Counting up the Comments...

On behalf of me and my friends at Forgotten Voices International, I just wanted to say THANK YOU!! Over the course of the week before Christmas, you guys left 97 comments on the blog and Facebook!!!! So, I rounded up and just made a donation of $100 to FVI, in your honor :)



This money will make a real difference in lives all over Zimbabwe!






Thank you for being part of what God is doing in Zimbabwe!







And thank you for bringing a smile to their faces!

If you'd like more information on Forgotten Voices, or would like to be a part of the work they support in Zimbabwe and Zambia, please click here!

So many comments - so many questions!

Well folks, we're up to 85 comments between the blog and Facebook! EEK and YAY at the same time! That's almost enough to send 6 kids to school for all of next year. That's 6 lives that will be radically changed - forever! Pretty amazing, huh?

So, lots of you have left questions in your comments, so I'll try to answer them for ya :) Feel free to keep them coming!!

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jessica said...would you believe that I've never watched one of your slideshows before?

Nope! I don't believe it! With as much time as you spend on this blog, you should have watched them all by now - at least twice ;)

jessica said...is the soundtrack a live recording from the funeral?

Yes! My friend Adam recorded video of the whole trip, and this was the one piece of audio I knew I wanted. I knew the images of the funeral would just so much more powerful if you could hear them singing. You can thank Brian Storm for that brilliant idea...

jessica said...will the subjects of your FVI photographs get to see their photos?

My friend Ryan is going back to Zimbabwe 10 days from now. He'll be taking some photos back for some of the families. And those who have access to the internet have seen some - but that's not many...

jessica said...are you going to go back to zimbabwe?

I hope so!!!

jessica said...there are deep spiritual roots in africa... and with such suffering. did the people you talked to struggle with reconciling their pain with the goodness of God? especially the kids?

It's pretty amazing how such intense suffering actually causes people to turn TOWARDS God and to see His goodness instead of question it. It's really amazing.

jessica said...can you tell us how your photographs are being or will be used by FVI? and also the Hope organization in Haiti? i'd love to know =)

Both organizations use the photos for their websites, as well as print material. That reminds me - Hope For The Children of Haiti just updated their website with my pics - www.hfchaiti.org

jessica said...i think your other commenters think i'm weird so i better stop now.

That definitely may be true... ;)

Jamie Sanfilippo said... We are soon (1 month from now) moving to Southern Africa to work with MCC and The Meeting House. As I start thinking about our official blog, I'm wondering if you would be willing to donate the use of a few photos of Zimbabwe to put together into a header for it. I would be happy to give you a byline in the corner if you'd like.

Absolutely Jamie! Let's talk!

Julianne said... Krista these are beautiful photos... many good friends in them. If it's okay with you I'd love to post a link from my blog. Maybe I can get a few more dollars! :)

Of course!

Ryan - ForgottenVoices.org said...

On behalf of our partnerships in Zimbabwe, thanks for this unique way to make a difference. :) To all of you out there, thanks for commenting. Lots of love from our team to all of you. Merry Christmas!

This Christmas, on our blog, we are sharing stories everyday at http://www.TravelwithFVI.blogspot.com.

-Ryan Keith, President
http://www.ForgottenVoices.org

A long time coming

Since I've been doing CASH for Comments this past week, as you may have guessed, I've been thinking a lot about my time in Zimbabwe. I was only there for a couple of weeks, but it was a powerful time. One day in particular stands out above the rest. I've already told you one story from that day when I shared about Shelton, Margaret & Concilia. But earlier that day, I experienced something that I'll never forget. I photographed a funeral.

We weren't supposed to document a funeral. We were supposed to go visit a young woman name Setty who was suffering from AIDS. I thought I'd be taking photographs of a sick young woman who was holding on to hope. But, she died the night before we were to go see her. And so, instead of interviewing Setty, we photographed her funeral.


Setty's Mother was her only surviving relative in her immediate family. Setty was 28 years old.


Every man in the family and in the community helps with the funeral; each taking turns helping with the casket, shoveling the red dirt, or places stones on top of the grave.




as the women sing and pray.




It's taken me a year to pull myself together, and pull this slideshow together. I hope it touches you even half as much as being there changed me.

Only Four Days Left! Leave a Comment!!!!

Only FOUR days left to leave a comment to impact Zimbabwe!! For every comment received up until midnight on Christmas Eve, I will donate $1 to Forgotten Voices International - to help their efforts of partnering with local churches to provide care and provision to AIDS orphans in Zimbabwe.

Thanks so much to everyone who has left comments so far! You guys rock :) We've got 31 comments so far (plus a few more from Facebook). That's enough to send these two kids to school for a year! How awesome is that?!


Now 31 comments is great and all but, I can donate $30 on my own. The point of this is for you to CHALLENGE me to give more than I normally would. And, so that YOU will be a part of what FVI is doing - and maybe that you would be moved and want to get more involved. So, get commenting! Got a question about my trip? Wanna share a story about someone you know who has been impacted by AIDS? Have you ever been to Africa? What's the best Christmas present you've ever given or received? Wanna talk about your cat? I don't care, go ahead! :) You don't have to compliment me, or my photographs - just leave me a comment to let me know you were here and that you care enough about AIDS orphans in Zimbabwe to take 1 minute out of your busy day to leave a comment! It won't hurt, I promise ;-)

CASH for Comments!

So there's been a bunch of blogging going on around the photography world in the last couple weeks about Cans for Comments. People have been offering to give one can of food to a local food pantry for every blog comment they received. I think that's a great idea! And while I LOVE the local approach, my heart this Christmas is a bit further away...




I went to Zimbabwe last November (2007) to document the work of Forgotten Voices International. And I have truly not been the same since. My eyes see things differently now. It's as if everything is filtered through a different lens - one that makes me see people, food, money, hunger, waste, AIDS, giving, joy, love, and God in a new way.



Last Christmas was incredibly difficult for me. Watching my niece & nephews plow through a MOUNTAIN of presents, having just met and fallen in love with kids who had barely enough to survive... Well, it was painful.



I recently spent some time teaching my sister's kids about my friends in Zimbabwe - Shelton, Margaret & Concilia. These kids are orphans living on their own, with little more than weeds for food. Try explaining that to a 5, 4, and 2-year-old from America - it's hard for them to wrap their cute little minds around. But my niece, Reilly, said to me - "Kiki, I know, why don't we give them some of OUR food?!" It was so sweet and so sincere, it almost made me cry. I wish it was that easy. I wish it was as easy as dropping off some food at a food pantry. But, it's not.



So, instead of Cans for Comments - I'm going to be giving CASH for Comments. For every blog comment you leave (on any post) between now and midnight on Christmas Eve, I will give $1.00 to an organization that is dedicated to empowering AIDS orphans in Zimbabwe - Forgotten Voices International. As little as $15 can send a child to school in Zimbabwe for a whole year! $65 can provide a person with HIV with a home care kit to help prevent the spread of the disease. A few dollars can make a big difference in a lot of lives!



So, I challenge YOU to help me make a difference in the life of a child in Zimbabwe! Leave a comment! And then leave another. And then ask your friends to do the same. And then go to Forgotten Voices International to find out what FVI is doing to partner with local churches in Southern Africa to provide care for vicitims and orphans of AIDS. And maybe this year, instead of spending a ton of money on presents that no one needs - give a gift on behalf of the ones you love to make a real difference in the life of a child in Zimbabwe!