Cultural Exchange Through Photographs

A strategy we used in both 7de Laan and Flamingo Crescent to build effective working relationships involved communicating and exchanging culture through photographs. In our experience, the communities we worked with were just as interested in our lives and backgrounds as we are in theirs. To help build an effective relationship, we shared photos of our lives back home.  We had the privilege to experience and learn about their home, culture, families, personal stories, and community for two months while we worked alongside them.

One of the students sharing pictures with the children of the settlement.

By bringing our photographs and sharing them, we put everyone on a level playing field in that the community can learn about our lives as we become a part of theirs. We hoped that by sharing photographs of our families, homes, friends and the other meaningful people and places in our lives, the co-researchers would be more willing to let us know and see their lives.