{"id":6006,"date":"2014-01-08T19:33:50","date_gmt":"2014-01-09T03:33:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lesliedinaberg.com\/wordpress\/?p=6006"},"modified":"2014-01-08T15:38:51","modified_gmt":"2014-01-08T23:38:51","slug":"santa-barbara-spotlight-local-photographerteacher-judy-duchesne-peckham-shines-a-light-on-one-of-afghanistans-bright-spots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lesliedinaberg.com\/wordpress\/?p=6006","title":{"rendered":"Santa Barbara Spotlight: Local Photographer\/Teacher Judy Duchesne-Peckham Shines a Light on One of Afghanistan’s Bright Spots"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A welcome sight, girls returning home from school, Kabul, photo by Judy Duchesne-Peckham<\/p><\/div>\n

Though she had traveled extensively around the world, when Judy Duchesne-Peckham<\/a> first traveled to Afghanistan<\/a> in 2003, she was amazed at what she saw. “Seriously, it was like being in another planet. … I’ve been to a lot of poor places and I photographed in Vietnam and I kept thinking how can this be different,” says Duchesne-Peckham, taking a short break from her work as a photography and French teacher at San Marcos High School<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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“I had never been to a country that was currently at war before and it was very different. I had just never seen so much suffering and trauma in people’s faces,” she says. “But I had never met such a generous and sweet and loving group of people. They were so hospitable.”<\/p>\n

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Original residents at House of Flowers, photo by Judy Duchesne-Peckham<\/p><\/div>\n

Throughout her multiple trips to Afghanistan, Duchesne-Peckham documented much despair, but also found many images of hope, particularly in a small Montessori<\/a>-based orphanage school called The House of Flowers<\/a>, founded by Dr. Mostafa Vaziri<\/a> and Allison Lide<\/a>, both of whom contribute essays in the book, along with family therapist Casi Kushel and educators Dr. Inayatullah Majaddiddi, Amanullah Nasrat and Faheem Abrahimi.<\/p>\n

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It’s this positive light in country of darkness, which Duchesne-Peckham has chosen to spotlight in her new book, Healing Afghanistan: Hope for the Children<\/i><\/a>, a high quality, coffee table photo and essay collection containing the faces and stories of “a small number of people and children who represent the dazzling spirit of this country.” She is donating 100% of the profits from book sales to The House of Flowers orphanage.<\/p>\n

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The contrast between what she describes as “the prevailing despair in the large government orphanages and the beginning of hope in one small Montessori-based ophanage\/school” is what really struck Duchesne-Peckham, who describes her work as documentary photography.<\/p>\n

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Zacki welcoming visitors to House of Flowers, photo by Judy Duchesne-Peckham<\/p><\/div>\n

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“I always teach my students lessons about what an amazing impact documentary photography has had on the world and how people need to see it. It’s not always easy to see it, but they need to know and a picture is worth a thousand words as they say, so you want your photography to have an impact on people,” she says.<\/p>\n

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Her work has already had an impact on donations to the school, and she’s just getting started.<\/p>\n

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“(The House of Flowers) was beautiful and quiet and peaceful. I just fell in love with the kids. If they had let me take them home I probably would have been an instant mother of about seven children. … Everything was just well cared for. All of the kids had jobs to do. They cleaned up and they prepared the meals they roll the tablecloth off the floor and sweep the crumbs up afterward and recite poems by Rumi,” says Duchesne-Peckham. “They are learning English they were learning Farsi and their letters. It was fabulous. I just want to do what I can to help.”<\/p>\n

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Duchesne-Peckham <\/i>will sign and discuss Healing Afghanistan: Hope for the Children <\/i>on Thursday, January 9, at 7:30 p.m. at Granada Books<\/a>, 1224 State St. For more information about The House of Flowers and its parent nonprofit MEPO (Medical, Education and Peace Organization) visit mepoonline.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Originally published in\u00a0Santa Barbara SEASONS<\/a>\u00a0on January 8, 2014.<\/p>\n

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