Barak Bruerd

Community Training

Posted on September 09, 2009 by Barak in Africa | No Comments

There are simple things we take for granted, and things we are taught from a young age that we never even think about.  Here, community members have been taught basic things about hygiene and how diseases are transmitted – ideas we consider common sense, but in terms of the global majority, actually aren’t all that common.  In a place where families expect to lose at least one or two children to sickness, these people for the first time understand how to keep themselves healthy.  This elderly gentleman is repeating back a portion of the lesson on disease transmission.  When he finished, there was applause.

End of the Trail

Posted on June 16, 2009 by Barak in North America | No Comments

Cheekwood

Posted on April 17, 2009 by Barak in North America | No Comments

Really, it’s not intended to be a pun.  I took this photo of Tara at a historic estate outside of Nashvilla called Cheekwood.  Beautiful post-civil war home with botanical gardens.

Like Obama

Posted on February 28, 2009 by Barak in Africa | No Comments

I’m famous now.  I don’t even bother to avoid the inevitable. I just introduce myself as “Barak… like Obama” and make cheesy jokes about being his white brother.  Doesn’t matter – people love it and I make instant friends.  These women were absolutely priceless – from Obama’s nearby village and all three living out incredible stories as they battle AIDS in their community and in themselves.  Stepping into their homes (behind me in the photo) I could only sit in awe of what they struggle with daily, and yet their hope is self-evident.  If only I could bottle it and bring it home with me.  We need it here desperately.

Nomadic Pastoralist, Marsabit

Posted on February 24, 2009 by Barak in Africa | 1 Comment

Oasis in Marsabit

Posted on February 24, 2009 by Barak in Africa | No Comments

Its hard to describe what it’s like to stand in a wasteland, surrounded on all sides by scorched earth as far as the eye can see.  Even more so, its hard to describe what water means to a place like this.  Camels numbering in the thousands surround this place and men wade knee deep in the green water lifting bucket after bucket to the watering trough.  It is a place that is at once both treacherous and beautiful.

Jijue One Million

Posted on February 22, 2009 by Barak in Africa | No Comments

One of several concerts Jars of Clay gave in Nairobi along with other amazing local artists performed as part of the Jijue One Million Campaign – a campaign whose goal is to see 1 million Kenyans tested.  Jijue is swahili and is a slang term that embodies the idea of confidence through self-knowledge.  In a country where 1 out of 12 are HIV positive and only 3 in 5 know their status, this self knowledge is critical in halting infection rates in Kenya.  The week Jars performed in Nairobi, nearly 4,000 people were tested.  An amazing start to the campaign.

Father-Daughter Dance

Posted on December 06, 2008 by Barak in North America | No Comments

Wedding photography is not something I do per se, but thus was at a family wedding and was not the main photographer (thankfully – too much pressure). But I captures a few good photos like the father-daughter dance.

Sharing…

Posted on September 04, 2008 by Barak in Africa | No Comments

The spring at this oasis supplies water for several thousand livestock a day; camels, donkeys, goats, and sheep.  It also supplies people.  Though it looks like dirt, most of the soil surrounding this spring is layers of dung built up over generations.  In the coming year Blood:Water will fund the rehabilitation of this spring.  It will be excavated by the local people, backfilled, and then capped with an outlet that will run “down stream” so livestock can drink without contaminating the water.  A separate tap will be made so that people can obtain water without fighting for space from the animals.

Maikona Teacher

Posted on September 04, 2008 by Barak in Africa | No Comments

Maikona elementary school is a dusty school in Marsabit, Kenya.  It’s three concrete brick buildings with classrooms and rickety wooden desks.  Sometimes kids double and triple up at the desks.  Outside the wind whips the desert sand into dust devils that spiral several hundred feet in the air and a dozen thorny scrub trees are the only plants that break up the otherwise barren landscape. But Maikona school is a source of pride for the community.  They built it.  There was no one there to help them, the government ignores them, and so they built it themselves.  They wanted a future for their children.  They sold camels and goats and donkeys, they purchased the cement and brick, they hired the technicians, and they built the school.  Now they pay the salaries for 3 extra teachers b/c the government will only provide 7 and each classroom has over 80 students per teacher.  It’s incredible to see the dedication of this community.  They stand proud for what they are giving to their children.