Kari Dietrich is a freelance interactive producer and photography student who has recently found an interest in development issues in India, especially in educational development and population matters. A friend involved in humanitarian work suggested she volunteer with Visions (link-http://visionsofthefuture.org), an educational development organization based in Orange County. So, Miss Dietrich decided to combine her passions, and begin work on a photo series which took up 3/4 of her 10 week journey. Kari came in to Passport Health to receive her vaccines prior to her flight to Chennai. We met up with her at Passport Health Los Angeles when she came in for her follow up vaccines.
Visions volunteers teach leadership, organizational and creative thinking skills. The organization spent one week with 9th graders of a rural school, and then another week at an urban school, witnessing the myriad of challenges that typical public education in India.
From there, Kari and her camera traveled about the country for several more weeks, visiting and capturing educational development organizations, and a rural women's health center in Dindigul. Glimpses of effective programming for the under-privileged abounded, most noticeably with the OM Foundation--an organization that hand-picks primary school-aged slum children and supports them on their long journey down a new educational path, learning all subjects in English, much to the bafflement of the parents.
Throughout, Kari picked up her digital slr and pointed it into eyes young and old, each filled with wisdom that goes beyond years. She is working with Visions on a fundraising event that will feature an exhibit of her work from India. You can see some samples of her work at: http://notamember.org. She will begin attending the University of Missouri this fall, pursuing a master's in international convergence journalism, continuing to learn how to tell visual stories on global development matters.
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