The woman I was photographing, Mariam Nyota, was a refugee from the Congo who spoke very little English. I wondered how the supervisor could expect me to photograph her smiling. Mariam told me she was a single mother with three children, that her rent was $1,100 a month, and that her monthly income was only $1,500. She was raising he three children on as little as $400 a month, that is, on an average daily of about thirteen dollars. She had let me take her photograph only under the condition that I would try to help her get into public housing. Later, when I called the Boston Public Housing Authority, I was told that if she wasn't already homeless, the wait list for her was at least two years.               -Greg Halpern

Noted Author of Harvard Works Because We Do visits

ROCKY HILL SCHOOL

( East Greenwich , RI ) – Photographer and author, Greg Halpern speaks to students this Friday, February 11 , at Rocky Hill School at 8:15 am . Mr. Halpern will be the keynote presenter to our month-long recognition of the work of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King around issues of social and economic injustice. 

A graduate of Harvard University , Mr. Halpern's book came out of a four-year study of the working poor. His work speaks powerfully to the plight of the working poor and to our society's broad ignorance of their circumstances as well as to its contributions to their situation. His work helped fuel the Living Wage Campaign, a three-year effort that culminated in the Harvard Administration agreeing to provide a better living wage and benefits for the University's service workers. His book is a collection of photographs and interviews of the people who work as Harvard's cleaning people, cafeteria workers, custodians, grounds workers and security guards. "Some interviews," Halpern writes, "were like conversations; some were more like lectures. Almost always, my assumptions and expectations were deeply challenged. To respect another person, I came to feel, was to acknowledge his or her complexity."  

Upper School students will fill the Alan F. Flynn, Jr. Academic to hear Mr. Halpern's inspiring words. This standing room only presentation will be made available to our Middle School Students via our distance learning webcast technology .

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Rocky Hill School is a preschool through grade twelve, independent coeducational country day school located on 88 acres along Narragansett Bay and the Potowomut/Greeen Rivers .In a true country day school setting, Rocky Hill students experience our rich history and a challenging, college-preparatory curriculum. Through small classes, accessible faculty, a diverse program, and a supportive environment, we are especially skilled at helping students find and develop their full potential.