.com/blog….. Twitter.com/KarmenMeyer
Lillian and Her Home {AFRICA} | Edmonton & International Photographers
So I have been pretty terrible at sharing photos from Africa. The truth is, there is just so many and I don't even know where to begin or what to do with them!!Right now the CRWRC is using them for a website and educational purposes within universities and churches in North America; but, I want to share my little story with you as well. So here we go.... My first little post about an amazing 6 weeks in the gorgeous continent of Africa.December 8, 2011 | Durban, South AfricaIt was a cool, damp day, the sky was grey and felt the need to occasionally let some rain on us. I had been in Africa for 37 days at this point, and let's just say I did NOT pack enough sweaters or pants. While the weather is so often hot and sunny (some would say to hot!), it just made the cool days that much harder to take. But anyways, the weather was somewhat fitting for our eye-opening trip to Amathuba, a housing project in Embo, South Africa.Since we have been traveling across East and South Africa (over 5,000 kms!), nearly all day has been spent in trucks or at concerts, we have hardly had time to visit with local Africans not participating in the caravan. So, when fellow caravaner and South African friend, Skhumbuzo Myeza, presented us with this fantastic opportunity there was no way we were saying no. O and by the way, 'we' was myself and two other awesome Canadians I met on the trip, Ryan and Leah!! You might have heard about Ryan already, since he is the video part of our little CRWRC media team.We caught a cab and traveled a small ways outside of Durban, arriving to see homes of all shapes, sizes and materials lacing the side of one of SA's rolling hills. Witnessing these types of things is always so overwhelming, it is horrifying and inspiring all at the same time. You suddenly feel very blessed, stupid for not having brought something to help, useless. My mind just cycled through a huge range of emotions, although I like to think I kept a calm and collected exterior. Something that was particularly easy to do when speaking to Lillian. The beautiful 80 something year-old woman below.When we knocked on her door during her devotions, we were welcomed with an enourmous smile and greetings. Leah, Ryan, Skhumbuzo and all crammed into her home; one room, one bed, one fridge, one dresser, one hot plate. It was a bit of a mess, she explained, since now that she is old and has outlived most of her children there are not many around to help her keep the place clean. Lillian told us stories of the past 78 years she has lived here.
She told us about her work and her family. She told us about the important photos that hung above her bed, and even introduced us to her (I think, great)grandson!
We asked Lillian what would help her, her family and her community. And what things have already happened. She told us of the fantastic women named Suzi from the UK who came here one time and for no particular reason decided to help them. She donated huge amounts of her own money to work with people in the community to help create better homes. She told us of how Suzi later died of a brain tumor, and although there is still a little bit of local funding coming in you can see that work has slowed, there is still so much left to be done.Lillian took us outside for a little tour. She could not take us to far, as the hill is very steep, but this is a little of what we saw.
Unfortunately, this is where we had to say goodbye to Lillian and where I will have to leave you for today. But I have so much more to share with you about this remarkable place and the rest of my trip to Africa. Until then, here is one more photo of the lovely Lillian in front of her home.
© Karmen Meyer Photography 2011. All images are property of Karmen Meyer.
kmeyerphotography.com….. kmeyerphotography.com/blog….. Twitter.com/KarmenMeyer