Award-winning photojournalist Kristen Ashburn came to Big Swing as she, with the support of Madonna, embarked on the I Am Because We Are project. Ashburn had worked with principal Stephen Yadzinski before and knew she could rely on him to perfect her images and create an enduring library for use in a book and a major documentary film.
Big Swing agreed to donate imaging services, creating a catalogue of arresting and deeply compassionate photographs culled from Ashburn's work in Malawi and Africa over seven years. The photographs were used in a documentary film by the same name directed by Nathan Rissman and written and produced by Madonna.
Watch Kristin Ashburn's Ted Talk, the Face of AIDS in Africa.