We recently connected with Sarah Katumu and have shared our conversation below.

Sarah, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today. What sort of legacy are you hoping to build. What do you think people will say about you after you are gone, what do you hope to be remembered for?

I pray my legacy will be to give voice to others, highlighting beautiful stories in places of both brokenness and redemption.

The past few years I’ve worked with both On Angels’ Wings and Captures for Clark. Serving as a bereavement photographer is a place where I witness both the celebration of life and the grieving of death. It’s a strangely beautiful way to give of my time and talent. I’ve photographed families with their children who won’t live much longer. I’ve been in the room when a baby is born and then dies shortly after. I’ve walked into rooms where parents are cradling their NICU babies who have just passed. I’m blown away by how much love is expressed by these parents, that in the worst moments of their lives they are able to wholeheartedly embrace the brief time they have with their precious ones.

There are a few other non-profits I also have partnered with to take photos, including the Down Syndrome Association of St. Louis. I think there are a lot of misconceptions about the Down Syndrome community and the ability of people with Down Syndrome to thrive and contribute to society, so I love to help break those stereotypes by photographing these awesome individuals who have so much spunk, resilience, and love to give. FORAI (Friends of Refugees and Immigrants), teaches skills in sewing and jewelry making. I do a lot of photography for them that is outside my sweet spot, but it’s easy to maintain that partnership because I appreciate the organization’s desire to empower and befriend refugees and immigrants, going a step beyond simply welcoming them. My husband is an immigrant, so I have an idea of how tough that transition to a new country can be. Restore St. Louis works with a lot of urban youth, and photographing kiddos for them has been an adventure–hanging out in the lunchroom, watching a game of Gaga ball, and even climbing scaffolding with young tuck pointers!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Photography was something that interested me in my teens and early adult years, but it wasn’t until I was in my 30s that I was able to start exploring that with adequate time, training, and equipment. My first seven years out of college I served as a missionary at colleges and universities in the Midwest. Shortly after my husband and I married, I felt I was being called out of the full-time mission field. I took a sabbatical and picked up a camera. I was significantly struggling with chronic pain and illness at the time, so what was intended to be a few months of rest before starting a family or returning to work turned into years of being a stay-at-home wife. I watched online photography classes and developed my craft through photographing friends and family. I pursued medical treatments, volunteered for ministry organizations, and spent time visiting friends and family. There was abundant time to rest. I even wrote a memoir! It was a good but hard season. I wrestled with my identity, feelings of guilt with how little I was contributing to the world, and frustration that I was just wasting my life when there were so many things I wanted to do.
Photography was one of the things God used to help me get out of that place where I felt stuck. One day a friend told me I should take the leap and make my photography an official business. She’s an artist and a truth teller, so I trusted her word and chose to have confidence in not just my technical skills but also my abilities as a creative. I kept practicing, looking for classes to take, shadowing other photographers, and investing in my business.
Simply learning a new craft and creating a business weren’t enough for me to pursue photography. I needed a purpose, and I needed to find my unique voice.
Discovering the birth photography niche was one of the things that helped me find my purpose. I love documenting a new life as it comes into the world along with all the emotions and interactions between a newborn and its family. Birth photography then led me to bereavement photography, one of the many ways I’ve been able to serve others with my vocation.
I found my unique voice with the help of my husband’s late grandfather. I met him a couple of years before his death in his home in rural Kenya. He was more than 100 years old, but he had the energy and spirit of a teenager. So much joy and positive energy emanated from this man. When he was first shown a picture of me, he named me Kavilali, which in my husband’s mother tongue means “something precious and valuable in a small package.”
Kavilali seemed like a fitting name for my business because I’ve always been so drawn to photographing tiny humans–bumps, births, and babies. It was a name given to me because of my stature, but also a name that described how something like a photograph or a short story could be multifaceted despite how little space it took up. Photographing through the lens of an intercultural wife gave my voice the unique tenor I was searching for.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Simply put, my greatest goal in life is to glorify God. There’s a quote by Frederick Buechner that says, “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” I used to think that I was only doing my calling if everything felt super hard. Sometimes it’s true, that doing the right thing feels impossible and painful, requiring immense sacrifice and perseverance. However, God gave me my creative gifts for a reason, and I am thriving in this new season where I get to make a positive impact doing something I enjoy.

A new way this year I’ve been working towards my mission is through a project called Kavilali Tattoos. Although I don’t have any tattoos myself, I’m fascinated by tattoos that have meaningful stories behind them. I interview my subjects and ask about their faith journeys. Then I photograph their portraits and their tattoos. I write an interview that corresponds with photos I post in a series on Instagram. I’m a storyteller, and being able to highlight other people’s stories through both writing and photography has been a fulfilling passion project. As people share their stories of struggle, faith, and restoration, their testimonies can inspire and encourage others.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

There was a five year gap between the time I left full time missions work and became a mother. During that season I had a lot of time on my hands to explore my creative gifts. I also took advantage of volunteer opportunities to use my administrative and teaching skills. Even with all the time I could invest in those things, I still was able to rest a lot and needed to do so because I was struggling with my health.

In March of 2021 everything changed when I gave birth to my son. During postpartum a lot of things came together–past medical treatments, new medical treatments, divine providence–and miraculously I started to experience healing in my body. I always planned to be at home full time once I started having kids, but with motherhood came this unexpected relief from years of pain, fatigue, and sickness.

Even though I was carrying a new baby around in my arms, my burden felt lighter. I felt driven to explore what I could do with my new increased capacity, so I continued working in a job for my church I originally accepted because I was pregnant during COVID and bored out of my mind. As a small business owner, I also have had the flexibility to continue photography at a pace that works for me.

Long gone are my days of frustration that I don’t have energy to take advantage of my free time. My life is now full, both in the load I carry and the joy I experience through motherhood, ministry, and creativity. It’s almost comical how drastic the shift has been from too much time to too little, and I’ve had to wrestle with how to be a working mom. There is still a physical struggle; I continue to manage chronic pain and illness. However, by diving into parenthood when I didn’t feel I had enough of myself to give, I have found an increased ability to serve others and love my family.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kavilaliphotography.com/
• Instagram: @kavilali.katumu

Image Credits
My portrait: Emily Hedlund, All other photos belong to me.