Success

I met Margaret late in the afternoon while taking a walk through the slums behind my accommodations in Kenya.  I was with a group of three or four others and she was preparing an evening meal for her grandchildren.  It was the only meal for the day, hot cocoa prepared over an open fire in the street.  The mugs were not clean, they were chipped – not the kind of thing you want to serve to a guest.  But there was no place for pride here as Margaret filled our mugs with hot cocoa, to the brim and overflowing. 

It can be amazing how the little things can have the most impact and measuring the success of our lives can be a precarious thing.  The fact is that the best thing we ever do could be quite insignificant in our own eyes.  It may be that we reached out to another at just the right time, perhaps we wrote a card to someone and this simple act made all the difference.  It may be that we sacrificed to ensure our child went to a good school and had the opportunity we could never experience, which led them to a great act.  My money is on taking hold of the opportunities, at least with the intent to make the best of every one.  And on this day it was Margaret who took hold of an opportunity.  She became my teacher and gave me an object lesson in generosity, faith and the importance of being connected.    

© Copyright Jim Loring.  No reproduction without permission.

This blog is a response to the needs I see.  My plan is to find grassroots projects that are addressing both the root causes and immediate needs of those living in extreme poverty.  I will pass on 100% of any gift given to help.

Checks should be made payable to ‘Community Partnership of Rabun’, marked ‘MyWorld/Haiti’ and sent to Community Partnership/MyWorld, 196 Ridgecrest Circle, Clayton, GA 30525, USA 

Thanks!   

The Antidote, Part II

As a photojournalist I want my images to help us bridge the gap, make a connection and understand the diversity of other cultures.  And I want to get beneath the skin of my subject, bringing back images that reflect how people really feel about their daily lives and not merely to record their meeting with a westerner. 

My approach is to ask myself questions and seek out images that answer these questions.  How do these people feel about their predicament?  What are their hopes?  How do they think they are going to move forward?

My travels have taken me to many parts of the world with hard hitting subject matter.  There have been many adventures and many lessons learned.  That we all share so many of the same struggles and joys.  Love for our children, the need for work and an education, the need for peace.  Observing suffering creates a unique blend of reactions – it has for me anyway.  Guilt is in there but mostly it is a sense of responsibility to do justice to the stories of those I have photographed.  I hope my images inspire us all to work toward a better future for everyone in the world.  Like it or not, our futures are linked, surely we know this after experiencing the failure of the world economy, we all suffer. 

The antidote may be hard but it is often simple – a helping hand to those who are doing everything in their power to help themselves.   The chance of an education where there is no access to education.  The chance of work where there is no work.  Safeguarding the supply of food where there is no food.  Access to healthcare where there is no healthcare.  Clean water to places that have no supply of clean water.  You get the picture – but really it needs more than words, and more than photos.  It needs a touch of the heart before we can really make a difference.  And making a difference is the thing I am most interested in.  Reaching the point where there is genuine connection that changes the way we think and the way we act.  

 © Copyright Jim Loring.  No reproduction without permission.

This blog is a response to the needs I see.  My plan is to find grassroots projects that are addressing both the root causes and immediate needs of those living in extreme poverty.  I will pass on 100% of any gift given to help.

Checks should be made payable to ‘Community Partnership of Rabun’, marked ‘MyWorld/Haiti’ and sent to Community Partnership/MyWorld, 196 Ridgecrest Circle, Clayton, GA 30525, USA 

Thanks!   

© Photo copyright Jim Loring.  No reproduction without permission.