Burn victims’ stories relayed on video
WESTDENE – A young photographer uses his talent to uplift the community.
A talented student from the University of Johannesburg took it upon himself to follow his passion for helping burn victim survivors from the Children of Fire home.
Westdene resident, Zacharia Mashele said he heard about the burn survivor home through his lecturer and felt inspired to do something to help them. He graduated this year with a Bachelor of Arts in journalism and is currently studying a course in photography at the Market Photo Workshop in Newtown.
Telling the stories of burn victims and other people through multimedia is one of the ways he aims to raise awareness.
“One of other the ways I help Children of Fire is through my involvement in their Joe Slovo Informal Settlement outreach projects where they regularly reach out to members of the community.
I document the lives of the children through taking pictures and recording videos of their experiences every Sunday and when I don’t have classes to attend,” said Mashele.
He believes photography is a platform to tell the children’s stories through visuals and give people a first-hand account of their plight. The budding photographer added society tends to judge people based on their appearance without understanding their story.
“I did a multimedia piece on a burn victim from Children of Fire about his story before and after he got burnt, documenting his journey moving forward. The footage is complete but I have not released it, however, I’m looking forward to telling more people’s stories,” said Mashele.
He is inspired by Children of Fire founder, Bronwen Jones who is committed to her children at the home and admires her bravery. Jones spoke fondly about Mashele and the work he does for the home and said, “He’s a very promising young man who shows passion and empathy in the work he does.”
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