This is Bhavna: February 2008

I have been priveleged to know a person with such contagious enthusiasm as Suchitra Vijayan. Suchitra and I have been dear friends since we met at a halls of residence in Leeds where she was studying Law and I was studying Communications in 2002. Our friendship has seen us through many ups and downs, of being in different continents yet we communicated our ideas with eachother through the medium of mainly the internet and sometimes the 'cell phone'. I knew she was special from the moment we met, her thoughts on the ways of the world and her passion for change were evidence of her success in future life.

I met up with Suchitra when she was in Arusha and had started this project, I was in Dar es Salaam at the time, and I remember the passion with which she told me about Lines of Grey, at the time it was a small individual project that she was working on. Now, it's a registered NGO in India and Suchitra is working on NGO status for Lines of Grey in the USA.

A Barrister by profession, working with the UN, Suchitra's love for photography and poetry come from within, it can be felt through her visuals and her writing, and I am honored to be her friend and to be able to say 'I'm part of Lines of Grey'.

Lines of Grey

“Lines of Grey” is an organization that seeks to take photography to the door steps of marginalised children in communities around the world. Our vision is not limited to children in the street of Mombasa or the slums of Dharavi. The organisation comprises of small, vibrant and passionate group, whose life is intrinsically linked to photography. We share the common faith in the ability of photography to capture the imagination of children and give them an artistic voice. We believe that education is not restricted to the learning of the letters. We are committed to furthering this cause by taking the road less travelled.

The Beginning

Inspired by the documentary "Born into Brothels", "Lines of Grey" began as a photographic experiment with thirty street kids at the CCF centre in Arusha, Tanzania. For six months, disposable cameras where handed out to the children to teach them photography and through this medium explore their world. Apart from acquainting them with the joy of artistic discovery, the experiment also became a private invitation into their life on the street. The children showed an extraordinary perception about their life and the way the world looked at them. The artistic venture resulted in a large body of photographic work by the children, that we believe are both social-cultural documentation and a platform to tell the world their stories. In June 2007, Lines of Grey was registered as an NGO in India, and plans are underway to start similar projects in both India and launch the NGO in the United States.

Our Philosophy

Every child is an artist

We are idealistic realists. We believe that individuals possess the power to make a difference. The project runs on the inherent belief that individuals still possess the power to make that little difference, that will one day become a part of the critical mass required to change this society and change it fundamentally. At the same time we believe that this change begins with the individual and one person at a time.

We have been handing out cameras since Febuary, 2007 and the results have been brilliant. If not anything the children are happy in a pursuit that is completely new and exciting to them. For more information please visit http://www.linesofgrey.org/

WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Donate
Donate film
Contribute through paypal.
Buy prints
Blog for our cause
Tell a friend

Email: suchitra@linesofgrey.org

Website: http://www.suchitravijayan.com/