New Project starting in April - need cameras!

During our last trip to Kathmandu in November we were joined for a week by our friend and amateur photographer, Linda Jocelyn. We had been discussing with Linda for some time the idea of running a program to teach photography to some of the teenage girls we support, the idea being that the program would give the girls a useful skill as well as teaching them about creativity, self-expression and interpretation of the environment around them.

In November Linda spent some time familiarising herself with Nepal and its quirks as well as meeting some of the girls from the orphanage at Bal Mandir. It is from here that we will be selecting around 10 girls to take part in the project which will be run over the next 2 years. You can read more about the project at our website.

Linda has committed to 3 to 4 trips to Nepal in the next 2 years, the first coming in April this year and as a result, Project Snow Leopard has been born! In April Linda will be meeting the girls and the first workshops on photography basics will take place. This first stage of the program will be run over 5 days and will include some field trips for the girls to have a chance to explore some of the more popular destinations in their country.

Having done photo essay exchanges before with kids from the Model School and schools in Australia, I am really looking forward to seeing what the girls come up with as a child's view on things is often quite different to ours. We will be asking the girls to keep a journal of their work including explanations and background to why they took certain shots. It promises to be an exciting journey for everyone involved!

By the end of the project we aim to have collected sufficient photos to compile a coffee table book which will be a wonderful memento of the project for the girls and will be a useful fundraising tool for Mitrataa.

How YOU Can Help...

In the lead up to the project we need to collect 12 'point and click' digital cameras for the girls to use. If anyone has an old digital camera they could spare please get in touch. Of course as always, financial contributions will also help with purchasing memory cards, batteries, notebooks etc.

To set the scene for the project we will be holding a photo exhibition in Sydney in mid-April. Linda will be showing a range of shots from her first trip to Kathmandu, providing a wonderful insight into the people and daily life of Nepal. Larger prints will be available to purchase through a silent auction and we will also be providing smaller and postcard-size prints to purchase too, with all funds going to this and Mitrataa's other work in Nepal. Stay tuned for updates on when/where this will happen...

Our sincere thanks goes to Linda for the dedication and commitment she has shown to this fantastic new initiative!