Faces of the Borana

Today is the start of a series of posts about my trip to Africa.  After searching the world for a traditional isolated village of people that do not have electricity, TV,  movies, or any media at all and have never heard of or seen a camera for my photography project, I found it!  The village we will use for the Through Their Eyes Africa project is located outside of Tuka, a very small town in the southern end of Ethiopia.  It is in the heart of the Borana land, home of the Borana Tribe,  These people live in the southern part of Ethiopia and the Northern part of Kenya.  There are estimated to be about 1.5 millon Borana's.  Our project will be focusing on helping the Borana's which are some of the most isolated and forgotten people on our planet.  After finding this village and spending time learning their culture I fell in love with these unique people.  They live a very simple traditional life with little to no outside help even from their own government.  The rate of HIV and AIDS in these villages is about 20% with Malaria an even larger problem.  Their biggest challenge is finding enough clean water to survive. They need help in a big way and no one is helping them yet.  I hope that my project will bring the attention to these beautiful and unreached people and will help to bring them the help they need.

I will be going into the detail plans of how our project will assist or partner Global Hope Network International (GHNI) in helping these people.  Along with shooting photos I was able to participate in the first ever medical clinics conducted in Borana villages.  We were able to help over 600 people but our goal to help did not stop there.  GHNI wanted to evaluate how to best help these people long term and had no intention of just coming in, doing a clinic and leaving.  GHNI had been planing this trip and developing relationships with some of the leaders in the communities over the past year.  There was a lot of ground work done prior to our getting there and the medical clinic was an introduction to the bigger picture of what GHNI wants to do to help the Borana tribe long term.  The thing I was so impressed with was the philosophy that GHNI works by.  They go to help unreached people by providing a "hand up"  not a "hand out".  They know the best way to help these people is to help them help themselves  and that will provide sustainable help.

Here are the first images of these beautiful people.  Click here to see a Showit slideshow of the faces of the Borana people. The show starts with some people I shot at some of the medical clinics we did in Isiolo and Merti Kenya, then some shots of some AIDS orphans and their homes in Ethiopia then from another medical clinic in Mega Ethiopia, then finally the village we will be doing the project at located outside of Tuka Ethiopia. 

I extracted the audio for the show from a video I shot of a traditional Borana dance that is about their cattle. You can see the video of the dance by clicking here.  Notice the women with their arms up like the horns of cattle.  One is suppose to be a young cow and one an elder cow.  They do not have any sophisticated musical instruments. They dance on dried cow hides that are stitched together and that acts as a drum.  They also use beads made of cattle and camel bones as percussion instruments. The rest is all vocal.  I love the trill that the women do when they get excited or like something.  It is a sound I will never forget and brings back many memories. 

I will post some images from some of the children next.  You will be surprised at how great their images are.

Comments

[Scott]

WONDERFUL IMAGES.
How can I get involved in your trip?
I would like to go along on your trip next year!

Take care,
Scott

[David]

I would love to take everyone interested next year but can only take 3 or 4 others besides me. I will keep you informed and add you to the list of interested photographers. Thanks for your interest.

David

[OMAR GODANA]

sir,David thank you very much to say things as they are. and the reality on the ground .On the part of tradition of every tribes we borans respect our traditional culture which is not in script but taught at childhood.Our youth are always busy with communal daily chores and pass various stages until they come to adulthood.thank you and god bless you as when we see lone white tourist among as we didnt expect our own village would come up in global windows.

[Godana Halake Doyo]

David, i just want to say thank for your wonderful informaiton that you have exert to the global news about Borana, you put things as they are. thank you!

[Godana Halake Doyo Liban]

thank you David! for you have introduced Borana to world; based on your inforamiton i do have no doubt that you have well informed about Borana of both sides. I mean Ethipia and Kenya. Despite we are such a perivilaged society who suppose to be share benefities from two countries, we are forgotten community and fell under the burden of poverty and ignorance. We are political marginalized and systematical discriminated community. So I want to say thank you again for your contribution and urge you to do more and help this forgotton group of people with what you can.

[Yusuf Golicha]

Good work man. This should be the trend. The less fortunate and the forgotten should also have a say in matters of the world.They need a life like any other person.Thanks alot for bringing them to the world's attention.

[H Tuni]

David you did excellent job.We thank you for every thing you done.we are completely forgotten,our unique culture is in jeopardy.we need a generous people like you.I am happy to help you with any thing.Thank you again.

[Amina Goodman]

I'm one of every luck borana people who live in USA. How can I get in touch with (GHNI) to help Borana people? Thanks.