By SONJA BARISIC, Associated Press Writer
NORFOLK, Va. - Teressa Rerras didn't really start taking photographs until age 40, and then it was only as a way to remember her trips to exotic places around the world. Nearly a decade later, she's taking more than just vacation snapshots. She's returning to Afghanistan (news - web sites) this month for the ninth time since 2001 to teach girls new ways of seeing their world — and themselves — through photography.
Girls who had never been allowed to even hold a camera under the strict rule of the Taliban now are learning about math, science and communication as they photograph themselves and their surroundings, develop the film and write about their visions of the future.
"It's kind of like art therapy. I want them to focus on telling me their stories and their dreams," said the 49-year-old Rerras, who teaches workshops in Afghanistan through her Norfolk-based nonprofit, The Learning Through Photography Foundation. "I want to encourage them. I want to give them hope."
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