The Story:
No area in Nepal was more tragically affected by the April 25, 2015 earthquake than Langtang Valley where an avalanche wiped out the entire Langtang Village, killing over three hundred people in this remote area. Many bodies, Nepalis and foreign trekkers alike, remain missing. The entire valley was evacuated due to ongoing landslides, and many of these mountain village survivors are now displaced. Those who have returned home face severe challenges as they try to rebuild their homes and lives at 13,000 feet.
I was trekkling in Langtang just weeks before the earthquake and was heartbroken to see so many people who had been so kind and generous to me now suffering in such an unimaginable way. I've been committed to doing what I can to help raise awareness and money to aid in the rebuilding effort and helping to empower people and preserve their culture.
Partnering with the non-profit group Picture Me Here, we created a participatory photography project to help survivors tell their stories, and traveled back to Nepal in late 2015. Our project, Langtang Photo Album is the result. Here's an NPR story about the project.
The Project:
Langtang Photo Album -- in November of 2015, we traveled to Nepal and gave cameras to displaced Langtang survivors from all ages, genders, and backgrounds, and held workshops to teach students how to take photos and tell their own stories. Documenting their current situation through their own eyes and voicing their challenges and their hopes for the future of Langtang was, and will continue to be, an empowering and healing tool for the people of Langtang. In addition, the photos created are a part of an important historical and cultural archive - our participants' documentation of this time of displacement and the struggles of rebuilding in the face of such massive loss are included in an archive and memory center in Langtang. Our trip to Kathmandu laid the groundwork, and now our local partners on the ground are helping to carry on the work and mentorship. Our participants' photos have already been included in a slide show for the Dartmouth Earthquake Summit, a photo exhibit held at Boudanath in Kathmandu, and an exhibit in Denver.
How You Can Help:
This is a community-based collaborative effort, so if you'd like to volunteer to teach a workshop in Nepal, or donate money or material resources - please do get in touch!
We welcome all contributions (please click here to donate and specify you'd like the donation to go to Langtang Photo Album). All donations are tax deductible.
Thank you!
Patti Bonnet
patti.bonnet@gmail.com