Have you ever felt a connection to a place…as if you had lived there in your dreams or in a past life…or was just so fascinated with the culture that you couldn’t resist the urge to travel there? Well, for over a decade now I’ve felt that way about Africa, and now I finally will be going there! However, this won’t be just another trip. I’ve done plenty of traveling for business, or just for fun in the past. This time my heart & soul is motivating me to take a different kind of journey, one with a mission to spread the powers of photography to others across the world. I will be traveling with 3 amazing photographers, Meredith, Lindsay, & Molly to Kenya this fall to bring the gift of photography to orphaned children in Kenya while working with the non-profit organization, Friends Vision. If you have ever seen the movie, Born into Brothels, you may understand the powers of photography on underprivileged children….if you haven’t seen it, add it to watch list now!
OUR VISION: – Collect cameras for the children to keep and use at various Friends Vision children’s rescue centers in Kenya, Africa. – Teach the children how to use a camera, basic processing of their images, & how to share their perspective of their world from behind the lens. Photography will help the kids express themselves. It’s a way for them to create & capture their own memories, as well as a valuable skill that could help them earn a living in the future. – Document the lives of these children and the volunteer work being done by Friends Vision to help spread their message of hope, love, and education to others, as well as to aide in their fundraising abilities. – Create beautiful portraits of the children to help increase their confidence and sense of self-worth. These portraits can also be for used to help with the Friends Vision child sponsorship program. – Inspire and motivate other photographers to embrace our vision and give back to the world by continuing this journey on a regular basis.
HOW CAN YOU HELP? – Donate your USED (or new!) DIGITAL CAMERA for us to take with us to give to the kids. We’re looking for digital cameras in working order with all the necessary parts, if possible (batteries, chargers, cards, card readers, etc.). So if you have an old digital camera, even if its 10yrs. old and only 2 megapixels, as long as it works we will take it! We are also more then happy to take any donated laptops or small digital printers in working order. If you are located in Denver please email me at nicolenicholsphoto-at-gmail.com to arrange for pick-up or for an address to ship your items to. – Donate your FREQUENT FLYER MILES. If you have accumulated miles that you’re not going to use, we’d love to have them! It may help us get over there a bit more cheaply. Sign up for an account at points.com, or contact your airline / credit card company… here’s some more info about transferring your miles. If you need my frequent flyer numbers in order to transfer miles, just let me know which airline you’ll be transferring from! – Donate FINANCIALLY. You can make donations towards my trip at my YouCaring account. We’re each trying to raise $2600 to cover expenses associated with this project. Any money raised over our goal amounts will go straight to Friends Vision as a donation. – Join us at an upcoming FUNDRAISER EVENT…more details of that to come!
Thank you for taking the time to read this and for all your help. Nicole Nichols
“The camera, now as ever, empowers the individual to engage with others from the other side of town or the other side of the world.” – Henri Cartier-Bresson