The AjA Project - Permanent Collection
Istefan - Journey
“This is my old home. I feel sad when I see it. I sit in the sofa. In the photo my religion.”
Rene - Journey
“These crosses remember people who have died trying to cross the border. I think these are sad pieces of art work.”
Aye Aye - Journey
“I am wearing the dress of my country Burma. We are at church because I learn about Jesus.”
Matt - College Park
Vanessa - Borderclick
This is my favorite view because from the top of my house I can see Tijuana and in the very back the U.S., my two homes where my life and heart are. Even though they are far away in many ways, I can still see them how they really are: with no borders.
Faduma
Overcoming Barriers to Health
Ethan - College Park
This is my favorite view because from the top of my house I can see Tijuana and in the very back the U.S., my two homes where my life and heart are. Even though they are far away in many ways, I can still see them how they really are: with no borders.
Amina - Journey
“In this picture I am wearing the skirt that I wore the day I left Kenya. The picture makes me feel happy.”
Adam - Journey
“This photo is about my religion. It is very old religion. There is just few people speak our language.”
Rooda - Collective Voices
Part of the inter+FACE exhibit at The San Diego Museum of Man
Alexyss - Girls Eye View
“I sometimes look so happy, but people can’t tell that I’m sometimes sad. And when I am they get surprised. This is how I look.”
Faduma - Collective Voices
“I really believe our work with AjA is going tobring awareness across the community.”
Netaliya - Journey
“This woman is a relative of mine who came from my village that is in my country Iraq. She is wearing the clothes that an old lady would wear in my village. When ever I look at her, I remember my old home.”
Arturo - Journey
“In this country you have the power to be the author of your own life. You choose to live the way you live. The decisions you’ve made since middle school would affect the way you look at the world and the way the world looks at you.”
Ramon - Full STEAM Ahead
“Quick to understand, learn and devise or apply ideas. Intelligent.”
Lavarious - Full STEAM Ahead
Ara- Journey
“My sister’s First Communion.”
Juan - Journey
“This is my old home in Tijuana. It shows the house I used to live in before. It makes me feel happy because I like my old house. It communicates change-like my life. I want people to know that change is amazing.”
Ariele Robles - College Park
Asha - Journey
Paw May - Journey
Megan Berberich - College Park
Paige Rozeling - College Park
Ellyze - Girls Eye View
“I am labeled a girly girl because of the way I dress, wearing flower shorts or boots or the way I wear my hair down. Girly girl is opposite of my real personality.”
Adam - Journey
“The different is not the same language. Different food. Different school. Different home. Different life.”
Liza - Journey
“We need help in Iraq. So can the war stop there. And that Chaldean people have to came to America so can their lives be good and healthy. I love my culture and I want people to know that they should appreciate where I am from, because people are dying there. And it is so really sad.”
Yvania - Photo City
Jonathan - Journey
Madina - Journey
“They doing some jump ropes (at the Farmer’s Market). And they was selling a lot of colorful, fresh foods. They are grown locally. Each sambusa is one dollar and if you buy six of them it’s five dollars. I volunteer (at the Farmer’s Market). At the end of the Farmer’s Market we help them clean.”
Cuc - Journey
“The sound of your soft voice comforts me every time I face obstacles. The taste of buttery shrimp is salty and sweet like the favorable life that we’re living. The feel of warm temperature from your hands inspire me to do well in school every morning. The smell of sweat reminds me of your hard works. The sight of thoughtful eyes persue me to think deeply about my future. They all add up to become the determination and persistence in me.”
Enrique - Full STEAM Ahead
Monica - Journey
“This picture makes me feel sad. This picture is about a girl that she was always wanting to be with God and doesn’t want to live any more in the world. She wants to be with her mom who is with God.”
Beto - Youth Advisory Council
Faduma - Overcoming Barriers to Health
Kiran
Youth Advisory Council
Famo - Youth Advisory Council
A Civil War broke out in Somalia in 1991 that put the Somali Bantu, an unarmed cultural minority group, in the middle and becoming a target of devastating violence and loss. Several of the Bahati Mamas lost their children and husbands in the conflict. City Heights resident, Hawa Ahmed, one of the members of Bahati Mamas, is carrying tomatoes from the green house in Tierra Miguel to the field to plant them.
Ethan - College Park
Janeata - Girls Eye View
“On the inside I am nice. People can tell this because I give people stuff like chips an’d chips. I am funny because I make people happy.”
Najmo - Collective Voice
“In reality I’m mysterious and calm. I take mental notes on people. I’m also aware of my surroundings. I choose to see, rather than talk.”
Sahra - Collective Voices
Brent - Youth Advisory Council
Ahmed - Journey
“I am from Iraq. One morning I woke up, my mom told me to go and get some bread from the store. I got dressed and was ready to go and so I opened the door and started walking to the store. My mom called to tell me to put a jacket on because it was cold. I headed back to my house to put a jacket on and then a car bomb went off next to the store I was headed to. Many people died except me, thank God! If I could, I would take a picture of my home and it would look like I am hugging the wall outside my house. I have black hair, brown skin, and am not that tall. I am sometimes funny but not all the time. I like to play soccer, jog, ride my bike, and go out with my friends. I try to be the best at everything. I hope to be a soccer player. I want to change nothing because I like to be myself and help people. I would like to take a photo of with my friends when we play soccer. I think I am a good person. The people see me as a boy and see me as growing up. I know Arabic, English, and Turkish.”
Alex - Photo City
Virgina - Full STEAM Ahead
“Free from disturbance, tranquil.”
Seth - Jouvenile Court & Community Schools
David - Jouvenile Court & Community Schools
“I know I’m not gonna stop. They know I’m hiding something, but no matter what I’ve done, my mom is gonna love me.”
Roxolyna Znymka
“Children are very open and sincere. The children in this school feel the love and appreciate the sincerity of others. They really feel when they are loved – or not loved. How they are treated.”
Omar - Juvenile Court & Community Schools
“I’m trying to walk in the right path, but my past still haunts me.”
Alejandro - Border Click
Andrea - Border Click
Multiple Exposure at San Ysidro Point of Entry
Benjamin - Border Click
Kyle - Juvenile Court & Community Schools
Benjamin - Border Click
Jervais - Journey
Andrea - Border Click
Hodo - Collective Voices
With black and white eyes, you call me all the same. You bind me with labels so I can never hope to escape. Slowly a wall was built between me. The one you see and the one you don’t. The one you see is called my outside self built on what you think about me. But as hard as you try my inside self will stay the same, the happy child you tried to destroy will always remain the same.
Janeata - Girls Eye View
“On the outside people see me as black because I am not like them. This makes me feel kind of sad because people make fun of me since I am different.”
Ashley - Revisualizing Motherhood
Beto Soto - Speak City-Heights Media Lab
The California Endowment believes that civic and voter participation can build power in disinvested communities to improve the health outcomes of all Californians… As part of the (California Endowment’s) mission to improve the health of all Californians, #VOTA emphasizes the importance of youth voices and voting as a way to empower historically disenfranchised populations to build healthier communities. – Calendow.org
Sumaya - Speak City-Heights Media Lab
Zero-tolerance does not make schools more orderly or safe – in fact, the very opposite is true. In addition, zero-tolerance and the widespread use of suspensions and expulsions has thrown a disproportionate number of poor youth of color off the path of success and into the revolving door of juvenile and adult jails and prisons. While zero-tolerance and harsh juvenile sentencing have lost favor in some states, they still remain the dominant approach in others.” – Study by the Vera Institute
