The compass stops spinning
Over a week ago I posted on here; it was a sizeable affair and my hat goes off to anyone who actually read the lot! If you were party to the ensuing emails then you may have an idea of what I was on about when I said I was inspired to make better use of this trip of mine. Well things are slowly coming together and I feel that now is the time to explain some more.... read on!
I don't want to go over old ground but for those of you in the dark my recent time in Thailand convinced me that the round the world trip I am on could be so much more than ticking off sites in a guide book - perhaps I could actually add value with the trip.
Being so inspired was like a breath of fresh air, but one which whisked my head so high up in the clouds it was comical. I was not thinking I could change the world but I was completely without direction - I had a camera, I had a passion, what I didnt have was a clue on how to combine them! I had set off on a mission but with no idea of what the mission was.
This was when I emailed my friends, family and ex-colleagues to see if they had any ideas. Some probably thought I was mad and some probably thought I was an idealist - these were the people I never expected to reply, and they didn't. Others responded, my friends, and their part in this story will no doubt grow and surface later!
A different refuge
So there I was, a day later in Mae Sot, a small town on the Thailand / Myanmar border, completely off my original itinerary. Acting on impulse I thought I had a plan, I was going to educate myself on the situation with the Burmese refugees who were fleeing from inhumane military control in Burma. Sounded good to me!
It was lunch time and I found myself walking down a side street searching out a vegetarian restaurant mentioned in the guidebooks (It is worth mentioning at this point that these guidebooks dont tell you everything but sure seem to lead me, if not intentionally, into some interesting situations). Anyway I was lost! On sticking my head into a building I realised there was no food to be seen, I was however met with some intrigued looks and some very smiley faces. This I was to find out was the home of HRDP the Human Resources Development Program - an organisation who I'll not forget and one I'll try and help as much as they helped me. HRDP is an organisation run by Burmese migrants to help adult migrant workers get on their feet and learn English, Thai and IT.
As I introduced myself their story was slow to emerge. Over the next few days I was to learn of refugees fleeing from oppression and a violent military run government, one which leads with an iron fist and whose workforce is staffed by forced labour from ethnic minorities. Burma is a country rife with corruption, violence, ethnic cleansing rape and torture - a situation I soon realised I knew very little about. During my time at the border I was introduced to many other organisations and allowed, under a veil of secrecy, into one of the refugee camps with my camera.
In this town of Mae Sot I learnt a lot. I guess you could say I was brought down to earth with a bump. I met several photographers, journalists and film makers in the town and they all asked a simple question but one which I was stuck to answer. "What is it you want to do here?" I wasn't sure! There were probably 2 dozen organisations based in this town with projects surrounding health care, childcare, environmental and human rights issues. I had just strolled into a town with a half baked idea to 'help' - Where did I start on this quest of mine?
Well the answer never really came to me in Mae Sot but all the same I was able to follow the lives of some very special people and take some photos which will be combined in an article for a later post. As you can imagine I only scratched the surface of the issues and realised that the problems ran very deep indeed. Friendships have been made and I promised to help, the full picture will be in another post soon but if you cant wait for then have a look here which gives a very good overview of the situation in Burma.
The jigsaw
I hinted earlier that things are coming together but from the above it wont seem that way. Well that was a good week ago and with the help of friends and even strangers I have been pulling together some ideas. My passion is conservation and the environment so perhaps I should start there to begin with.
I've always known that one person alone can't change the world but if enough people try in their own way then who knows! Well sitting in a coffee shop yesterday I noticed an article in Time magazine entitled something like '12 people trying to save the world'. It highlighted the efforts of people around the world doing what they could to conserve endangered species, habitats and ensure there was a future for the planet. Perhaps my project could take a similar shape.
One of my friends wrote to me and said 'dipping into lots of different projects may give you a feel good factor for a while but it may be worth sticking with one issue until resolution'. I mulled over this for a while thinking he was right but then realised that even an exhibition highlighting several different issues could have one common theme - they all involve people trying to make a difference in their own little way! Just as the Nun Tenzin Palmo inspired me to get off my backside perhaps I could do the same for others. That is the plan anyway!
So my them is 'their own little way!' I guess! I will explore the work of some of these projects and try to capture the passion of the people involved in them. Perhaps by doing this I can inspire others too to 'do their bit'.
I am now contacting multiple organisations around Asia and seeing if I can get to meet them 'doing their bit!' I would then like to use the web to showcase these stories and bring them home to the UK in an exhibition. I would hope somehow this will generate the interest of people with money! If I can sell any of the pictures then 100% of the profits can be ploughed straight back to the charities that hosted me during my stay. I also have a few teacher friends who have asked if I can visit their school and give a talk... what an idea, we can generate interest in the younger generation!
Doing your bit!!
So here we are the final paragraph and a request to see if you can find a few moments to 'do your bit'!! You may be able to see how things are shaping up but it is very difficult for me to achieve this in the time I have. I have already spent 4 hours today contacting organisations and writing this blog so you can imagine that my time is flying! If there is anyway you can help then please let me know, your help would be appreciated! At first thought here is where I need the most help...
I don't want to go over old ground but for those of you in the dark my recent time in Thailand convinced me that the round the world trip I am on could be so much more than ticking off sites in a guide book - perhaps I could actually add value with the trip.
Being so inspired was like a breath of fresh air, but one which whisked my head so high up in the clouds it was comical. I was not thinking I could change the world but I was completely without direction - I had a camera, I had a passion, what I didnt have was a clue on how to combine them! I had set off on a mission but with no idea of what the mission was.
This was when I emailed my friends, family and ex-colleagues to see if they had any ideas. Some probably thought I was mad and some probably thought I was an idealist - these were the people I never expected to reply, and they didn't. Others responded, my friends, and their part in this story will no doubt grow and surface later!
A different refuge
So there I was, a day later in Mae Sot, a small town on the Thailand / Myanmar border, completely off my original itinerary. Acting on impulse I thought I had a plan, I was going to educate myself on the situation with the Burmese refugees who were fleeing from inhumane military control in Burma. Sounded good to me!
It was lunch time and I found myself walking down a side street searching out a vegetarian restaurant mentioned in the guidebooks (It is worth mentioning at this point that these guidebooks dont tell you everything but sure seem to lead me, if not intentionally, into some interesting situations). Anyway I was lost! On sticking my head into a building I realised there was no food to be seen, I was however met with some intrigued looks and some very smiley faces. This I was to find out was the home of HRDP the Human Resources Development Program - an organisation who I'll not forget and one I'll try and help as much as they helped me. HRDP is an organisation run by Burmese migrants to help adult migrant workers get on their feet and learn English, Thai and IT.
As I introduced myself their story was slow to emerge. Over the next few days I was to learn of refugees fleeing from oppression and a violent military run government, one which leads with an iron fist and whose workforce is staffed by forced labour from ethnic minorities. Burma is a country rife with corruption, violence, ethnic cleansing rape and torture - a situation I soon realised I knew very little about. During my time at the border I was introduced to many other organisations and allowed, under a veil of secrecy, into one of the refugee camps with my camera.
In this town of Mae Sot I learnt a lot. I guess you could say I was brought down to earth with a bump. I met several photographers, journalists and film makers in the town and they all asked a simple question but one which I was stuck to answer. "What is it you want to do here?" I wasn't sure! There were probably 2 dozen organisations based in this town with projects surrounding health care, childcare, environmental and human rights issues. I had just strolled into a town with a half baked idea to 'help' - Where did I start on this quest of mine?
Well the answer never really came to me in Mae Sot but all the same I was able to follow the lives of some very special people and take some photos which will be combined in an article for a later post. As you can imagine I only scratched the surface of the issues and realised that the problems ran very deep indeed. Friendships have been made and I promised to help, the full picture will be in another post soon but if you cant wait for then have a look here which gives a very good overview of the situation in Burma.
The jigsaw
I hinted earlier that things are coming together but from the above it wont seem that way. Well that was a good week ago and with the help of friends and even strangers I have been pulling together some ideas. My passion is conservation and the environment so perhaps I should start there to begin with.
I've always known that one person alone can't change the world but if enough people try in their own way then who knows! Well sitting in a coffee shop yesterday I noticed an article in Time magazine entitled something like '12 people trying to save the world'. It highlighted the efforts of people around the world doing what they could to conserve endangered species, habitats and ensure there was a future for the planet. Perhaps my project could take a similar shape.
One of my friends wrote to me and said 'dipping into lots of different projects may give you a feel good factor for a while but it may be worth sticking with one issue until resolution'. I mulled over this for a while thinking he was right but then realised that even an exhibition highlighting several different issues could have one common theme - they all involve people trying to make a difference in their own little way! Just as the Nun Tenzin Palmo inspired me to get off my backside perhaps I could do the same for others. That is the plan anyway!
So my them is 'their own little way!' I guess! I will explore the work of some of these projects and try to capture the passion of the people involved in them. Perhaps by doing this I can inspire others too to 'do their bit'.
I am now contacting multiple organisations around Asia and seeing if I can get to meet them 'doing their bit!' I would then like to use the web to showcase these stories and bring them home to the UK in an exhibition. I would hope somehow this will generate the interest of people with money! If I can sell any of the pictures then 100% of the profits can be ploughed straight back to the charities that hosted me during my stay. I also have a few teacher friends who have asked if I can visit their school and give a talk... what an idea, we can generate interest in the younger generation!
Doing your bit!!
So here we are the final paragraph and a request to see if you can find a few moments to 'do your bit'!! You may be able to see how things are shaping up but it is very difficult for me to achieve this in the time I have. I have already spent 4 hours today contacting organisations and writing this blog so you can imagine that my time is flying! If there is anyway you can help then please let me know, your help would be appreciated! At first thought here is where I need the most help...
- Contacting organisations. I will create another blog entry detailing the organisations I have contacted but if you can do the same on my behalf for any others this would be great. Tracking organisations or individuals down is a big part of this but very hard to do - if I don't get to meet people then this project finishes here!
- Website. I need a website, not just my Flickr account or this blog but one which will allow me to describe the project and sell images. I have already had someone who has kindly offered server space but I now need a site to put on it!! Anyone who can design websites or knows anyone who can then please get in touch (ade_taylor2@yahoo.co.uk) and we can talk further!
- Artwork/Marketing. I am serious about this project and want to show others this is the case. I need a marketing guru to think up a 'name' and er I don't know, other marketing stuff.
- Spreading the word. As time goes by then hopefully I will have something to show. Even now I have an idea and need help getting it off the ground. If you have anyone who might be interested in this then please let them know. Email friends, add links to this blog, post on online communities like myspace etc. Spread the word!
- Give me ideas. Please keep me on track, if you have any ideas on how to make this a success then let me know i will welcome suggestions.
Finally, once again thanks for dropping by! I will try and send out a shorter version via email soon but in the mean time keep me posted!
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