‘Changing Lives’: Showcasing community upliftment through photography and film
By Kaveesha Fernando
Apicture is worth a thousand words. This saying holds true in many situations because a single image can convey complex ideas in a manner that a description sometimes cannot. Building up on this concept, the European Union Support to District Development Programme organised a photography and film exhibition titled ‘Changing Lives’ to showcase the community upliftment which the programme has achieved. Funded by the European Union, this project is set to span 60-months and aims to assist Sri Lanka in making a transition from post-conflict assistance to reconstruction and development.
The exhibition and the documentaries were inaugurated on June 8 and were opened to the public on June 9 and 10 at the Warehouse D, Park Street, Colombo 2.
There are six implementing agencies of this programme, namely the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC). Apart from these agencies, the European Union also works closely with the local authorities in the implementation of the project.
This 60 million Euro programme has benefited people in Batticaloa, Mannar, Vavuniya and Ampara, as well as some villages in Monaragala, Anuradhapura and Puttalam. This included a project to implement onion seed production in Mahawilachchiya, Anuradhapura, a youth leadership and development programme in Mannar and a project to support women engaged in creating leather and palmyrah products in Vavuniya.
The photographs for the exhibition were taken by Lekha Edirisinghe, while the documentaries were filmed and directed by Ranga Jagoda. They cover seven different initiatives which were a part of the European Union Support to District Development Project. Speaking at the inauguration of the event, Ms. Libuse Soukupova - Head of Cooperation for the European Union in Maldives and Sri Lanka stated that the results of an important project being implemented by the European Union could be seen through the documentaries and photographs exhibited. She also felt that the exhibition has a focus on the marginalised groups such as women and children and commented on the fact that from the exhibition it is clear how a little goes a long way. This exhibition which began in Colombo is scheduled to be held in other parts of the island as well, with particular emphasis on the areas where the projects have been implemented.
Taking photographs and documenting the stories for the exhibition was no mean feat. Ranga described his experiences as challenging. ‘We had to take the documentaries in March while braving the heatwave Sri Lanka experienced at the time. Sometimes the temperatures rose to 37 degrees celcius. Apart from that we also needed to get the people there to open up to us. It was their first time in front of a camera for most of them so it was quite challenging’ he said. Menaca Calyaneratne, who helped Ranga with the shooting scripts, felt that the experience was interesting and rewarding because they were able to learn about the communities they shot alongside their work, while also being culturally sensitive. ‘We had to be mindful of what they were doing and make sure that the people we were filming also had time for their day to day activities. They all had a tendency to disregard their needs to look after ours and even gave us food to eat at times. This hospitality which they showed us was quite inspiring’ she said. Lekha feels that apart from taking the pictures, she also learnt a lot about the people she was taking pictures of and found the experience quite interesting. They all hope that their work has done justice to the communities which they have documented in order to allow people to gain a better understanding of the projects which have been implemented in these areas.