Gil Garcetti prosecutes a new cause – shooting photos that make a difference
The D.A. who prosecuted O.J. Simpson recommends following your passion to a second career if it's not in your first.
from the October 18, 2007 edition
Page 3 of 3
He's putting his assertion to the test with his most recent book about the need for clean water in West Africa. It examines the impact of clean water on everyday life, and how the lack of it affects everything from community health to girls going to school. Also it shows how the life of an entire village can be changed by making clean water deep beneath the ground more available.
In fact, with this book, Garcetti is reaching back to his former career, drawing on communication skills and political networking know-how to press the case made by his photographs. He has teamed with the Pacific Institute, a California environmental think tank, to launch a fundraising campaign for safe-water initiatives in West Africa (www.wateriskey.org).
Wherever he goes to speak about the book, Garcetti urges people to get involved with organizations working on the clean water issue. And he asks them to go to the Water Is Key website and donate $10 or more. His goal: to have 100,000 donations within the next two years – grass-roots backing he plans to broker in Washington for broader US aid for clean drinking water in Africa.
"I've got somewhat of a unique ability as a photographer to communicate," he says. "I have ... oral advocacy skills and writing skills. I have campaigning skills and fundraising skills. I've got a unique background that I bring to the table as I try to communicate the images that I've captured on film."
As the interview closes – he's got a plane to catch for Paris (next project: a look at women on bikes in Paris, to carry the social message about looking chic without driving a fancy, polluting car) – he's got one last thing he wants to say. It's about career change.
When he gives a public talk, Garcetti says, "Invariably men come up to me and say, 'I'd give anything to do what you're doing.' To me, that speaks to men not being willing to take the risk to make a substantial career change. They're afraid of falling on their face. They may hate the jobs they're doing, but they make good money, or they've got status, or whatever it is.
"I really want to encourage them to pursue the passions that they have," he continues. "If you think you don't have one, dig down, you've got a passion someplace. And you can be productive with that passion. We're all living so much longer than we used to. You don't have to look at dying between 65 and 70 years of age. That's middle age.
"Be productive. You can. You can."
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