WAI'ANAE — All Presca Spillner-Akau wants is to live a normal life.

No moving between foster homes. No worrying about her parents. No wondering if tomorrow will only be worse.

Her priorities are to finish high school, get a good job and help keep her family sober.

They may seem like simple goals. But to Spillner-Akau, who's spent years in foster care and witnessed loved ones spiral into substance abuse, reaching these goals will change the unwieldy course of her life.

Drugs are "something I never like do," said the quiet 17-year-old. "When you use drugs, you take the whole family down with you."

As part of a program by ProjectFocus Hawai'i, a community service program that puts cameras in the hands of at-risk youth, Spillner-Akau snapped a photo of the most important person in her life: her mom, Lois Spillner, sitting on their front porch, laughing with friends.

"I think she is a strong human being," Spillner-Akau said. "I want her to know that I love her and am very proud of her because of what she has accomplished in her life."

Her photo, along with others taken of and by the kids at Ohana Ola O Kahumana Transitional Housing Facility, will be part of "My Voice," an exhibit at Aloha Tower Marketplace opening tomorrow.

It's the culmination of a 12-week program created by two professional photographers and financed with $12,000 in private donations.

This year the project came to the nonprofit Women In Need, which runs programs for the 40 families living at the public-housing facility in Wai'anae.

On one level, the program teaches kids how to use a camera and compose photographs.

But more than that, it encourages them to develop their own voices, to open their minds, and to boost their self-confidence.

"We've found that this program is far less about the photography and much more about their ability to do anything they want if given the chance," said photographer Laurie Breeden Callies, co-founder of ProjectFocus Hawai'i. "It's about expanding their visions and really pushing the limitations they have about themselves."

LIFELONG SKILLS

Imaikalani Souza, 14, chose his father, Alex, to be the subject of his portrait. He took a photo of his dad sitting on the couch in their living room.

"My dad was the one always supporting us," said Souza, a freshman at Wai'anae High School. "He's the one brings home the money."

Before moving into Ohana Ola O Kahumana, Souza lived with his dad in Makaha. His other siblings lived with other families.

"We wanted to be together," Souza said.

He's still adjusting to life as a family, but it's getting better, he said. Living here has helped him focus on his goals. Now he wants to be a mechanic.

And he can't wait to get the wall-size portrait of himself to hang in his room once the show is over.

"I going put 'em on the wall," he said, proudly. "I don't care less about what anybody think."

Kids may not pursue photography as a career, but they do learn skills they can apply to other facets of their lives — skills like responsibility and commitment.

To participate, the kids had to sign agreements saying they would complete the project, which includes writing a self-affirmation and a statement on what the person they photograph means to them.

Looking inward has been powerful in helping change their perceptions about themselves and their hopes for their future.

"The written essay on who they are and what they want to become really stands out to me," said Mary Scott-Lau, executive director of Women In Need. "It was very touching, so honest and truthful, and so full of love."

This year, the organizers added another step: The subjects of the portraits had to submit a statement, too, describing the teen who took their picture.

These words of affirmation from that important person in their lives — from a sibling, mother, father or friend — is something these kids need to hear.

"It's not only feeling they've accomplished something, but feeling that they're really special," said Lisa Uesugi, a professional photographer and co-founder of ProjectFocus Hawai'i. "It's not just learning a new skill, but it's about building confidence."

Reach Catherine E. Toth at ctoth@honoluluadvertiser.com.