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Amazing Kids! of the MonthAmazing Kids! is proud to highlight the Amazing Kids! of the Month! Each month, we showcase kids who are accomplishing amazing things. We hope that by telling their special stories, we will inspire other kids to accomplish their own amazing achievements. Amazing Kids! of the Month for February, 2006: Amazing Young Photographers; Honolulu, Hawaii |
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 Amazing Young Photographers preparing photos for their "Doorways" Exhibition, as part of a youth photography project organized by ProjectFocus, Hawai'i |
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just ghetto." Jasmine, age 12; "They [the Project Focus directors]
told us how the way we kids see things is important. "The best thing was when the
photographers caught us at 'bad moments' - off-guard. Then we shared
these pictures with one another." " Shauntell, age 12
Amazing Young Photographer and "Doorways" Exhibition Participant Honolulu, Hawai'i "I can make friends easily.
I will be America's top lawyer."
Georgette, age 13
Amazing Young Photographer and "Doorways" Exhibition Participant Honolulu, Hawai'i Kelvin, age 12
Amazing Young Photographer and "Doorways" Exhibition Participant Honolulu, Hawai'i "They are amazing kids. They are
humble and grateful and so honest in their feeling. It really validates
what we are doing."
Lisa
Uesugi, professional photographer
co-founder, ProjectFocus Hawai'i Young Photographers Bring Unique Focus on Life in
a Honolulu Housing Project
It has been said that pictures tell a thousand words. As you will
see in this month's Amazing Kids! of the Month story below, the amazing
young budding photographers at Kuhio Park Terrace and a low-income
housing neighborhood in nearby Kalihi have some amazing stories to tell
through the medium of photography. Through their participation in
the ProjectFocus Hawai'i "Doorways" photography project, they were
given the opportunity to share their own unique stories in several
Honolulu-area exhibitions of their photography. |
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About Project Focus:ProjectFocus Hawai'i is a community service project co-founded by Hawaii photographers Laurie Breeden Callies of Baby Face Productions and Lisa Uesugi of Utopia Photography. Its mission is to enhance and enrich the lives of children through the use of photography by providing them with the opportunity to work with professional photographers and to experience a photo session where they are not only the subjects but the photographers as well.During the 12-week internship participants are professionally photographed in their communities, given cameras, trained in their use and provided a timeline for completion of a photo assignment, all of which culminates in a month-long gallery exhibit. Their portraits are exhibited alongside those they took of their subjects (someone who made a difference in their lives). At the end of the exhibit, participants receive both the portrait of themselves and their subjects, a hardbound coffee table book and DVD of their work. Laurie and Lisa selected Parents and Children Together (PACT), one of Hawai'i's leading private non-profit family service agencies located in Honolulu's largest public housing complex, as ProjectFocus Hawaii's first beneficiary. Fourteen youths, ages 10 -17, from PACT's Community Teen Program were selected to participate in the 2005 ProjectFocus Hawai'i internship. The month-long "Doorways" exhibit was installed at Dole Cannery in Honolulu and received extensive media coverage and widespread community and nationwide response. Hawai'i Alliance For Arts Education, a member of The Kennedy Center Alliance for Arts Education, later invited participants to join their annual "Excellence in Arts" exhibit and as a result, Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hanneman also invited participants to exhibit their work at City Hall in February 2006. The goal of ProjectFocus Hawai'i is to encourage children with needs (and their subjects) to express themselves through the use of photography and to use this medium as a vehicle for enhancing self esteem, self awareness and an understanding of the world in which they live. The ProjectFocus Hawai'i theme "Doorways" is a metaphor suggesting a vehicle for the passage into a new phase of life, leaving behind the old and entering the new. The goal is to stimulate new perspectives on ideas and thoughts as well as how one can perceive inner beauty beyond the physical image. ProjectFocus Hawai'i is independently funded through monetary and in-kind donations received through the generous support of foundations and community and business leaders. The book of the students' photography is available for purchase. Proceeds raised from the sales of the photo book will benefit PACT. For more information, contact Laurie Callies at: lcallies@hawaii.rr.com About PACT's Community Teen
Program
Community Teen Program is a comprehensive youth service center for
youth ages 7-18 who live in and around Honolulu's largest public
housing complex, Kuhio Park Terrace and Kuhio Homes. This after-school
program promotes the development of healthy youth, families, and
community with an abundance of activities and experiences for youth and
family members including educational, recreational, community building,
prevention of teen pregnancies and support services. Parents can
participate in parenting education and family strengthening activities.
Case management services are available for youth and families coping
with poor school performance, truancy, and other difficulties.
Activities like sports and study hall give youth supervised
alternatives to drugs and gangs, and special events involve families as
well. |
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| A Special Message
from Amazing Kids! for all you kids: |
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It's no secret...every person has an "amazing-ness" inside of them, just waiting to be discovered. (Sometimes we just need a little help in finding out what that "amazing-ness" is!) If you are doing some amazing things too, we want to hear about it! Send us your stories about your amazing accomplishments, so we can tell the world just how amazing you are! We are always looking for new stories. And don't be shy! We'd love to hear from you! |
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| Here's an idea you might want to try: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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WHY NOT HELP OTHERS SEE THEIR OWN POTENTIAL? If you know someone who needs a little encouragement, why not tell them what you think is special about them? Maybe you can be the one to help them uncover their own special talents! Amazing Kids! is looking for teens to be Amazing Teen Volunteers and Ambassadors. If you'd like to join Amazing Kids! in helping to spread the word, please email us at: info@amazing-kids.org HELP US SPREAD THE WORD: It's cool to be an Amazing Kid! |
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