Egosurfing 101 from Solay Howell on Vimeo.
Storyteller | Video Journalist | Photojournalist | Documentary Filmmaker | Based in Washington DC
A storyteller with experience, education and heart, Solay has a MA in Film and Video from American University and a BJ in Photojournalism from University of Missouri.
She was awarded an overseas internship with The
Associated Press and spent a summer with the television news crew
in Jerusalem, Israel.
She interned at The Washington Post in their video department and was selected for the Dean’s Internship
at USA TODAY.
In 2011 she produced her first documentary, True Name which follows the journey of two
people from names that no longer fit to ones that do.
She worked at VII Photo Agency in New York and Paris.
Returning
to her hometown in 2008, she teamed up with Doris Buckley to start a local
newspaper, Hanaside News.
Solay joined the Peace Corps and served as an environmental volunteer in Benin, West Africa.
Currently, she is Associate Video Producer at the Sunlight Foundation, an open government advocacy organization in the nation's capitol.
Creased and thin my grandfather’s hands adorned with rosaries.
Physical remains, so we may bid farewell to a beloved friend
One Light IMAGES MARKING THE WAY
This column is dedicated to sharing the moments of insight along my journey.
You are included in this post because of the light that you have added to my life.
Thank you for the continued inspiration. —Solay Lani Howell
October 20, 2012
Reaching into space extending far beyond where I believe myself to be,
I stretch to grasp the edges of me
In that quest I discover
I am far greater
than even my furthest reach
And when all is said and all is done
I hope that I know
my greatness
And may that greatness bring light,
And leave love in my wake.
***
Aloha Oe Grandpa Pinky
The strength of your spirit, a star in your eye.
That fire of life, a twinkling light blue.
Uncontrolled flowing, refreshing life.
One point of light so bright
reminded all it touched
of freedom.
Your twinkle lives on.
From one, there were many
and from many, many more–
with the same gleam
invoking a mischievous smile
for the mystery of life.
With great gratitude for my sparkle,
Solay Lani Howell
Flowers, a token of love from me to you on this passage
Together we call a toast to your life.
In the morning after we celebrated your life, there was beautiful light,
And a bounty of flowers to take on the journey home.
We continue to grow, to learn, to change and to experience more fully…
I once lived in a small African village and my life has never been the same. In the village I was called “Gado.” It meant the third born as I was the third white volunteer to come to Guene. Many of the villagers were concerned with basic survival and spent most of the days farming, foraging food, picking firewood, hauling water and cooking crouched over open flames.
I’ve joined forces with the all-volunteer staffed Baby Girl Project. Together we’re building schools for girls in Kenya. Right now we are pushing to build school #24 so are asking all our friends for support. Your contribution will go directly to school construction and upkeep. Please give what you are able either in person or by sending me a check written out to Free the Children. I’ll put your name into our raffle on November 4th.
Time passes quickly watching the babies grow. Ben, Helena, Antone and Kamaile in Koali, HI January, 2012.
It was not so long ago I was seven, dreaming of a future far from the mountain of my home. Nalani sweeps sawdust off the shop floor, January 2012.
One Light IMAGES MARKING THE WAY
This column is dedicated to sharing the moments of insight along my journey.
You are included in this post because of the light that you have added to my life.
Thank you for the continued inspiration. —Solay Lani Howell
I’m often confused,
Lost in thought and convinced life is about where I’ve been
or that life is about where I’m from.
And each time I return to my roots I am reminded
of that which has already come to pass,
of a life outgrown.
Just as a tree needs its roots deep in the earth,
for its branches to stretch high into the sky,
So do I, need the nourishment of returning.
For it is in returning that I can see just how far my branches reach.
It is in leaving once again that life opens
and is no longer about where I’ve been,
but about where I am going.
“There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets the future in.” ~Deepak Chopra
“I long, as does every human being, to be at home wherever I find myself.” ~Maya Angelou
“Where we love is home – home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts.” ~Oliver Wendell Holmes
Chasing, racing, running barefoot in the mud, these are the things a childhood on the mountain are made of.
Remember screaming at the top of your lungs, just because no one was stopping you? Helena and Ben on the mountaintop, January, 2012.