Beth O'Donnell's Angels In Africa
Portraits of 7 Courageous African Women Supports Cause
Apr 12, 2007
Angels in Africa (The Vendome Press, October 2006) introduces readers to seven visionary African women who, while remarkable for their individual accomplishments, represent dozens of equally exceptional women who have devoted their lives to overcoming Africa's issues for themselves, their peers, and future generations.
Author Kim Sevcik writes in the book's Introduction, "We read about the inexplicable civil wars, the staggering AIDS rates, the poverty and famine and corruption and riots...Yet for every crisis burdening sub-Saharan Africa, there are also legions of Africans toiling away, intent on coming up with their own solutions." And as she notes, "the people leading the grassroots efforts to combat poverty and illiteracy and AIDS are overwhelmingly women."
Beth O'Donnell's photographs, accompanied by candid first-person accounts, give us a glimpse not only of the gritty reality of conditions in Africa, but of the strength, integrity, warmth, and beauty of women who have taken powerful action to rectify these conditions, and the people whose lives they touch.
Organized by country, each chapter of Angels in Africa introduces us to a remarkable woman who is tackling an issue that is particularly prevalent in that country. In Rwanda Pascasie Mukamunigo, a Tutsi woman brings together the Hutus and Tutsis through a community weaving project.
In Tanzania Edina Yahana helped plant more than one million trees in an effort to save the rainforests from decimation. We learn about the work of Prudence Mwandla of South Africa who has dedicated her life to sheltering AIDS orphans who had been abused, abandoned, sick, and hungry. Four subsequent profiles of women from Mozambique, Mali, Kenya, and Senegal.
Throughout Angels in Africa, O'Donnell's photographs reveal personal, intimate facets of Africa we don't see often on the news. What emerges is an inspiring portrait of the human spirit as embodied by these women who, against the odds, are fixing what much of the world has deemed to be unfixable.
About the Authors
Photographer Beth O'Donnell's photojournalistic work on Africa has been exhibited in galleries across the United States. She exhibited work at the United Nations in conjunction with the Istanbul +5 Conference and her photographs have been auctioned at major philanthropic events around the country. The co-founder of Miraval-Life in Balance Resort and Spa and Sierra Tucson Addictions Facility and a board member of the African Rainforest Conservancy, she has owned galleries in Tucson and Aspen. A mother of three, she divides her time between New York City, Miami Beach, and Easthampton, New York.
Award-winning journalist Kimberley Sevcik is a contributing writer for Rolling Stone and a contributing editor for Marie Claire. She lives in New York City. A portion of the proceeds of Angels in Africa goes to the Pendulum Project which supports the work of the women featured in this book. Visit the book's website.
