Thokodzile Kauma (17): Thoko is the 'original Chishawasha resident' and came to live with Kathe Padilla in May 2001 when 'Chishawasha' was no more than a small rented residence in Lusaka. She is very mature for her age, an outstanding student - and not just of my workshop; she's a 'Prefect' at the off-campus secondary school she visits. She has a gentle and private demeanor - especially when she speaks English. As soon as she speaks Nianja though her voice comes down two octaves and displays an inner force that fully explains her easy and mischievous smile. Her self-described hobbies are "making people happy, sports, reading, mixing with everyone, singing though I can't sing very well, and listening to Gospel music." Thoko was born to Jane Mulenga and Nelson Kauma. She doesn't remember much about her father who died when she was five; by the time she was 12, her mom had developed 'a swollen leg that just wouldn't heal' and this eventually led to her death. A friend of the family brought Thoko to the attention of Kathe Padilla, the founder of Chishawasha. In her own words looking back, this was "the only chance where I can get educated and become someone in future. I really miss my parents very much. When I do very well in school I even whish they could see what I am able to do as their only girl child. I would like to study law. This is the profession that - in my heart, I think of most of the time." Thoko has two older brothers, one is a grown-up living on his own, the other lives with her grandparents. She usually visits some of her relatives on holidays. They are numerous enough for her to run into them almost every weekend.

Mary Paxina Makunka (15): With five years of stay, Mary is another one of the senior Chishawasha residents. She's respected equally by everyone and navigates her multiple roles of teenage girl, group leader and soon-to-be independent grown-up. Her dad Mwelwa was a pilot, fell sick while visiting his parents. He remained there and died in 1995, in all likeliness of AIDS. Three years later her mom Patricia, a secretary by profession died as well. Relatives soon grabbed most of the property and sold the family house. This seems a fairly common pattern that often leaves orphans in Zambia with very little or makes 'taking care of them' a barely veiled pretense to getting control of an inheritance. Mary's brother John lives with her at Chishawasha, as do two of her cousins. An older sister lives in another town with relatives of her father. Mary likes her school time, especially English, History, Science, French and Religious Education. Her hobbies are dancing, modeling and listening to both Zambian and Gospel music. Mary doesn't like " playing because I don't benefit from it." Mary is also inspired by journalism: "I like the way they inform the world on what is happening in other countries. And I also hear that journalists speak proper English and I think that I am one of those". Mary on photography: "I like taking photos. I think photographing is... some kind of funny."

Charles Chikuni (17): Charles has been in Chishawasa for four years. Charles has 3 brothers and two sisters; the oldest brother is 40 years old, married with kids and lives in Lusaka. After their mom died six years ago, Charles lived with him for two years. Ultimately, coming to Chishawasha was an educational opportunity for Charles; Chishawasha's kids can qualify for higher education. Charles is a hard worker when an assignment makes sense to him. He seems very confident and likes to be in charge. He is a great team player when it comes to soccer, but not always when it comes to working together with girls. I'm sure he'll soon grow past that certain age. His favorite subjects are Math, Science and English. He likes reading books on technology and has a knack for recycling electronic parts - CD player parts, wired to batteries and stripped radio speakers make his bunk bed look like yet another parallel workshop. As far as our workshop goes, Charles did well. He also was a student who strongly preferred to be behind the camera, not in front of it. Not that he would need to in any way - but I'd certainly be the first to empathize with him.

Peter Sakala Lunghu (11): Peter is orphaned but he and his brother and sister only visit Chishawasha's school. They live with his aunt and her own kids in a nearby village. Peter has fond memories of both his parents and misses them a lot. They left behind a large and somewhat spread-out family. Peter's aunt is a cook for one of the members of parliament, which certainly would mean a lot in our own social settings, but her house is as simple as the next one. Peter's a bright kid and very diligent at school. He is good in Math and Sciences; he also likes Social Studies and English. Still, his main challenge during the workshop was language. Having a tendency to just say 'yes' or simply disengage when a conversation goes over his head, his understanding of workshop assignments was hard to gage until results were in. Peter likes shepherding his goats and building wire toy cars. He would like to become a teacher, a scientist or - a soldier. That's because he doesn't like quarreling and believes the world needs more peace. Peter really enjoyed learning something entirely new to him and found working with cameras an encouraging thing to do. He likes Chishawasha's school and is keenly aware it's his best opportunity to receive good education.

Mwewa Mwamba (13): Mwewas parents are both deceased. His dad Bwalga was a copper miner and a mine shaft collapsed on him. His mom Veronica was a businesswoman. She took good care of the family until she fell ill and died. She left behind two daughters and her seven year-old son Mwewa. Notwithstanding his losses, Mwewa is a happy-go-lucky guy and a true extrovert. He is very sharp, entertaining and knows how to work his assets. His favorite subjects in school are Science and English, and he would like to become an engineer on day. He is a good soccer player, 'man enough' to wear pink girly looking 'sport' shoes, showing no concern over the barefoot boys' teasing him with it: They are the ones to limp away with yet another foot injury - not him. Mwewas' self-awareness and go-get-it attitude made him quite different from most kids in my group. Liking the way Chishawasha's kids eat healthy, wear proper (if donated) clothes and live family style, he's made it his pet project to become a Chishawasha resident during our workshop; eventually he had to be sent home with some determination, back to his sick and widowed grandmother. Five of her seven kids have left the house, so she does have the space to house him, one of his sisters and two cousins. Two dogs watch over their house. According to Mwewa, the puppy dog's mom 'committed suicide', but that's another story. Mwewa's older sister is a sales manager, married to a gardener and they live in a household of their own. Mwewa's photography was inventive and flexible. He really enjoyed teaching others what he had learned and is very eager to continue photographing.

Bobsisa Saubateli (13): Bobsi is a little down on himself. He wants to be more physical. A great dancer and soccer player, he is currently overcoming TB. But treatment is tiresome. He's also getting tired of waiting for the powerful changes a boy of his age wants to see happening. He's quite mature in other respect and by the time you read this he may be getting what he asked for. Bobsi would like to be a journalist one day: "What inspires me is the way they collect information". Well here we go: Bobsi's dad "died in his sleep", and his mom Sarah "got sick and died". Unfortunately both died from AIDS related complications. Bobsi had a brother and a sister who died equally. Bobsi's 'actual' grandmother is one of the few people who came out a few years ago to the community announcing she had AIDS. Zambia's somewhat successful retroviral drug public programs are making inroads, and AIDS is now called by its name more often. After his parents' death, the mentioned grandma took him in. His cousin Anastasia was in the same situation and both were frequently beat by a family member. At some point Bobsi was thrown out of the house and was told to never come back. A friend of the family approached Chishawasha to take him in. We visited Bobsi's 'other grandma' - who actually is his mom's sister. She and her husband live in a very simple but hospitable home in Lusaka's Ng'ombe compound. They have four kids of their own, 3 of which live at home, two of those have husbands and kids. Bobsi calls his older cousins 'uncles' and 'aunts'. Bobsi also calls Anastasia his 'sister'. This certainly makes sense considering their shared fate and that they both live at Chishawasha now, but it certainly doesn't make it easy to understand the underlying blood relations. While my investigative reporting about Bobsi ends here, on goes the Zambian extended family. Relations are earned and granted on the base of merit. Grandmas quite regularly turn out to be aunts or may merely be an older person of care while their husbands may or may not independently qualify as 'grandpa'. Conveniently, 'uncle' is also the term of respect a child will use for most any male grownup. I was going by 'Uncle Klaus' before I even arrived at Chishawasha. And judging by the ceaseless 'Mommy-Mommy' calls around the orphanage, these kids are orphans no more... while unquestionably boosting the care-level Chishawasha's house moms are able to provide.

Amos Chindalu (13): Amos on the other hand is still a little boy, quite happy with it and quite hilarious at the 'only a little boy' number he pulls whenever it suits his needs. But one can already tell he'll be a thoughtful and gentle teenager. Amos has been at Chishawasha for less than a year. He was born to Veronica Tembo and Paul Chindalu. He can remember when his father got sick and died, but he doesn't know what was wrong with him. He had a sister who also died. After his mother's more recent death he stayed with his uncle's family for a brief period of time before coming to Chishawasha. Amos doesn't like fighting and his professional aspirations are diverse if not entirely exclusive of each other: In his own words: " I want to be an accountant. I want to learn how to count money. I also want to learn how to fly a plane. I have also learned how exciting it is to work with cameras. I think it is very challenging. Glad to work along with you."

Nicolas Banda (13): Nicolas is an old soul in a young boys body. As long as he is away from the soccer field... he has a heart of gold, quietly looks out for others and rarely demands a lot of attention; that may be why it took me a while to call him by his own name, not someone else's... sorry! His aspiration is to one day be a pastor, heal people and teach to them. His self-professed hobbies are reading and writing. Equally self-professed he likes schooling, doesn't like playing and what he misses most (I suppose when playing) is learning... Does that sound like a future over-achiever or what? Relax Nico! His remaining direct family are his father's older brother and sister in law. Nico doesn't remember his mom - not her name nor a reason for her death. His father's death soon followed, as did that of his father's older brother. At the time, a third remaining brother took in Nico and Nico's cousins Annette and Charles. All of them now live at Chishawasha.

Annette Banda (14): Annette was born to Charles and Iris Banda. Her dad died when she was a little kid.   Annette only remembers her mom who died when she was six years of age. Annette is Nico's older cousin; she has an older brother who lives with their grandmother in a different town and an older sister who lives with a different aunt, but in Lusaka. All in all, nine people live at the house we visited: Annette's father's sister and her husband, their son, two daughters with husbands and two children. Annette was one of the most consistent workshop photographers. She made every assignment count and generally projects a calm competence that also made her a popular assignment partner. She enjoys school although she really dislikes having to sit so much all day. Her hobbies are dancing, singing and - making friends. She would like to learn a profession that can somehow help the poor. More specifically she's interested in learning how to make magazines and of course she hopes that her workshop photos will be seen in one.

Monica Phiri (12):  At times her head may be in the clouds, but Monica is a sweetheart with her own sense of direction. She has a very affectionate relationship with her paternal grandparents, something very nice to see that didn't seem the rule when it comes to our kids who often carry quite a bit of baggage when it comes to their not always caring relatives. Monica has four younger cousins who were with her grandparents when we visited, and even though she seems well adjusted to Chishawasha, she misses living with family. She was born to Isaac Phiri and his wife Lontia. Both died of reasons unknown to her. She remembers them well and used to study the Koran with her dad. Her grandpa, equally a Muslim, is a homebuilder by profession. His white beard and white hand-nit skullcap make him very handsome and photogenic. Monica is an avid dancer. Whenever she dances she becomes her own senior by at least three years. She would like to work with orphans one day, or become a nurse helping the sick.

Charity Nduluvu (12): Back in 2001, Charity's older sister Peggy came to Chishawasha, insisting that her mom had died suddenly and that she had no siblings - that's until she had lived with 'the weird white woman' Kathe Padilla for a few months and felt convinced hers was a safe place for Peggy's younger siblings Sharon and Charity. They were 10 kids when their youngest sibling died of AIDS in infancy; that's when the parents came to realize they both were HIV positive. Charity's dad Martine died soon thereafter. When Charity's mom Christine fell ill, she obviously could foresee her fate and sent Charity to an orphanage. Eventually Christine died. Charity found out of her mom's death well after the fact and at first was reluctant to believe it. In fact, when asked today, Charity still gives 'high blood pressure' as the reason of her mom's 'sudden' death. It's hard enough to lose both parents, but Charity also feared to have lost her stake at home. When she was 8 years old she went home for a visit and refused to return to the other orphanage. Being the only girl left at home, she wanted to join her sisters at Chishawasha. It took almost two years before Chishawasha had room to take her in. Charity really likes babies; taking care of them gives her comfort and pleasure. One can regularly see her 'play baby' with her dolls. Inspired by one of her aunts, she hopes to become a nurse one day.

Faustina Kumuenda (13): Faustina is the only student of mine who readily shares about her private life. She is talkative and has a very endearing way of stretching her English vowels. Faustina is not an orphan but her family's story is rather sad. Her mom Florence gave birth to seven kids - only three of them survived. She then fell sick with Epilepsy, after which her husband, Faustina's dad, abandoned the family for a new wife. Suffering now from schizoid episodes, Florence doesn't recognize Faustina but rather sees in her the last kid of hers that died. She lives under very poor conditions in her sisters' and brother's care. She seemed weak and wary. Faustina's three aunts also have their own children and family to worry about. And her uncle - his wife took the children and left after he had taken to beating her. Faustina's own two brothers live at home. One of them goes to school, the other doesn't and no one makes him go either. Understandably Faustina really tries to figure out how much trust she can put into her newfound home at Chishawasha - if it can be a place that will be there for her no matter what may happen next. Faustina's hobbies are singing, dancing and reading. She would like to be a doctor one day, or maybe a teacher - some profession that can help other kids.