CHANGING LIVES PROGRAM -2017

Before working at MERCY CORPS I was working with a much smaller international non-profit organization, it was called the Changing Lives Program created by Dr. Majid Al-Sadi.

The program was created in order to strengthen cross-cultural communication skills between the western middle eastern regions of the globe. Initially, the project started

SCOPE OF THE PROJECT

I was hired to follow the group of participants along as they travel across Jordan and work help out in humanitarian efforts whether it was to help build a school, or educate children, or learn about the culture of Jordan. They had a journey ahead of them and by default, so did I.

GEAR TALK

Again, armed with my trusty 5D Mark III I was basically ready to tackle most of the challenges that were coming my way. A friend of mine in Jordan rents out his collection of gear to the photo and video community in Amman Jordan. I've worked with him on numerous occasions and his supply of gear is always something stunning to use. I had reserved a 16-35mm f/2.8 lens, and also 2000-400mm Canon lens, along with my own personal 24-105mm f/4 which allowed me to use my camera to its utmost potential as I covered most of the desired focal length.

A Photograph of the Second SHoters 5D Mark III with a 24-105 Image by Rashad Anabtawi

I rented certain lenses on certain days that required the use of each specialized lens. For example, on the day we went to the Al-Azraq Wetland Wildlife Reserve I brought along with me the 200-400mm Canon zoom lens in order to try and capture nature from a distance, through the dense foliage and harsh desert terrain. At times when we were in the heart downtown Amman, I brought along with me the 16-35mm and the 24-105mm canon lenses in order to get a wider more encompassing view of the area they were in.

THE JOURNEY

EDUCATION CENTER IN GAZAN REFUGEE CAMP

A Photograph of the Students from the Changing Lives Program and the students from the education center by photographer Rashad S Anabtawi

A Photograph by photojournalist Rashad Anabtawi image of a student holding a todler

One of the first places we went to visit was a young education center in a Gazan Refugee camp in Northern Jordan near the Ajloun area. there we went to learn about the opportunities provided out in the world despite their individual hardships. together we learned of

A Photograph of an educational event atop the education center in the gaza refugee camp Photograph by Rashad S Anabtawi

A Photograph of a young boy wlaking home in the Gaza Refugee camp in Jerash by photojournalist Rashad S Anabtawi

LUNCH IN DIBEEN FOREST

A Photograph of Dibeen Forest Landscape by Landscape Photographer Rashad Anabtawi

A Photograph of the delicious food being prepared by the generous hosts of the educational center in the Gaza refugee camp in Jerash Image by Rashad Anabtawi

The Lunch was prepared the traditional way with limited preservatives, a lot of species and natural herbs, and a warm open fire. Unfortunately, it was summer and the hornet and was community saw this as an invitation for their selfish harassment. everyone else seemed to have a grip on the situation, I, on the other hand, chose to (was not forced to) stay in the car because of the increasing number of aggressive hungry hornets.

A Photograph by Rashad Anabtawi of the grill in the forest camp site

A Photograph of the students preparing to eat lunch Image by Rashad Anabtawi

MADRASTI IN MARKA

Our Journey to Marka would have sent us out into the desert to make some obscure turn-pike up a ramp or forever hold your peace in the deserts of Jordan. But, now there have been major infrastructure updates to the geography of Amman and its interconnectivity to the rest of Jordan.

Now, we drive inwards and get to Marka through a shorter more convenient passage that unintentionally takes one on a tourism trip of really old Amman.

'MADRASTI' is literally translated from Arabic to English as "My-School" which helps encompass the idea that these children are masters of their own fate, in spite of where they think they are now in life, education and support from those environments will help you move past hardships and make a difference for yourself and others.

A Photograph by Rashad Anabtawi of everyone celebrating

WETLANDS RESERVE

I had been here many times but this time it was to watch how the center itself taught their own approach to newcomers from outside the ecological sensory perceptions of the middle east.

it started off with an extremely enlightening presentation about how the Wetlands wildlife reserve center works with the Jordanian Government and other municipal entities in order to save the dying wetland reserve.

A Photograph of the students attentively listening to the environmental presentation the image by Rashad S Anabtaw

As I have said I have been to the center before, and this time around after a ten-year hiatus, the landscape had seemed so foreign to me. the water levels in certain areas had dropped to such a drastic degree, that what was once swampland has no become a dreadful arid desert.

After we learned about this via the presentation, the staff of the wetland wildlife reserve was so gracious as to give us an almost all-access tour of the facilities in order to really see the scope of their project.