Something Gained

Wonai Haruperi / Mpalume Mentorship Recipient

The Mpalume Mentorship

The Mpalume Mentorship is a pilot project created by the Zimbabwe Association of Female Photographers (ZAFP) and funded by ProHelvetia’s ANT Adaptation Fund. Named for a founding member, Annie Mpalume, who battled the odds to become one of the Zimbabwe’s first female photojournalists, the mentorships took place over three months in 2021. 

Wonai Haruperi is a 26 year old self-taught photographer living and working in Harare. Growing up in a society rich in colour and culture she developed a love for storytelling and decided to use photography as a tool to explore and share the realities of her everyday life. Wonai founded Unpublished ZW in 2020, a collaborative space for photographers that acts as a window into everyday Zimbabwe. Wonai was mentored by documentary photographer and ZAPF co-director, Davina Jogi.

Something Gained

About 5% of the world’s population (430 million people)  have some degree of disabling hearing loss and deafness and 80% of these people live in low and middle-income countries like our own Zimbabwe. 

Hearing loss has been ironically nicknamed “the silent epidemic” because its effects, particularly social, are invisible, awareness is low and its appearance and intervention on public policy agenda is less than ideal. From a child being unable to develop speech, to the elderly becoming isolated from social activity as a result of hearing loss, the foremost concern has always been an individual’s ability to communicate and ultimately what consequences this has on them and the community around them. 

Biomedical and disability discourses have largely framed research and intervention in hearing loss and deafness around the central theme of loss. Truthfully, embarking on this project I intended to uncover and shed light on what the negative effects of having a hearing loss and deafness in the Zimbabwean context may be. Instead, by inquiring into the lived experiences of individuals with varying degrees of hearing loss I ended up with a project that explored personal identities and the different ways that people connect; with other people, with their hearing ability and with community.  

Each individual told stories of gain rather than loss, before going on to share what they hoped people could come to understand about hearing loss and deafness. 

Something Gained focuses in on two of the people I photographed, David Graham, hotel owner of the Whitehorse Inn, and Dione Manjoro, a young dancer who lives in Harare. By sharing these two personal identities, the intention of the series is to invite dialogue around the issue of creating truly inclusive communities that are understanding, empowering and above all, connecting. At the very least, there is something to be gained by simply knowing and seeking to understand a person’s story.

 

  • David Graham started to lose his hearing in about 2000. His recent stroke made his hearing difficulty more apparent. "I’m a fan of classical and traditional jazz," he says, "and for a while [before hearing aids] I could hear the drums mainly.. but things like the violin are more difficult.”

  • Dione Manjoro says she was born deaf but can hear some sounds if they are very, very loud. She prefers to sign as her own speech is not very clear.

  • Mr Graham was born in England in 1937 and lit up as talked about meeting Charlie Chaplin during the time he spent working as a manager at the Adelphi Hotel. He keeps photographs and mementos in his living room to remind him of his past and family overseas.

  • “I am 21-years-old and I have a twin sister, she is Diana and I’m Dione... Our mother moved to South Africa for work a few years ago and my dad is late now... I live with my mother’s family now, with my aunt who is holding me in this photo of me as a baby. We are a nice family.”

  • Mr Graham had forgotten he could hear different bird calls until recently, when he acquired hearing aids which enabled him to hear the different birds again. He wonders if they could improve his hearing in situations where there is a crowd of people.

  • Dione wishes more people could sign, especially in public places. She has been teaching her friend, Belinda, to sign and she now helps Dione communicate.

  • “I have loved running the Whitehorse. I love this garden, the flowers especially. I can name almost every flower in this garden.”

  • When Dione's high school [Mufakose High One] told her, she could not proceed to 'A' level because they did not have a class for her, she started learning to dance. She says it makes her very happy, especially because she is able to earn some money with the dance group she belongs to.

  • “A lot of people tend to shout, that’s not necessary. What I need is clarity, not just more volume. I would like people to understand that.”

  • “If the music is loud enough or if I hold it very close to my ear, I can catch the beat, then I can dance to it. This is how I know what dance to do, I need to know the beat first.”

  • Mr Graham ended up in the Vumba in the 1970s, while on holiday visiting South Africa, where his father is from. He says, "I ended up staying, and when I got the opportunity to buy the Whitehorse Inn in 1980 I did. I’d always dreamed of a house with a large garden with a creek on it’s edge and that is exactly what I got”

  • Dione is pictured practicing for a performance to celebrate International Day For Person’s with Disabilities. “I am happiest when I dance," she says, "Now I dance with Tamba Africa, we put on performances about things like gender based violence...I believe deaf is beautiful.”

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