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A personal story from Sitta Cole and how FOY changed his life.
I came to Focus on Youth in 2008 and started learning photography. When I am taking photographs I see the beauty and I just go for it. The beauty I see and am able to photograph makes me forget the painful things that happened in Liberia.
I was born in Liberia, Africa, and I am the third of seven children. My father was a fishermen and my mom sold the fish at the market and my life with my family was good until the war. When I was seven years old the rebels woke my family up in the middle of the night, dragged my mom out of the house by her hair, and beat our entire family with the butts of AK47 rifles. The Rebels forced us to walk from our village to the city, beating us all along the way for two days. When we got to the city they locked us up in a house, but we were able to escape and ran away. We walked for 4 days to Sierra Leone to a village so that we would not be killed. We had no food, no clothes, nothing. At a refugee camp they gave us tents and bulgur wheat and rice. Every day we had to get up at 5 AM and stand in line for several hours to get food to eat. My father went everyday to the river to fish and the rebels killed him. For three years we lived in the refugee camp until we were allowed to come to the United States.
I joined Focus on Youth in 2008 and Donna Lee was my teacher and the director of Focus on Youth. She is an amazing kind person, and she loves working with kids from difference countries. Donna Lee encourages me to believe in myself and she helps me achieve my goals. Every time we go out taking photos Donna Lee always tells me I am a great photographer. She encourages me to stay in school and do my best.
How our students feel about Focus on Youth………
Our lives were shut off…Some blinded by heartbreak…
Others standing alone in a colorless world.
Some suffering in silence, scared to speak, yet longing to be heard…
Others, hiding in the shadows, yet pleading to be seen….
Some searching for a hand to hold…others for a shoulder to cry on…
We all were praying for a miracle…a special sign to point the way…
Someone to show us how to fill the “empty frames” in our lives…
Then together you came…inviting us all into your circle of inspiration!
Breaking through our silence…you offered to share our dreams…
You showed us what we couldn’t see…and how to capture the moments!
To look for the miraculous…in places others miss.
How to write our own stories through a camera’s lens….
To trace our own journey, as each new exposure came into view…
Then, miraculously one click at a time…the shadows disappeared!
Clear new found images of light chased away our darkness…
Empty frames vanished…revealing instead new full impressions of life.
Through you all…our wise and trusted mentors…Our faithful friends…
You show us how to bring into focus…amazing images…
You taught us how to discover our own special legacy.
We found our voice in each landscape you helped us capture…
We were touched deeply by the passion and skills you shared…
Everyone changed forever by the visual autographs you left in our lives.
We feel honored to have been given this fresh glimpse of the world…
A chance to view the beauty of life through a photographer’s lens…
You are our heroes…We are your legacy…Please remember us all…
For…we are your best work yet!
Your personal photographs of hope!
