12 October 2011 - Geneva - Teachers across the world are starting the school year with a new educational resource that tells the story of the tuberculosis (TB) epidemic through a photographic lens.
The tbepidemic website, developed by the winner of the 2009 Images to Stop Tuberculosis Award David Rochkind, provides an introduction to TB and documents the disease through a series of David's photographs from India, South Africa and Moldova.
In addition, the website provides two free, ready-made teaching units that teachers can use to engage high school students. The units, one developed for use in social studies lessons and the other for use in public health classes, take students on a journey through the personal and social consequences of TB. The activities are designed to stimulate conversation and sharing in the classroom.
The teaching units can be used in conjunction with the TB Action Packet. This collection of advocacy tools is designed to help students join the fight against TB in their community and beyond.
The website was launched on 24 March 2011, World TB Day, and is being distributed as part of the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting's Global Gateways educational initiative. Images from the project will be part of a Pulitzer Center sponsored photo exhibit during the FotoWeek festival in Washington DC, from 5-12 November.
David has visited five schools in the Washington D.C area and will be visiting schools in Chicago in November as part of the outreach programme.