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Quito NGO Spotlight: Centro del Muchacho Trabajador
Bairo Truillo, age 9, dips water out to serve in the cafeteria during lunchtime. (Britney McIntosh)
Centro del Muchacho Trabajador or Working Boy’s Center began out of an attic next to the bell tower stairs of the Jesuit Church of the Compania. In the beginning, the organization worked with 200 shoeshine boys who worked in the historic central city of Quito. The Center provided the boys with meals, medical attention and basic education.
The organization’s motto is “To contribute to the prosperity of the working boys and their families is to contribute to the present and future welfare of the community.”
They do this by stressing 10 characteristics to creating positive change: Loyalty, personal formation, family, religion, education, economy, work, recreation, health and housing.
Truth students Britney McIntosh and Jessica Marcy have been assigned to document the work of Centro del Muchacho Trabajador.
Britney is focusing on the issue of children who must not only work to survive in Quito, but who must also work towards providing a better future for themselves. She is looking to answer the question of what happens to childhood amidst all of this labor.
Jessica’s work will focus on the lives of a family with 11 children. The mother works at Centro del Muchacho Trabajador from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. everday, while many of her children are cared for and educated by the NGO.
To learn more about Centro del Muchacho Trabajador, please visit http://www.centromuchachotrabajador.org/ or in English at http://www.workingboyscenter.org/
Jose Luis Bone, 1, is fed by his older sister at Centro del Muchacho Trabajador. (Jessica Marcy)
The first University of Missouri Photo Workshop, in 1949, was referred to as an “experiment in photographic education.” The director, Clifton C. Edom, had one rule: “Show Truth With A Camera.” No posing. No manipulation of the facts.
Cliff was influenced by Lewis Hine, Jacob Riis and the Farm Security Administration and their role in documenting social problems. Since that time thousands of photojournalists have educated us about war, hunger, violence and abuse around the world.
“Documentary photography”, wrote Cliff, “is the background, the roots, of modern photojournalism.” He spoke of the necessity to keep up with new technologies, but he emphasized the importance of ethics in documenting society and contributing to social justice.
Dr. Vme Edom Smith, Director and Secretary
The Edom Foundation for Photojournalism Education