evelyn

Tonight I revisited this portrait made this past December in Uganda. Evelyn is a matron in the boy's dormitory at the orphanage. She is a tall, strong, imposing, beautiful young woman who I met on my first trip to Uganda in 2006.

Evelyn came to the orphanage from northern Uganda after her husband was killed in the conflict that is now getting so much attention due to the Kony 2012 Invisible Children campaign. Widowed young with three daughters, Evelyn found her way to Rosemary, the director at St. Mary Kevin, and secured a job. She was then able to put her girls Skovia, Sunday and Lillian in school, and she, along with the girls, were guaranteed a safe place to sleep, food, clothing and a shot at the future.

I didn't notice this when I made the portrait of Evelyn late one afternoon, but it hit me when I first viewed the image. The t-shirt hanging on the clothesline is the same color as the dripping paint on the dormitory wall behind Evelyn. To me, it seems that the shirt is weeping.

It was one of those gifts from the photo goddesses, and I was glad to receive it that day.

I'm glad, also, to know Evelyn. She's always been an inspiration to me.