CATALYST
Clay County students build skills and confidence
through innovative photography project
F
ort Gaines is a southwest Georgia
community of nearly 3,000 residents
nestled near the Alabama border. Funding
in 2017 and 2018 through Healthcare
Georgia Foundation’s Two Georgias Initiative ,
enabled the community to organize the Clay
County Health Partnership from diverse areas of
the county to address health equity and develop a
plan to increase access to health and quality
healthcare for the county’s underserved residents.
A major component of the partnership’s work has
been finding ways to engage young people.
“Establishing our Youth Empowerment Board has
given us ways to involve youth in our programs in
and after school,” said Partnership Project
Manager Tara Gardner. “They’ve given us insights
and direction on how to reach their peers.”
One recently completed youth activity was
PhotoVoice, funded through a 2018 grant
from the Georgia Council for the Arts (GCA)
that engaged 20 local youth ages 11 to 18
with professional photographer Peter Pauley,
from nearby Eufaula, Alabama.
PhotoVoice’s vision is for a world in which
everybody has the opportunity to represent
themselves and tell their own story. The
program’s mission is to promote the ethical
use of photography for positive social
change through innovative participatory
photography projects in underserved
communities.
Pauley, a seasoned photographer with more
than 30 years of experience, helped students
Fort Gaines, GA students in the Photovoice project worked with professional
photographer Peter Pauli (left).
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HEALTHCARE GEORGIA FOUNDATION