BELONG

Yesterday I had the pleasure of photographing several different people as part of an upcoming promotion to help encourage and enforce the way forward for Kaiapoi as a community, following the destructive earthquakes of 4 September 2010, and 22 February 2011 and all of those "aftershocks" inbetween.

Of all the people we spoke to, interviewed, and photographed, this guy made the biggest impression on me. His extra-ordinary sense of family/whanau, friendship, community and all those other words that described someone with such a positive attitude in the face of adversity.

I haven't published his face, because I haven't got his permission to do so, but I am sure anyone knowing Kaiapoi, and KBS will know who I am talking about. The bracelet he is holding is given to each new student entering the school. The word BELONG has a meaning for each of the letters, and they mean a lot to a school, its families and community who have suffered so much from mother nature, and are all forging a way forward to the future and creating a safe and happy environment for everyone, overcoming hurdles and challenges along the way.

I love too, the saying printed on the whiteboard behind, which also ezplains the way I've cropped this photo.