Photographer Supports Sambhali U.S. with…Facial Hair? 

“Beards are an acquired taste. Don’t like them? Acquire some taste.” 

Thus starts the book A Celebration of Beards by photographer Ken Kurzweil, who has traveled the world and met and photographed countless men with beards; some just modest scruff on a chin and some worthy of their own zip code. 

In 2020, during the early days of the Covid lockdown, Ken sifted through his thousands of photos of men with beards and posted them on his Facebook page, oftentimes with accompanying stories of the men. His friends encouraged him to make a book. So, he did. 

“It was a lot of fun to put together,” Ken says. “It gave me something to do while I wasn’t out there shooting—and people said they wanted to buy it.” He published it himself and sells it at cost. He simply asks that readers donate to Sambhali U.S.…with a caveat: “Don’t tell me that you did it and don’t tell me how much.”  

In early June, Sambhali U.S. began receiving donations in Ken’s honor without providing information that would allow us to notify him of the donations. After several came in, Sambhali U.S. president Shereen Arent simply had to know the story behind it. So, she tracked him down. “I was able to find Ken’s website and send him a message. I wanted to let him know that for some reason—unknown by me—people were donating in his honor and we were thankful. He then explained the background and I loved everything about it, from Ken’s humility to the stunning photographs to the impact the book would have on women and girls in Rajasthan. Ken also offered to let us use his photographs from his time at Sambhali Trust. When he sent them it was like beautiful manna from heaven!  And the donations have kept coming in through the fall. It’s hard to know for sure how many because not everyone identifies Ken but each one who does gives me a huge smile.” 

Ken explains his motivation: 

Ken has been to India seven times, but in 2018 he visited Sambhali Trust for the first time with the organization Photographers Without Borders. He spent two weeks there, taking photos at Sambhali centers in Setrawa and Jodhpur. “I fell in love with the work that they do. You see firsthand women and children who are so marginalized, so discriminated against, so frequently abused in so many ways, and [then] you see what Sambhali Trust has done for them: Given them lives with dignity, given them a path toward independence, given them skills.” 

With a voice full of emotion, he marvels at the work of Sambhali Trust founder Govind Rathore. “Just to see what one person and his family were able to create that has changed the lives of so many people. I saw people who can’t read and write in their own language being taught to read and write, not only in Hindi but also in English. I visited the homes of people who had earned sewing machines. I saw their happiness and pride.” 

He also witnessed the strong connections between the women of Sambhali Trust. He recalls with amazement an event that occurred while he was visiting. There was a report that a woman from the Trust was being beaten by her husband. Several other women from Sambhali went to her house and warned the husband against ever touching her again. “These women were family. They came and took care of their sister who was being threatened.” 

Photographers Without Borders recently announced they are opening assignments on a limited basis. Ken hopes to travel again soon, with Sambhali Trust at the top of his wish list. “I love India. I love Jodhpur.” And he loves to take pictures of its people. “My eyes go right to the faces. When someone looks at one of my photos, I want them to get a sense of who that person is. I try to capture whatever it is in that person that made me look at them in the first place.” 

To order your own copy of A Celebration of Beards, email Ken directly.