What Goes Around Comes Around

I was having that strange feeling of déjà vu.


I was standing in a courtyard surrounded by colorful murals.  A couple was chatting quietly at a table nearby.  The sun was shining and the intense blue of the January sky was interrupted here and there by fluffy cumulus clouds.  The temperature was a perfect 78 degrees.


I'd been traveling full time for 16 months and the 19 countries I had visited during that period had all started to blur together.  I knew I was in Austin, Texas, but I had the strangest feeling that I was back in Africa. Why do the paintings on these walls look so familiar?  And these signs that say “Comfort the Children”….why do they ring a bell?


Suddenly it dawned on me!  Six weeks and five countries ago I had visited the village of Maai Mahiu in The Great Rift Valley in Kenya. On a lark, I had gone there with a friend of a friend whom I had met in Nairobi a few days earlier. Since it was an opportunity to see a part of Kenya I hadn’t been to before, I tagged along for the ride. I wasn't prepared for what was in store for me.


I had the unexpected privilege of spending a day at The Malaika School which was founded and funded by Comfort The Children.  The school, which is for kids with profound disabilities, provides them an opportunity which would otherwise be unavailable.  Ordinarily, In a small village like this, these children would be hidden away by from public view to protect them from the derision and mistreatment they would receive, and so their families could avoid the shame of such a taboo.


There are some places in the world where the sense of dedication and joy are palpable.  The Malaika School is one of those.  It felt as if the very walls of the building were permeated with the intention of those who work there to provide for the special needs kids who attend the school.

Equally joyful was the Malaiku Mums workshop next door.  We were greeting with radiant smiles and nervous laughter as we took photos and video who were hard at work measuring, marking, cutting and sewing fabric.  


The women were transforming the rough woven cloth into items which are then sold to provide income for their families and support for their children. 

Click on the image above to play the video

By far the most touching moment of the day was seeing George, who has Down’s Syndrome, writing the numbers 1 to 10.  I watched George as he started, then faltered, then used the chalkboard eraser to begin again, all the while looking to his teacher for encouragement.


He never seemed frustrated or upset, but simply kept at it until 2 minutes and 37 seconds later he had completed the task.  Feeling choked up, I realized how annoyed or angry I can become at even the smallest inconvenience and how much I have to be thankful for.  I’ve thought of George many times since then, and the tranquility he embodies.

Lost in my reverie about my time in Kenya, I wasn’t sure how long I’d been standing there in the courtyard of Comfort the Children in Austin, Texas.  I had the strangest sensation that I had stepped through a portal into another dimension.  I wasn’t really sure which continent I was on.


I'd stumbled in quite by accident.  I was supposed to meet a client at a nearby location which we were considering using for an upcoming photo shoot, but had come to the address of Comfort The Children by mistake.  I wandered inside to ask for directions, and was greeted warmly by the staff who pointed me down the street.


Before I left, I let them know that I had just come from Mai Mahiu, and had a bunch of photos and videos from the Malaika school if they wanted to use them.  They were delighted, and asked me to write a blog for their website as well.  As I walked back to my car, I couldn’t help noticing what a great location the courtyard at Comfort The Children would make for our photo shoot. I dashed off to meet my client and convinced him to return with me to scope it out.  

A week later, I rented my former studio from the guy who took over the space when I moved out a year and a half ago.


It was strange to be back in place I where I had worked for more than 20 years but which now had  different furniture and someone else's photographs on the walls, but at the same time a wonderful sense of familiarity and coming home.

By the time we arrived at the courtyard of Comfort the Children, the weather had turned chilly and overcast, and we had to create images that looked like they were shot on a sunny day in Mexico!

Thanks to the miracle of artificial lighting, we got some great images, despite the fact that our model's teeth were chattering and his skin was turning blue. 

Another bit of serendipity was that the check my client wrote to Comfort The Children to rent their location went to support a great cause.

Before we called it quits for the day, I persuaded one of the CTC staff members tocome outside and let me photograph her.  Grabbing a brightly colored piece of cloth that was on display in their gift shop, I wrapped it around her head and posed her against a tree looking directly into the camera.  

As I looked through the viewfinder, once again I wasn't sure if I was in Austin...or Africa.