David & Kinder, Indien 2019
Maher India
Lecture, portraits of children from Maher and film screening
David Kranzelbinder
As part of the filming for the movie “Schwesternherz – Sister Heart”, David Kranzelbinder realised a series of portraits in the aid organisation Maher in India in 2015:
A selection from a total of 600 portraits of children, many of whom would live on the streets or in slums without Maher.
Maher is Marathi and means mother house. The organisation was founded by Sister Lucy Kurien, who still heads Maher today. The interfaith project is dedicated to the care and education of people who can no longer find a way out on their own, as well as the development of Indian villages. To date, Maher has supported over 4000 women, children and men.
The series of pictures was shown for the first time at the Gallery at Graz Airport.
Film screening: Documentary
Lucy is vaccinated because she is over 65 years old, but hardly anyone else is. Those who do not have an ID card – and there are many of them who are picked up on the street by the Maher workers – are not entitled to a vaccination. Therefore, Sr Lucy is considering private vaccination services for these poorest people, but they cost 500 Rupees (5.64 Euros) per person and she does not have the money.
There are currently 920 children, 600 women and 120 men living in the various Maher homes. If you add the staff of about 400, almost 2000 people have to be fed (and hopefully soon vaccinated) every day. It is a miracle how this can be done at all, because Maher lives only on donations.
David Kranzelbinder is a photographer, filmmaker and artistic director at Pavelhaus Article VII Cultural Association for Styria www.pavelhaus.at
www.maherashram.org www.maher.atMaher –