Take 15 inner-city youth in Jamaica; add 15 disposable cameras and a sprinkle of inspiration and wait for the magic to happen.
That was the recipe concocted by a Richmond-based charity as part of its drive to raise funds to empower youth leaders in an impoverished Kingston neighbourhood.
As it turns out, Fundamentals for Change (FFC)’s ingredients were a huge success.
And the stories told through the lenses of the aforementioned cameras — which peeked behind the curtains of raw, uncut, Jamaican life in the Riverton community — are going to be on full display and for sale at the charity’s photo exhibition later this month.
“It’s images of everyday life in Riverton; taken by the youth leaders with disposable cameras,” said FFC co-founder Ayako Turnbull, a McMath secondary grad.
“They were able to access areas that our volunteers were not allowed to go to.
“They took the pictures over the course of a week and they came back with some amazing shots.”
Turnbull and several other FFC volunteers spent several weeks in the community last fall, delivering much-needed medical supplies and sports equipment, as well as opening a new playground at the community school, which FFC had helped fund and plan.
They plan to continue the momentum with the Feb. 19 exhibition, for which the $20 ticket price includes lives music by Deanna Knight and the Hot Club of Mars, canapés and $10 any art purchase on the night.
All proceeds from the night will go towards FFC projects and, in particular, back to the youth leaders in Kingston who took the shots, all of which have been tastefully framed and will be on sale from $12 to around $80.
Turnbull told the News last year how the youth leaders take it upon themselves, with no funding, to look after the local seniors.
Tickets for the event, being held at 434 Columbia St., Vancouver, can be bought at ffcjamaica.eventbrite.ca or by calling 778-554-9300.
