I’m so happy to announce a new development that holds great significance in my life both personally and professionally. I have just been accepted to join a group of medical professionals and volunteers with Hands Up for Haiti on a trip to Cap Haitien, Haiti in January, 2016. The group will be working to deliver medical services and supplies to people in the area and I will be documenting the trip. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to use my photography skills to give back. Ever since I started shooting professionally, I’ve considered myself a story teller. And with as many happy stories as I’ve told, I knew I wanted to tell the stories of people who need help. I believe this is the perfect opportunity.
I’d love to tell you a bit about Hands Up for Haiti. HUFH was founded in 2010 in response to the devastating earthquake in the region. They were directed at that time to Cap Haitien, an area less known than the capital Port au Prince and less affected by the earthquake, but in real need of medical care. Since 2010, they’ve planned several trips per year back to Cap Haitien. Their mission statement is below.
Hands Up For Haiti is a medical humanitarian organization committed to improving the quality and sustainability of health care in northern Haiti. We partner with the Haitian medical community by sending medical teams, supplies and equipment and through supporting education, ongoing training and clinical work.
These multiple trips are obviously expensive in both time and money. As a result, HUFH must work equally as hard to raise funds and volunteers as they do on the actual trips. Creating powerful imagery of the important work they do and the affect they have on the area is an important aspect to fund raising. Wendy Marx, the trip leader for my January trip had the following to say about the importance of documentary photography.
“I would say that having a professional photographer on a medical mission trip helps bring a sense of immediacy about what we are seeing and accomplishing back to those at home. The power of the professional image is in capturing the intimacy of an encounter with a patient, or of team members working side by side. There’s really no equal when it comes to telling our stories.”
I hope you will take some time to read more about Hands Up for Haiti on their website. And I hope you will find it in your heart to donate on my volunteer page to help support my trip. I look forward to bringing this important story home to you.
