Supporting Moroccan and Arabic-speaking women
By Saeida Rouass,
Telling the stories of individuals in extreme poverty
As you will know, today on every continent millions of impoverished men and women have insufficient food to feed both themselves and their family. Do they eat so they can work and earn, or do they feed their children and so waste away themselves? Corruption, disease, war and discrimination further disadvantage the poor, sapping strength and opportunity, condemning whole strata of societies to enduring destitution.
"I have always felt a deep attachment to the people I have visited." - Nick Danziger, Fellow
So in 2005, when I was approached by an international development agency to travel to eight countries on four continents to document how the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were changing the lives of some of the world’s poorest people, I had no hesitation in accepting the challenge.
However, I soon came to realise that one visit was never going to give a real picture as to whether the MDGs were going to meet the challenge of bringing the world’s poorest people out of extreme poverty. We often hear about a person’s story in the media, but then we turn the page; likewise, the journalist rarely returns to the subject let alone the person they have interviewed or photographed.
In my case, I have always felt a deep attachment to the people I have visited and I so often wonder how they are getting on, so I set about revisiting the same individuals and families every four to five years and made at least three visits to each person over a decade.
Without a doubt it’s one of the most fascinating projects I have had the opportunity to work on. It’s been fifteen years in which I have invested my heart and soul to complete this project – a labour of love.
I am now in the process of crowdfunding ‘Another Life’, a book about the individuals I met on this project. Young girls have grown into women and given birth, some people I visited have prospered, many have not, and several have not survived. These stories are told through my photographs and extended captions by Rory MacLean, best-selling author and, like me, a Churchill Fellow, who accompanied me on my third and most recent journey to visit these endearing individuals, some of whom have become friends.
Another Life will be published in April 2019 through crowdfunding. If the story has inspired you and you would like to pledge a contribution towards its publication, please visit https://unbound.com/books/another-life/. All pledgers will receive a copy of the book, and their name will be acknowledged in the book as a supporter.
Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed by any Fellow are those of the Fellow and not of the Churchill Fellowship or its partners, which have no responsibility or liability for any part of them.
