I Am Because We Are (Hardcover)

~ Kristen Ashburn (Photographer), Madonna (Foreword)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

I Am Because We Are is the companion volume to the acclaimed forthcoming documentary film directed by Nathan Rissman and written and produced by Madonna. This book of images by award-winning photojournalist Kristen Ashburn--culled from her own work in Malawi and Africa over the past seven years as well as from her specially commissioned photographs for the film--provides an intimate look at the lives of eight Malawian children featured in the film and reveals the harsh reality of the AIDS pandemic throughout southern Africa.

The title is derived from the concept of "Ubuntu," an idea in African spirituality that states that all of humanity is connected, that we cannot be ourselves without community, that an individual's well-being is dependent upon the well-being of others.

These heart-wrenching stories are a call to action. In Malawi, a country of 13 million people, over one million are orphans. Looking into the hearts and minds of children who have suffered more than one can imagine, the book provides an unflinching view of life at the center of the global AIDS crisis. This is not just a story about orphans in Malawi, but about global responsibility and human interconnectedness.

I Am Because We Are includes a foreword by Madonna, an afterword by Ashburn, excerpts from interviews with Malawian children, their biographies, and extended captions. Author proceeds from the sale of the book will be donated to the charitable organization Raising Malawi for their extensive work with orphans throughout Malawi.

From the Author

While preparing this book, I looked through thousands of images. Each brought back a memory.

I will never forget the first family I met who asked me if I could provide them with arvs -- the life-saving AIDS drugs. I was sitting in the living room of Wendy and her son, Valentine. They were both HIV positive.

Wendy looked me straight in the eye. As she talked, she labored to breathe: "Is it true that in your country people no longer die of this hiv?"

It was a question I would be asked over and over. People had heard that the drugs existed, and wanted to know how they could get them. With so many in need, I was completely overwhelmed. I convinced myself that I was only there as a journalist and that I could help the most by documenting the crisis. Now, looking back, I could have found a way to provide the drugs. And I should have. I could have helped to save one person. I could have saved Valentine.

Always eager to help, Valentine tagged along as I conducted interviews in the neighborhood. Once, trying to brighten his day and mine, we ate fast food and saw the movie Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Afterwards he practiced his karate kicks and talked about what he would do when he got better.

Valentine died a year later. He was ten years old.

AIDS drugs are now cheaper and more accessible then ever. We've run out of excuses. Valentine's death was preventable, and so are the deaths of millions of hiv-positive people in sub-Saharan Africa. This is not just about medicine, though. It's about involvement. It's about elevating people out of poverty, and addressing the unjust distribution of resources.

These images span my journey through Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Malawi -- all countries heavily affected by the virus. Much of what I experienced I can never convey in words. Each person in this book allowed me into their lives and shared their most difficult times so that we could bear witness to their suffering. Their hope, and mine, is that their stories will help us understand the heartbreaking reality of the pandemic and just how much is at stake.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 180 pages
• Publisher: powerHouse Books (January 15, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576874826
• ISBN-13: 978-1576874820
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 10.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #633,972 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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5.0 out of 5 stars AIDS Has Killed More Than 25 Million, February 2, 2009

By	Kelly J. Jadon "Founder: www.BasilAndSpice.com" (Florida) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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Author & Book Views On A Healthy Life!

Book Review: I Am Because We Are (PowerHouse Books, 2008) by Kristen Ashburn with a forward by Madonna


A FirstLook Feature

Recognized yearly, World AIDS Day raises global awareness of the spread of the disease. AIDS is caused by the transmission of HIV infection, and has killed more than 25 million people, approximately 2 million of them in 2007. It is estimated that 33 million are living with HIV, many of which do not have access to recently improved antiretroviral treatment and care. The worst hit region is Sub-Saharan Africa, home to 67% of the world's HIV cases. World AIDS Day is a World Summit of Ministers of Health on Programmes for AIDS Prevention initiative, first begun in 1988.

Every day in Malawi, Sub-Saharan Africa, people die of AIDS. They are mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers. Who's left? Orphans. More than 1 million of them.

I Am Because We Are is the powerful photo accompaniment to the film documentary by the same title. Photographed by the award-winning photojournalist Kristen Ashburn, the pictures portray the lives and deaths of the young left behind, in some cases to fend for themselves, and exemplifies the powerful truths of a people's demise.

"I Am Because We Are" is an African philosophy known as Ubuntu. Incorporated by Nelson Mandela as a founding principle for the new South Africa, it has been described by Desmond Tutu to mean, "as the proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that we belong to a greater whole and are diminished when others are humiliated or diminished, when others are tortured or oppressed." In the forward, Madonna writes, "As my friend Bill Clinton defines it, Ubuntu means that what we have in common is more important than our interesting differences."

Together, Kristen Ashburn and Madonna have outlined the purpose of I Am Because We Are as a book which will raise awareness of the continuation of the AIDS epidemic in Malawi, thus helping end the vicious cycle of poverty--disease--death---poverty, which begins anew with each orphan. Inside the book you'll see the stark reality of a world without food, medicine, and education. Sure, we in the West know about AIDS in Africa, we read about it in the news, but the photos add an element of humanity to our fellow man by putting an individual's name to each face. For each child's photograph, a brief history, partially written in the child's voice, explains how he or she became an orphan. More importantly, throughout the book, Madonna highlights what her organization, Raising Malawi has done to make a difference in each child's life.

Though it is heart-breaking to see the photos of children's lives interrupted, I Am Because We Are, is a poignant reminder that there are those who still do good, striving to change the inequities of the world with their talents and financial abilities. Proceeds from the sale of I Am Because We Are will be donated to Raising Malawi, a charitable organization founded by Madonna and Michael Berg, and will be used for their work with the orphans of Malawi.

Kristen Ashburn is a documentary photographer who has received numerous honors including a nomination for the 28th Annual Emmy Awards (2007), NPPA- Best of Photojournalism (2oo7, 2006, 2003), the John Faber Award- Overseas Press Club of America (2006) and two World Press Photo prizes (2005, 2003). The Getty Grant 2006, Canon's Female Photojournalist Award in 2004, and the Marty Forscher Fellowship for Humanistic Photography 2003. In 2004 she was recognized as one of Photo District News '30 under 30 photographers' and participated in the prestigious World Press Photo "Joop Swart" Master Class. In 2003 she was a speaker at the TED Conference [...]

She began to photograph the impact of AIDS in southern Africa in 2001. Ashburn's work has also taken her to Iraq a year following the US-led invasion; Israel and the Palestinian Territories, Sri Lanka in the immediate aftermath of the tsunami; Russia to cover the spread of MDR-tuberculosis in the penal system. Her work has appeared in many publications including Time, Newsweek, US New & World Report, Life and others.

5 Stars

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5.0 out of 5 stars The Blight of AIDS, March 6, 2009

By	Amos Lassen (Little Rock, Arkansas) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

Madonna (introduction). "I Am Because We Are", Kristen Ashburn, photographs, Powerhouse Books, 2009.

The Blight of AIDS

Amos Lassen

"I am because we are" comes from the African concept of "Ubuntu", an idea of spirituality which says that we are all connected and that we cannot be ourselves without community and the well being of an individual depends upon the well being of others. We can easily see how this applies to the devastating effect AIDS has had and is having on the entire world.
The book is a companion to the documentary that is forthcoming which is written and produced by Madonna. The book is a collection of photo images by photographer Kristen Ashburn that she took over the past seven years in Malawi and Africa. The images give an in-depth and intimate look at the lives of eight Malawian children and the reality of what AIDS has done to the continent.
The stories are heartbreaking as well as being a call to action. This is not just a story about orphans from the epidemic; it is about the responsibility that we all share as humans.
The book contains interviews with the children from Malawi as well as their life stories. The photographs are captioned and Madonna gives the introduction while Ashburn provides an afterword.
This is a very powerful book and some of the photos will worry you--as they should. This is the reality of a world without food, education and medicine. We know what AIDS has done in Africa but few of us have actually seen it. We also see that there are still people that do good and work hard so this situation will become better.
The money from the sale of the books will go to Raising Malawi to work with the orphans there.