Jamila Martin re-evaluated the importance of life after her friend and fellow South Bend native Katie McCloskey died in the World Trade Center on 9/11. Martin said Katie had the correct perspective on life. “Katie wanted to experience life, to live in New York City, drive a red Mustang and see the Statue of Liberty from her office,” Martin said. She did all that.

There was more to do for Martin, more to life. She quit her job in Grand Rapids and moved back and settled into living in South Bend. The next turn brought her to IU South Bend to study photography. She is currently a junior.

Yet, school was not enough. She wanted to use her natural ability to work with children and her love of art.

Her skills and love took her for three months to teach photography in South Africa.

Her exhibit of photographs and the photos of her South African students will be on display for a month beginning April 7 at the Harrison Center for the Arts, 1505 N. Delware St., Indianapolis. The opening will be from 6 to 9 p.m. April 7.

The photos from the children also include short paragraphs describing the importance of the photo subject matter to the young artists.

The impetus to go to South Africa began with her mother, who instilled in her that there are always reasons to get involved. “And those commercials about helping orphans always bothered me. In the back of my mind, I always knew I wanted to do something more,” she said

Martin contacted VSA arts of Indiana and its CEO Jim Nulty, who directed her to the Trinity Project, International in South Africa. Through grants and independent study approval, she spent the fall semester working with Trinity.

Trinity gives disadvantaged adolescents a platform for positive change in their lives and community with one-on-one mentoring with an adult.

Initially, Martin’s role was to photograph the communities, assist in workshops and general office duties. Once she was there she became more inspired and moved to teach the children.

She taught photography in four townships in South Africa. The children photographed positive aspects of their lives – a car that still started, a grocery store or a mural on the wall. “I challenged them to find something positive in their lives,” she said. “They would walk around with a camera and they were proud.”

Martin saw poverty and illness there, and hope, through this project. “I think I gave them a bit of hope.”

And for herself, she came away with a deep appreciation for home. “You can make something of yourself here, if you are determined. There, determination isn’t enough. If I had the money, this is what I would do – fly around the world and teach and help them see their future.”

But for the next few weeks, the end of the semester and the exhibit are her focus points. Her young students are very proud that their work is on display and are expecting photos of the event. “I already thought of that,” Martin said.