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ShootQ Grant Winner Sherrlyn Borkgren Uses Photography to Documentthe...

ShootQ (http://www.shootq.com), the web-based studio management solution of choice for event photographers, today released the powerful images captured by 2008 ShootQ Grant winner Sherrlyn Borkgren. The story Borkgren photographed in the war torn region of Eastern Congo tells the daily life of a nine-year old girl after her rape by Congolese soldiers. These images, which capture the young girl'ss struggle and strength, can be seen at http://grant.shootq.com/2008/forever_changed/index.html. As a call to other photographers to use their talents to bring attention to human struggles throughout the world, ShootQ has announced that its call for submissions for the 2009 ShootQ Grant is now open.

Last year, ShootQ presented its inaugural $10,000 ShootQ Grant to Sherrlyn Borkgren based on her photography portfolio and written essay about the struggles in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Sherrlyn spent nearly a month in the Congo documenting the human strife happening in the region. Overcoming over her own run-ins with rogue law officials who forbade her to photograph, she persisted and documented the life of a nine-year old rape survivor, Belice. Congolese soldiers attacked Belice on a secluded trail in her village, ruthlessly placed a bag over her head before raping her. Sadly, this young girl'ss story echoes those of millions of other young women and girls in the region.

Sherrlyn comments: Her father was eager to tell her story because it is the only way he can find justice for his daughter. So, that'ss what I want to do - share her story with the world and make sure tragedies like this are never left unspoken and unjustified. But, I have to add that while the story is unbearably sad, the images of Belice and her family show the strength and beauty that binds this family together. They are amazing people.

According to a 2008 report issued by the International Rescue Committee, the decade-long humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo has left more than 5.4 million dead. Millions more in the region have suffered through immeasurable violence, abuse and displacement, especially women and young girls.

Through HEAL Africa (www.healafrica.org), which provides holistic care for the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sherrlyn has set up a fund for donations to help the millions of people sharing in Belice'ss suffering. HEAL Africa is distinctive from many charities. As a small, grass-roots organization that has low administrative overheads, HEAL Africa is led by locally-based program directors and is focused on treating people holistically by training and equipping new leaders for the long-term, rather than just solving short term needs.

ShootQ co-founder Rachel Niesen adds: When we started the ShootQ Grant, we hoped it would yield the powerful images and humanitarian concern that we'sve received from Sherrlyn'ss work. Her passion for photojournalism is awe-inspiring. Grants and fellowships for photographers are commonplace in the photojournalism industry. But at this point, there are very few grants or fellowships for wedding and portrait photographers seeking to pursue meaningful documentary projects. The ShootQ Grant seeks to fill that void and help photographers give back to communities around the world.

The ShootQ Grant (http://www.shootqgrant.com) was established in 2008 to allow photographers to invest time working on projects that raise awareness about important issues. More than a monetary award, the ShootQ Grant provides photographers with the opportunity to work on a meaningful project with the creative freedom and financial support necessary to produce photographs that raise public awareness about important social, environmental and economic issues. Photographers wishing to submit for the 2009 ShootQ Grant can visit http://grant.shootq.com for more details.

More information on ShootQ can be found at www.shootq.com. Sherrlyn Borkgren is photojournalist and wedding photographer based in Portland, OR. To learn more about Sherrlyn, please visit http://www.BorkgrenPhoto.net.

About ShootQ:

ShootQ is a web-based studio management solution designed to make photographers's lives simpler and their studios more profitable by allowing them to focus on what they enjoy doing - being creative! ShootQ takes care of many tedious tasks like filling out invoices and contracts, keeping track of client info, accumulating vendor contact info and more. For more information, please visit www.shootq.com.

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