“I thought my life was over. I couldn’t believe this was what my life had become.”

The NYC branch of SalaamGarage, a team of photographers, videographers and journalists dedicated to bringing forth positive social change, has spent the better part of a year documenting the lives of those who have graduated the foster care system at 21 ill-prepared for what lies ahead. Headed by SG founder Amanda Koster, and led by SG Local NYC Maggie Soladay and team, the group aims to raise public awareness for their cause, and has launched a Kickstarter campaign to complete funding for a book an exhibition for the project “Aging-Out of Foster Care.”

The book, titled “Everybody Needs Somebody” is a compilation of 15 stories and photographs of those who have aged out of the system. The exhibition will take place at The Long Island Children’s Museum from June 16th, 2012 – September 2nd, 2012.

For more information on the Kickstarter project, or to make a donation, click here.
To read more on SalaamGarage Local NYC and the beginnings of the “Aging-Out of Foster Care” project, click here.

© ANDREW LICHTENSTEIN Lichtenstein impressed jurors with his fresh look at U.S. history. Above: Women at the bus stop where Rosa Parks began her famous 1955 ride.

This past November, New York City-based photographer Andrew Lichtensteinwon the 2012 Aftermath Project Grant for his project called “American Memory.” It is a series of landscape photographs of sites around the U.S. where historic struggles for civil rights, labor rights and Native American rights took place decades ago, so obvious signs of those struggles have long faded.

The $20,000 Aftermath Project Grant is intended to support photo projects about the after effects of war. Most of the six grants awarded previously were for projects exploring the open, visible wounds of recent conflicts and ethnic strife outside the U.S.

Lichtenstein thought his entry would be a long shot, so he contacted Aftermath Project founder Sara Terry to ask if it was too much of a stretch. She encouraged him to apply. Lichtenstein also notes, “The big problem with this story is trying to capture what doesn’t exist there anymore. It’s hard to photograph the absence of [an event].”

Terry, who was one of the three jurors, says awarding the grant to Lichtenstein was “an exhilarating way to expand the conversation about the aftermath [of conflict]. That’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time.” The grant isn’t just for documentary projects, she explains. “From the beginning I’ve encouraged conceptual and fine-art photographers to apply.”

Terry says jurors first screened applications for the quality of the images. That winnowed 183 applications down to about 30, she says. From there, judges started to consider the merits of the written proposals.

“Andrew’s proposal wasn’t a great big statement. It was simply stated: If we don’t address our wounds, the scars don’t heal. And then he listed places he was looking [to photograph],” Terry says.

Lichtenstein told PDN that the historic sites he’s been photographing “are of particular interest to me because of my view of the struggle for justice and equality in this country. I’m not saying America is an awful place built on genocide. I’m trying to say it’s a country like any other, which is actually a radical idea if you look at what some people want to pass off as American history. There’s this idea that this nation is [exceptional] and great for its ability to foster freedom and equality. I want to stop and say, ‘Which history are you looking at?’”

He says he explained that idea in clear, direct terms on the application. “I do not know ‘grant speak’; I don’t write it, I don’t want to write it, I don’t understand it. People should just say what they mean, rather than hide it in terms of elite conversation,” he asserts. “I want it to be as accessible and honest as possible a description of what I believe the work to be about.”

Lichtenstein says that because he started the project two years ago, it was easier to write about it with clarity. “So I knew what the issues were about. It’s still a healthy process to put it on paper, and explain it to other people,” he says.

“What brought his application to the top was the degree of imagination,” says juror (and VII Photo agency director) Stephen Mayes. “His concept is new—it’s a very fresh look at American history. He’s filtering that through current social and political situations.”

Mayes continues, “The presentation was clearly written with an introduction that said he was looking for places where past and present intersect, followed by succinct bullet points saying exactly what he was talking about, and then pictures to show it.” Because the locations he photographs show no obvious signs of their historical significance, Lichtenstein’s images depend upon captions for context. But the jurors had no problem with that. “I subscribe to the idea that all pictures need some context. If that comes in form of words, that’s fine,” Mayes says.

“There were other proposals that were much more philosophical, that were compelling,” Mayes notes. “But even if the proposal is theoretical and philosophical, it still has to be clear about what the applicant intends to do and how.”

The one image that crystallized Lichtenstein’s proposal for the jurors shows three Southern women in antebellum costumes, sitting on a bench at the bus stop where Rosa Parks began her famous bus ride in 1955, launching the civil rights movement. “That image is amazing. It said so much, and got our attention right away,” says Terry.

Juror Anne Wilkes Tucker, who is photography curator of The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, observes: “Lots of people have tried to find pictures that make you understand the complications of [chosen] locations. The picture of the three women on the bench does that. I’m presuming he didn’t stage it. It’s pretty perfect.”

That Lichtenstein already had strong images for his proposed project gave him an advantage over those who applied on the strength of images from past projects. Even if those images were very good, Tucker notes, “We [jurors] just don’t know that they can translate what they’re proposing to do into pictures.”

Tucker says finalists for the grant weren’t necessarily skilled writers, “But the ideas were there [in the application]. They knew what they were going to do, how it was going to relate to the theme proposed, what was possible to do and [their idea] was focused enough … You have to know what’s a manageable project” and convey that in the application—with words and pictures.

Mayes says some proposals were eliminated “because they lacked that clarity. [We’re awarding] a chunk of money—we need to know it is going to be spent with real effect.”

The four other finalists for the grant were Christopher Capozziello, with a project about the Ku Klux Klan; Michelle Frankfurter, with a project about emigration to the U.S. in the aftermath of the Central American civil wars of the 1980s; Simon Thorpe, with a conceptual project about Sahrawi soldiers who fought for their land in the Western Sahara; and Michael Zumstein, with a project about national reconciliation in Ivory Coast after the 2010 elections there.

Lichtenstein says he’s applied for only a few grants out of necessity; editorial assignment work is no longer reliable enough as a source of income. Applying for grants, he says, “is a tremendous amount of work, and there’s no kill fee. If you don’t get it, that’s two weeks gone. The plus side is that it really helps you think about the issues of your project and put together an edit, and articulate what you’re saying in your photos.”

His advice to others applying for grants: “Look at the grant carefully to see if your work is appropriate for it,” he says. “The second thing is, there’s nothing you can say or do to make up for not having the pictures. It’s fundamentally about the work.”

We’re having our first Meetup for 2012. We’ve invited “Freedom” – Visionary activist, citizen journalist, environmentalist, mother and yogini. As she says on her website Occupyfreedomla.org ~ FREEDOM: CITIZEN JOURNALIST “Bringing you the uncut story from the front lines of The Evolution”We’re evolving rapidly these days whether it’s technology or how we tell and share stories. We’ve asked Freedom to talk about her experience at the crossroads of so many of today’s powerful narratives.

We want to know more about the fracturing of trees and communities in the Amazon as well as the latest from a General Assembly near you.volution”

I, Eduardo will be hosting the Meetup and am organizing a trip to Ecuador in August to document The Crying Forest. – Share this story below –>

Al Jazeera’s Gabriel Elizondo follows the story of an activist who lived and died for the Amazon Rainforest:  video

When: Friday, February 24, 2012, 7:00 PM
Where: BottleRock 1050 South Flower Street, Los Angeles, CA (map)
RVSP Here and let us know you are coming out!

Gracias,
Eduardo

An important part of making your trip meaningful and impactful is to find and explore the story that resonates with you. When it comes to the Waorani of Ecuador there is a lot to learn and share with a wider audience. A few of the narratives begin with the following questions. How have the Waorani been displaced and their culture changed by oil companies and the encroaching modern world? What are the health effects from petrochemical contamination of land and water on the Waorani people? What is the ecological damage caused by this contamination? How do the Waroani think of themselves in relation to the more violent and recluse tribes of the Tagaeris and Taromenanes? How has the history of Christian missions impacted their past and future sense of spirituality? What is the past and current role of shaman’s in the culture and is it at risk? These are some of the bigger questions and the best way to approach them is through the personal stories of some of the people you will have a chance to meet and get to know. Let’s set the stage for what the trip will be like.

You will be traveling to one of the most beautiful and remote areas of the Amazon the Yasuní National Park. We will be traveling by a motorized canoe for long distances. it will be possible to see many birds, specially macaws and toucans, reptiles like the black caiman, white caiman, Anaconda and if we are lucky some mammals like giant otters, tapirs, capybaras, wild pigs, and without a doubt spider monkey, squirrel monkey, woolly monkey, howler monkey and others.

The first village we will visit will be Neoneno. In this village there are only a few older Waorani men that keep practicing their traditions. These men are teaching the younger people about their lost culture. Nanto lives in this village he one of the most famous Waorani leaders. Nanto worked with Moi and Enqueri to protect their land, you can find some information about them in the book Savages by Joe Kane.

The next village will by Caruheno, named after a man called Caruhe who lives there. Caruheno is unique, here you will feel like you have traveled to the past. Villagers here live the traditional Waorani lifestyle, a simple life surrounded by the forest from where they can get everything the need. This is one of the best places to spot for wildlife. Many of the villagers here live like nomads. They typically stay in a village for some years and then they move to another.

The next village is the largest for the Waorani, Bameno, located close to the town founded by Dayuma and Rachel. Many of the people in Bameno used to lived in Dayuma’s village. Bameno was one of the first places where Texaco started oil exploration. There were three oil wells close to the town and an airplane runway that the oil companies used. Many of the people in this area were affected by the oil companies through illness and ecological damage. It is breath taking to realize that the modern world had to go so deep in the jungle for its oil.

In Bameno you will meet Quemperi, one of the oldest and most legendary Waoranis. Quemperi is a powerful shaman, who can see into the future and is in contact with the animals and souls. The Waorani people really believe and respect him.  Given Bameno’s history, most of the people that were affected by the oil are already dead and most of them were children. At the moment there only two cases of people that are still alive. Their names, photos and stories, follow below:

Weika Apika is a young mother. While pregnant she and her baby were directly exposed to oil in the river near her village. When she was exposed to it she said the oil burned her skin, and and she felt itching and pain. Her daughter, Silvia Wani, was born with a rare illness. Although it’s hard to prove there is a link with the oil she is convinced. Doctors have looked at Silvia and can’t find an adequate explanation for her illness.

Guinta Tega said that the oil came with the Kawode, with the foreigners. He said when the oil arrived the level of the water decreased. One time when he was taking a bath in the river a large amount of oil came downstream and burned all the skin on his body. The itching and pain was so severe, they had to air-lift him to Coca’s hospital where the doctors tried to help him. He was in the hospital for many days, when he returned to Bameno he was better, but the oil was still in his body. He says that for many years he felt like his skin was rotting. He says that the oil almost killed him and that there were many people that died because of the oil.

We’re getting 2012 underway with our second Meetup dedicated to Aging Out of Foster Care, it’s going to be a bright year and an incredible project!  We’re excited to tell everyone the scoop on moving forward; we’ve good news about opportunities to work with Seattle’s inspiring and proactive Mockingbird Society, plus planning our next steps setting Aging Out of Foster Care into action.  We’re in awe of all the progress we’ve seen come from the New York chapter and bolstered by our already gaining support in Seattle.

When: Monday, January 23, 2012, 7:00 PM
Where: Susan’s House, 1843 41st Ave E, Seattle, WA

Amanda will share the results of an amazing late December meeting with the executive Director of Mockingbird Society, our possible 1 and only partner for this project!

I hope to see everyone Monday evening at 7pm and to continue the fantastic discussion we started last go-around.  Please complete the application on the SG Local website and check out the Mockingbird Society, they’re an impressive bunch!

Light fare and beverages will be provided by our lovely hosts, please be sure to RSVP to the Meetup so we can plan some munchies for you!

Thanks all and see you Monday!
Steph and Amanda

We’ll be introducing our first project, Aging Out of Foster Care, it’s success in NYC (huge!) as well as our plans to launch ‘Aging Out’ in Seattle.

When: Monday, 12/5/11, 7-9pm
Click here for Meetup info and to RSVP

Anyone interested in photographing stories, writing, organizing, writing, social media gurus, interested people, supporting and producing ‘Aging Out’ … is welcome, we can’t wait to meet you!

This is a professional project, please be aware that we’ll be focusing our efforts on working with professional photographers, writers, organizers, social media-junkies, leaders.  Also, this is volunteer work for an incredible cause and stories worth telling — and get out into the world!

You can read more about the stories coming out of the talent in NYC here:
http://www.local.salaamgarage.com/

and here:
http://www.pdnonline.com/pdn/photoserve/SGLocal-NYC-Launches-3544.shtml

There will be light munchies available. We can’t wait to see you there!

Amanda Koster and Steph Hansen

Renald has a hopeful future. He is a senior in college and has dreams of becoming a lawyer. (Aug. 8, 2011) Photo by Heather Walsh

Here is a preview of the 3rd story from our current all volunteer SGLocal-NYC Aging Out of Foster Care Project.  Photographer Heather Walsh, one of the SalaamGarage producers on this project photographed Renald this month.  He is an aged-out foster kid who is defying the statistics because he is in college, working to become a lawyer.  According to The Children’s Aid Society, “Each year, approximately 20,000 of the 542,000 children in foster care nationwide are discharged to live on their own. Five percent of these, or approximately 1,100 young adults, are discharged to fend for themselves in New York City.” It isn’t hard to guess that the percentage of aged out youth making it into higher education and graduating is dismally low. Reading statistics can often be pretty abstract.  The numbers quoted here are some of the saddest and most moving I have ever read. “According to studies of young people discharged to themselves in different states: 12-30% struggled with homelessness; 40-63% did not complete high school; 25-55% were unemployed; those employed had average earnings below the poverty level, and only 38% of those employed were still working after one year; 31-42% were arrested; 18-26% were incarcerated; and 40-60% of the young women were pregnant within 12-18 months of leaving foster care.”

It was meeting at-risk youth at the Next Generation Center in the Bronx, a Children’s Aid Society community center that supports youth from all over the city when they age out of the foster care system and transition out of the juvenile justice system, that we were inspired to tell these stories.

Renald spends long hours working and taking college courses before returning home each day. (Aug. 19, 2011) Photo by Heather Walsh

With assistance from HPRP, a pilot program operated by the Nassau County Office of Housing and Homeless Services, he has a place he can call home, a third-story walk-up. (Aug. 19, 2011) Photo by Heather Walsh

Living on your own can be challenging, "because you just have to do everything for yourself," says Renald. (Aug. 19, 2011) Photo by Heather Walsh

Renald and his two younger brothers lived together in foster homes for eight years until he aged out and had to leave them behind. He is now living alone. (Aug. 8, 2011) Photo by Heather Walsh

Renald is taking part in a program that helps aged-out youth with housing subsidies. The Nassau County Homelessness Prevention & Rapid Re-Housing (HPRP) pilot program.  Photographer Heather Walsh is still working on her project with Renald and is looking for places in print and online to share his story.  She and many other photographers on the team are looking forward to getting these stories published in print and online.  If you would like to run any of these stories in your publication, or know of a publication that does, please get in touch!

Want to get involved? If you live in the NYC/NJ metro area and are a professional writer, reporter, photographer, videographer, or other media creator and would like to get involved please join the SalaamGarage Meetup group, a link to the application can be found there.

Inspired to help youth when they age out of the foster care system?
Go to these local orgs to donate, volunteer, spread the word, or adopt an older foster kid:
You Gotta Believe, and You Gotta Believe! on twitter @AdoptOlderKids
The Children’s Aid Society Next Generation Center and on twitter at @ChildrensAidNYC
ProjectMMH, on twitter @ProjectMMH, was founded by country singer and aged out foster kid Jimmy Wayne.  He has a powerful inspiring story of overcoming the odds and a terrible youth to finding success.  ProjectMMH has one of the best lists of local and national organizations working to help youth when they age out of foster care.

For more info about SalaamGarage Local and the Aging Out of Foster Care project, email maggie@salaamgarage.com.

Andre by photographer Matthew Furman

NY based photographer Matthew Furman photographed Andre last week as part of the SalaamGarage Local-NYC Aging-Out of Foster Care in NYC project.  So far, approximately 15 photographers, 10 writers, and 18 former foster youth have agreed to participate in this, the first SalaamGarage Local project.  We are working hard to raise awareness and inspire action to help youth when they age out of the foster care system in the NYC metro area.

Andre, 22 Freeport, NY
When Andre was 7 years old social services came one day and took him and his 5 year old little brother away. His uncle had been beating them pretty badly. His little brother apparently was getting the worst of it, and he’s the one that told a nurse at school.  Andre told Matt that is was pretty scary when strangers put him and his brother in a van and told them that they were going to a ‘better place’. The worst part was that the family that he went to wasn’t any better. Andre described, “some Spanish guy beating us too..dipping us in cold water as punishment.” It was hard for Matt to hear that, at the time, Andre was pissed at his brother because even though it was bad, he didn’t want to be away from his family. Looking back he isn’t mad at his brother anymore.
From the ages of 18-21 Andre lived at Seaford House where he had his own room. He is grateful that Seaford House kept him motivated to get out there and get a job. He earned his CNA, but quickly realized that it wasn’t for him.
Andre is working at a Babies R Us currently.  Andre told Matt that he’d like to go back to school. So, Matt asked him where he sees himself in 5 years.  Andre replied, “I want to be successful. I know how life really is, I’ve been through the lowest of lows, so I’m ready for the highs. Sky’s the limit. I’d like to have a nice home and eventually start a family.”  To see photographer Matt Furman’s blog post and more photos click here: http://www.furmanfoto.com/blog/.  Matt told me it was a great experience and he loved getting out there with just his camera and no crew, no lights, no studio…

Andre in his neighborhood by photographer Matthew Furman

Andre on Brooklyn Ave. in Freeport, NY by photographer Matthew Furman

Andre is part of a program that helps aged-out youth with housing subsidies. The Nassau County Homelessness Prevention & Rapid Re-Housing (HPRP) pilot program.  Photographer Matthew Furman is still working on his story with a writer and will be looking for places in print and online to share his story.

Do you want to help get foster kids into permanent homes?  Coney Island, NY based organization You Gotta Believe works to place older foster kids into safe permanent homes.  They are on twitter @adoptolderkids.  So far they have placed more than 400 older foster youth in permanent families.  You can join their mentoring program, adopt a local older kid, or donate to their programs.
Also, you help youth as they age out of the foster care system in NYC by supporting the Children’s Aid Society Next Generation Center in the Bronx.

If you live in the NYC/NJ metro area and are a professional writer, reporter, photographer, videographer, or other media creator and would like to get involved please join the SalaamGarage Meetup group.  Let me know if you know the perfect newspaper or magazine, online and in print for our teams to publish their stories.

For more info about SalaamGarage Local and the Aging-Out of Foster Care project, email maggie@salaamgarage.com.

Dmitri at Sam's Barber Shop in Massapequa Park, NY. (Aug. 11, 2011) Photo by Heather Walsh

Foster kids in New York age out of the system anywhere between 18 and 21 years old.  Few are left with the resources and skills needed to support themselves, or find work and secure housing. A large percentage of youth end up homeless after aging out of the foster care system.  Here is one story in summary, the first of many being created by the SalaamGarage Local humanitarian media team in NYC to raise awareness about the challenges youth face when they age-out of the foster care system. SalaamGarage is excited to launch this, the pilot for our first local storytelling project.  It is called SalaamGarage Local, or SGLocal for short. SGLocal-NYC is our first hyper local based team.  The team is made up of local media professionals who are committed to using their storytelling and documentary skills to make a positive impact on the social problems affecting our communities.

Dmitriy, 22 yrs. old. Bethpage, NY (As told to photographer Heather Walsh)
After his birth in Russia, Dmitriy was placed into an orphanage where he lived with more than 100 children. At age 11 he was adopted by an American family and moved to New York. He spoke no English and the only person he could talk to was a Russian barber who he still sees regularly. He only lived with his adopted family for three years, experiencing neglect and mistreatment the whole time. Without notice, his adopted parents placed him into foster care. At first he landed in an institutional home that he says was worse than the orphanage. After that he was placed in two two foster care group homes until at 21, he aged-out of the system.   He now lives on his own and works for the Oyster Bay Dept. of Sanitation. He hopes to have a long career with the dept. and build a good life for himself.

Dmitriy, age 22, stands in hallway of his apartment in Bethpage, NY. (Aug. 2, 2011) Photo by Heather Walsh

Dmitriy is part of a program that helps aged-out youth with housing subsidies. The Nassau County Homelessness Prevention & Rapid Re-Housing (HPRP) pilot program.  Photographer Heather Walsh is still working on her project with Dmitriy and will be looking for places in print and online to share his story.  She and many other photographers on the team are looking forward to working with local reporters who can write and interview the subjects for the greatest impact.

If you live in the NYC/NJ metro area and are a professional writer, reporter, photographer, videographer, or other media creator and would like to get involved please join the SalaamGarage Meetup group.

For more info about SalaamGarage Local email maggie@salaamgarage.com.

Crowdfunding For Good ©89studio - Fotolia.com

Our friends at Causevox published a very helpful free ebook called “7 Habits of Highly Effective Personal Fundraisers.”  Get it Here: http://ebook.causevox.com/7habits/.  We couldn’t have said it better.  A must download for anyone running a fund-raising campaign.

Here are some of our favorite online fund raising platforms:

• Spot.us http://spot.us/ hyper local community funded journalism
• Emphas.is http://emphas.is/ specifically for visual journalists doing image based projects anywhere
• Kickstarter http://www.kickstarter.com/
• IndieGoGo http://www.indiegogo.com/
• Chipin http://www.chipin.com/ this is a widget that can be installed on one’s own blog or website.
• Invested.in http://invested.in/

Want to learn more about the differences between these platforms?

Poynter article about Emphas.is: http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/top-stories/129807/emphas-is-builds-community-of-support-for-quality-photojournalism/
Nice commentary on crowdfunding from Once Magazine http://blog.oncemagazine.com/post/4089772682/crowdfunding-and-the-future-of-photojournalism
This New York Foundation for the Arts blog post is very helpful: http://nyfablog.com/2011/07/26/the-artists-digital-toolkit-part-3/

….and for the mother-load list of 88 crowd funding platforms for raising money to support your project, check out the Dutch SmarterMoney blog for: Crowdfunding Platforms and Initiatives. Wow.

My name is Kristie McLean and I traveled with SalaamGarage to Ethiopia six months ago. For me, one of the biggest attractions to SalaamGarage is its focus on raising awareness of social issues and challenging travelers to ACT (rather than just documenting the status quo) to bring about positive change.

I am always on the lookout for long-term solutions to global social issues. While on the trip, I heard the heartbreaking story of a 22-year old woman, on the brink of suicide, who was brought to Hamlin Fistula Hospital and successfully treated, but whose husband and family would not accept her home again. I also met an Ethiopian engineer who builds water mills that help women in rural communities- and the idea of creating a mill to help both constituencies and serve as a practical solution to everyday life was born.

This water-powered mill in Western Ethiopia will grind grain for 800 families in the community of Begi and provide a safe living compound and sustainable income source for obstetric fistula survivors.

The initial $1,000 for Phase One has been wired to Addis Ababa and the local work team has traveled and researched the best site and obtained the land. I’m excited to report that Phase Two of the Ethiopian water mill project is now underway!

Please join me in the next push to raise at least $2,500 (of the remaining $10K) by July 25th! That’s my birthday, and I’m hoping that in lieu of other birthday gestures I can raise awareness and funds to re-build and empower other lives instead.

To help: please visit the Crooked Trails website (the 501c3 sponsor for this project) at http://www.crookedtrails.org/project6.php to make your TAX-DEDUCTIBLE donation. Make sure to mark “Ethiopia Water Mill Project” in the Notes field so the funds are earmarked successfully. Crooked Trails is set up for corporate-matching and happily accepts both check and credit card donations. THANK YOU for your generous support of the women of Ethiopia!

Kristie McLean

“We’ve been very impressed by Amanda’s talks at conference such as TEDX Seattle, Web 2.0, and Gnomedex.  The most challenging part of talking about humanitarian work is making the suffering of people who live far away, that the audience will never meet, relevant and personal.  When we saw Amanda successfully raise $2600 for fistula surgeries in Ethiopia with a five minute talk at Ignite Seattle, we knew we had to get  her more opportunities to share her work.”

Amanda Koster’s bio is now available on our website including a description of her talk and quotes from people who’ve presented her as a speaker.  If you know of a lecture series, conference, company, artist in residency, or school that could benefit from her inspiration and expertise, please contact us at info@samaralectures.com.

Ecuadorian TRAVEL VISA

Ecuador does not require a travel visa unless you plan on staying longer than 90 days.  If you are extending your trip on your own, you can obtain a travel visa in Ecuador.

IMMUNIZATIONS

Plan ahead for getting your vaccinations: some of them require more than one injection, while some should not be given together.  You should see a travel doctor six weeks prior to departure.
Ecuador requires no immunizations to enter the country, however, due to the remote nature of our destination, there are several immunizations you should consider.  These include Malaria, Yellow Fever, Typhoid, Hepatitis A, Tetanus, and Hepatitis B. Malaria is a concern for travel in the Amazon basin and parts of the far northern coast.  However, you should ask for advice from the doctor.  If you haven’t had your Measles/Mumps/Rubella shot since you were a child, your doctor will suggest it.  Let your doctor help you decide based on your length of stay and our planned destinations in Ecuador.

MONEY

The currency in Ecuador is the US dollar. Cash and travelers’ checks are readily accepted and can be exchanged at the airport, exchange houses or any banks when you arrive in Quito.  It is important to examine your US dollars before arriving in Ecuador.  Bills must be in good condition or banks and exchange houses will not accept them.  Avoid bringing bills with small tears, writing or heavily worn bills.  Traveler’s checks are exchanged at a lower rate than cash and a commission can be charged.  ATMs are readily available in most of the cities we will visit.

All participants should carry a money belt for carrying valuables such as cash, air tickets, passports and credit cards.

While in Ecuador, you will be responsible for:

Your own meals in Quito, where you can expect to pay around $5.00 to $10.00 a meal.

International airport departure tax, which is $25.00.

Tips and gratuities: This is a very delicate matter for us, throughout the years we have been often asked what gratuity would be appropriate to leave for the guides. It is our recommendation that the quality of service should determinate the extend of any gratuity for example if the service received has been excellent, a suggestion of US$ 40 per person for whole trip is considered appropriate. Please take note that this is  a suggestion: tipping and gratuities are very personal.

Personal items such as laundry, phone calls, emails and snacks.

PDN and PhotoServe.com are always on the lookout for excellent storytellers and thrilled to offer a package allowing members of SalaamGarage to feature their projects.  Join the most exclusive professional photography community and take advantage of a discounted package which includes a PDN subscription, portfolio on PhotoServe.com and discounts on photography contests and with participating vendors.  PhotoServe actively supports our members through editorial and news pieces written on behalf of our members and included in our monthly newsletter to over 15,000 creatives, industry events, print and direct mail marketing, and through social media outlets. Discounted rate: $635 paid in full / $660 paid in quarterly installments

For more information or to purchase this value-added membership, contact:

Kristie Nilsson - knilsson@pdnonline.com - (646) 654-5812

PRE-DEPARTURE: MASTER CHECKLIST

• valid passport
• one other picture ID (driver’s license)
• plane ticket (use our parter: )
• emergency information
• travel insurance
• recommended inoculations
• currency, and credit cards, travelers checks (we don’t recommend using these, they can be a pain in many countries)
• two photocopies of passport, credit cards, tickets, and insurance (we suggest emailing a copy of these things to an ex. gmail account so you can access at any internet cafe in the world)

HOME CHECKLIST

• stop deliveries
• have post office hold mail
• set up timed lighting
• arrange for care of pets
• leave house and trip itinerary with a neighbor
• turn off water heater
• turn down thermostat
• lock all windows
• leave copy of passport and itinerary with family or friends

CAMPING GEAR

(*specific to certain trips, ask when you sign up)
• sleeping sheet or sack.- or very light bag
• ground pad

CLOTHING

• hiking boots/or cross boots (*specific to certain trips, ask when you sign up)
• sanals
• two pairs of heavier socks
• two sock liners
• three light weight pair of pants for the rainforest and the Cloud forest with three long sleeved light weight shirt.  (men-shorts)
• mid weight long sleeve shirt
• two light weight shirts
• warm jacket or rain/wind coat
• underwear 3-5 pairs
• warm hat
• swimsuit
• sun hat

OTHER GEAR

• Day pack
• large pack to carry ALL your gear (*specific to certain trips, ask when you sign up)
• two one liter water bottles
• headlamp/flashlight/extra batteries
• pocket knife (NOT in your carry on)
• towel
• alarm clock
• money belt to carry cash, credit cards, passport, and tickets
• camera/film/extra batteries
• travel journal pen/pencil
• book
• ziplock baggies, dry bags, etc.
• water filter or iodine tabs
• sunglasses
• small binoculars
• extra snacks for between meals
• a cord to dry clothes on
• mosquito netting (if bugs bother you)

FIRST AID KIT

• Iodine tablets
• aspirin or pain reliever
• pepto bismal tablets
• band aids
• moleskin and/or second skin for blisters
• diarrhea medication such as Loparamide or Imodium
• antibiotics from your doctor
• antibiotic cream
• insect repellent
• sunscreen
• sunburn relief like Aloe Vera
• Lip Protection
• Oral Re-hydration powder
• Talcum powder
• vitamins
• other personal medications

TOILETRIES

Remember to keep it simple, lightweight and environmentally responsible.  If washing in the streams, always use biodegradable soaps and detergents. Below is a list of items you might choose to bring.

• biodegradable soap for washing and laundry
• toothbrush and toothpaste
• dental floss
• skin care products
• toilet paper in a plastic bag with a lighter
• deodorant
• razor
• comb/brush
• small mirror
• hand wipes

WATER FILTRATION

SalaamGarage requires that all participants be prepared to filter their own water. We do this to avoid creating a trail of plastic water bottles everywhere we go. It also ensures the safety and supply of your water. Be sure to bring two water bottles with you also. No water is considered safe to drink on this program unless you have filtered it or it has been boiled.

Giardia lamblia. Cryptosporidium. Campylobacter jejuni. Hepatitis A. All are members of an invisible fluvial zoo that may be present in developing country water.

How do they get there? When water becomes tainted by animal or human feces. What impact could such microbes have? They can leave you reeling with diarrhea, abdominal cramps, nausea, weight loss and fatigue. How long might these symptoms last? Between 4 and 6 weeks. Maybe longer. Ugh.

Portable water filters and purifiers both operate on the same mechanical principle. Using a hand pump and intake hose, both slurp up “raw” water from a lake or stream and force it through an internal element (a filtering “medium”). This medium traps suspended elements — from fine sediment to invisible microorganisms—before dispensing clean water into a container of your choice.

What’s the difference between a filter and a purifer?

Water filter—A microbiological device that removes bacteria (e.g., Campylobacter jejuni) and protozoan cysts (Giardia lamblia, cryptosporidium) from contaminated water.

Water purifier—A microbiological device that removes bacteria, protozoan cysts and viruses (e.g., hepatitis A) from contaminated water

For your purposes its best to talk to the sales agent and tell them you intend to use this for water in a developing country.

Note: Pregnant women and people with thyroid conditions often have adverse reactions to iodine. Consult a physician before selecting a purifier.

What to look for:

• Easy to pump
• Simple to use
• Capable of sustaining a steady, generous flow
• Effective against waterborne pathogens
• Slow to clog, easy to clean
• Long-lasting

How can you tell if a filter or purifier delivers in these areas? Look for clues in the specification chart that accompanies each product description.

The women’s names have been changed to protect their privacy. Many thanks to Ruth Gadissa, Senior Nurse at the Hamlin Fistula Hospital, who was my translator.

LIFE DISRUPTED AND THE RETURN TO NORMAL
“MY STORY” as told to Veronica M. Gray

My name is Alemtsehay Mamo. I am 19 years old. Yesterday, I was operated on for the third time in three years.  I suffer from obstetric fistula and complications from my first pregnancy.

I was born in Shwa Deira, Ethiopia.  Until I was 13 years old, I lived with my parents and 4 brothers and 4 sisters.  I attended school in my village.  I was learning English and taking science courses because I wanted to become a nurse and help people.  I still do.

At the age of 13 years old I was introduced to my husband who is 10 years older.  We soon married and I left my family to live with my husband, his parents, and his 7 brothers, and 3 sisters.  Before I became pregnant, I worked on my family’s farm, growing tomatoes.

I was 16 when I first became pregnant.  There was nothing unusual about my pregnancy until it was time to give birth.  My mother was with me when I went into labor.  This is typical in my world to only have our mothers assist us in giving birth – without the assistance of a doctor or midwife because any clinic or hospital is too far away.  As my labor continued hour after hour – day after day – the pain became unbearable. I thought I would and in fact wanted to die.  My parents were beside themselves because they could not help me.  They then took me to the medical clinic which was a 3 hour walk from our village.   When we arrived at the clinic, my condition was so bad that no one there could help me.  Somehow, my father arranged to have me taken to Black Lion Hospital in Addis Ababa.  On the 4th day of labor they pulled the baby with forceps from my body.  My baby had died during our journey to get help.  I was so very sad.  I cried and cried.

My heart ached for my baby; I did not know what to do.  And, I was still in so much pain.  The next day, I realized that there was something very wrong.  I was leaking feces and urine down my legs.  I did not understand and was frightened.  The smell was awful.  It was humiliating – I just wanted to die.  Then the doctor told me about the Hamlin Fistula Hospital.  My father and brother took me to Hamlin but when we arrived they told me they could not help me for at least 3 months in order to give my body time to heal.  I was so upset but had no choice but to return to my village.  I was so ashamed of my leaking and cried all the time.  I did not understand why this had happened to me.  I wanted to commit suicide.  My family was also shocked and did not understand.  My sisters had given birth to healthy babies.  I couldn’t help asking “what had I done to deserve this? – why was this happening to me?”  Although my family, my husband, and my village embraced me with their love – I was very sad and lonely – not knowing how long I would continue leaking.  As a result of the leaking and not being able to move freely – I developed foot drop – my legs would not hold up body.

After 3 months I returned to the Hamlin Fistula Hospital and was operated on.  I stayed at the hospital for several weeks and met other young women with obstetric fistula.  What a relief to know that there were others like me and I was not the only one.   I made friends at the hospital.  We would talk and laugh and walk through the gardens sharing secrets and our shame.  It was as if I had many sisters all at once.  Although the fistula operation was successful, my injuries were greater than anyone had realized – my bladder was still leaking urine.  After several weeks, I returned to my village to live with my parents.  With my father’s encouragement I returned to school.

Several months later I returned to Hamlin to have my second operation to stop the leaking.  Although it was successful, there was still more to cure.  I was still leaking.  I returned home and told my husband that I was still leaking urine and could not work on the farm.  I told him that he should find someone else and remarry.  I simply could not go back and live with him.  It was too humiliating.  I also felt uncomfortable living in my village so I returned to Addis Ababa.  I am renting an apartment with 2 of the women I met at Hamlin.  I was very lucky to have these new friends to live with and to find work washing clothes.  I am also going to school at night so I can become a nurse.

I have just recovered from my third operation and I am no longer leaking.  I am back at work and going to school. I am so grateful to the doctors and nurses at Hamlin and to all the friends I made there.  I hope that other women do not experience what I did.  My mission is to tell all women that they need to see a doctor when they become pregnant so they can give birth at a hospital and avoid what happened to me and if they leak as I did – the Hamlin Fistula Hospital is there for them and they do not have to pay.  It is free.

____________________________

My name is Engocha Marefia. I am 20 years old. I am a patient at the Hamlin Fistula Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.  I am recovering from my second operation as a result of giving birth to a still born baby.  I only hope and pray that the leaking has stopped now.

I was born in Feres Moga Georgis and now live in Assossa Iwollega – which is in northern Ethiopia, near the Sudan border.  My mother died when I was 10 year old.  My father remarried but I did not live with him growing up.  I have one brother and 3 half brothers.  But I did not live with my father growing up – I lived with neighbors/my friend’s family.  I never thought about gong to school but worked simply to survive.

I was lucky and was introduced to my future husband.  I feel in love with him and we married.   He was 22 years old and good looking as I.  At 18, I became pregnant and did not have any problems until I went into labor.  I was at home and the neighbors tried to help.  The pain was unbearable.  We went to the nearest clinic but it was unable to help me.   We then spent all our money and rented a car to go to the nearest hospital several hours away but it was too late.  My baby did not survive.  I spent many days in the hospital and realized I was uncontrollably leaking – feces and urine – and could not do anything about it.  I felt very disconnected and disoriented and so ashamed.  No one said anything to me about the leaking and I was too afraid to ask.
The doctors all seemed too busy and I did not want to bother them.  After 10 days, I returned home.  I cried every day.  I did not know what to do.  The pain was overwhelming and ran through every inch of my body and the leaking continued.  I was unable to take care of myself.  My husband and neighbors had to help me do everything.  I worried everyday about what was going to happen to me.  I prayed to God to help me.  Then one day,  someone told me about the Hamlin Fistula Hospital.  After traveling many days, I arrived there in early 2010.  I had my first operation and it helped a lot but I was still leaking urine.  I returned to live with my husband but could not do very much.  I tried using pads but it was very uncomfortable.  I had to wait 6 months before I could return to Hamlin for my second operation.  I now lie in bed knitting and waiting to see if the leaking has stopped.  If it hasn’t, I do not want to return to my husband.  I am too embarrassed.  The nurses at Hamlin encourage me to return to my husband.

I am so grateful for Hamlin and all the love, care, and friendship they have given me.  I do not know what I would have done without them.  I now know how important it is to have medical care.

CALL TO ACTION

Obstetric fistula is one the most devastating and serious of all childbirth injuries.  It is an internal injury caused generally by days of unrelieved obstructed labor.  During labor contractions, the baby’s head is constantly pushing against the mother’s pelvic bone – causing tissue to die due to lack of blood flow to this area.  The pushing creates a hole (a fistula) between the birth passage and internal organs such as the bladder or rectum. The result is that urine and bowel content cannot be held.  Fistula is preventable when timely emergency obstetric care such as a cesarean section surgery is available. Unfortunately in the world’s poorest countries, most mothers as Alemtsehay and Engocha live in rural areas and delivering their babies without medical help.

The Hamlin Fistula Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia provides free fistula repair surgery to approximately 2,500 women every year and cares for 50 long term patients.  The Hospital also has five mini-hospitals planned, of which three are already functioning and two are in the planning/construction phase. A more recent project is the establishment of a midwifery school to train midwives who will work in rural areas to help prevent fistula from occurring.
You can give a young woman a new life – the gift of dignity is priceless!
Hamlin Fistula Hospital and Hamlin Midwifery College Needs:

• $500 covers the cost of a fistula operation
• $3000 covers the cost of  1 Student for 1 year at the Midwifery College
• $8 buys a blanket for a new patient
• $4.50 buys a nurse uniform
• $2 buys plastic slippers for patients without shoes

For your donation (any amount) click here to reach USA Hamlin Fistula Fund.
____________________________

VERONICA GRAY

Veronica is a prominent trial lawyer at Nossaman Law Firm in Orange County, California, with over three decades of experience litigating and negotiating employment issues for her clients. She leads the Employment Practice Group.

Over the span of Veronica’s career, she has taken on a leadership role in many professional and philanthropic organizations on a local and international level, with a focus on micro-enterprise and children’s education.

Veronica is also a passionate photographer, and her remote travel has allowed her to capture the striking close-up images of the indigenous people she interacts with in places like Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet, India, China, Kenya, Ecuador, Peru, and Nicaragua. What started out as herprivate passion turned into an opportunity to share them with those in her community who would not otherwise have access to remote areas of the world. Veronica has donated her photography to many non-profits to support their fund raising efforts, and her photography has been on exhibition at the Chapman University School of Law and the Peter Blake Gallery in Orange County, and in Orange Coast Magazine.

Launching the new site! (with Maggie Soladay)

SalaamGarage first came to me looking for a webmaster to guide their upcoming switch to a different webhost. I’m not so much a webmaster as a content person who used to do websites, so out of curiosity I checked out their site. I had become peripherally acquainted with SalaamGarage through my friend Maggie Soladay, and knew the basics: they were a non profit who offered trips photojournalists, citizen journalists,  and other interested people got to meet the people being helped by NGOs (non-governmental organizations) around the world.

But looking at the site I thought: where are all the pictures? There were a few (mostly text) pages devoted to upcoming tours, but nothing to show the stories of those who’d already gone on the tours. After talking to founder Amanda Koster, I got the full scoop: they had the info, but it just wasn’t on the site. That’s when my bells went off. “You don’t need a webmaster,” I told Amanda, “You need a content strategist/designer, who can redesign the website to properly showcase the powerful stories you have to tell!”

So began my adventure with SalaamGarage. The site was already built in WordPress (a great choice for the content needs of most small businesses) so I just needed to find a great theme to show content visually. I started with Modularity theme from GraphPaper Press and tweaked it for what we needed. We spent a lot of time getting the information from the trip participants. Some of the trips had happened back in 2009 and so we had to dig around to get the information (and permission). Luckily,  SalaamGarage has a partnership with Blurb.com, the self-publishing company, and had produced a book for each tour, so I had access to the information.

I first put all the pictures into Photoshelter, a great resource for photographers to promote and sell their pictures. Then I generated a slideshow for each of the stories, and made a page for each story on the site.

For each tour, I asked the tour authors to make sure and use SUPER HUGE pictures for the tours. Pictures are powerful!

I’m really pleased with how the site turned out. The upcoming tours are front and center, along with a smorgasbord of past tour stories for people to peruse. But I got an unexpected benefit – as I was populating the site, and looking through all the pictures and stories, I got to get familiar with all the NGOs, with all the projects, with all the people. While my upbringing can be described as “poverty-line,” living in a first world country like the United States makes me rich compared to the people depicted in the stories I read. They go through things I could never imagine: the women in the fistula hospital in Ethiopia. The people maimed by the buried cluster bombs in Vietnam.  But it also made me realize that simplicity is a beautiful thing, seeing the simple family life in Guatemala.

I’m really grateful for the chance to work with SalaamGarage, and happy that people like Amanda and her team make the time to make a difference.

**Charlene Jaszewski is a content strategist and idea bomber. Find her here or on twitter at @theredheadsaid**

NGOS:

“For Agros International as an development organization, partnering with SalaamGarage did require a significant commitment, fortunately the return-on-investment is more than significant.  The process for us was highly collaborative and informative.  Agros already has a program for connecting partners with the people we work with in Latin America, integrating SalaamGarage’s unique approach to citizen journalism into our model was interesting and yet we found them [the citizen journalists] to be willing and adaptable, open to our insights, as well as insightful with their perspectives.   Even with the collaborative trip behind us, it seems the journey has only just begun as we celebrate the creative, professional, and compelling results and look forward to further sharing of the Agros story via the work and art of the SalaamGarage partner/participants.  To any NGO on the fence about a potential collaboration, if the bandwidth is available, I highly recommend partnering with SalaamGarage without reservation.”
Nathan Hawkins, Service Team Program Manager: Agros International

“It was particularly impressive to observe how Amanda [SalaamGarage founder and leader] demonstrated a natural respect, acceptance and understanding of an entirely new world, so different than that of hers in the West.  All the time that they were  here, it never occurred to any of us that there were outsiders in the premises. As they moved about and interacted with staff, they conducted themselves so easily with the women we work with, and children who live with us.  That was very impressive.

To me, the most unique aspect of the work that SalaamGarage is doing through photography [and media] is how they have transformed a skill into a mission to address such larger and deeper issues of our world.  SalaamGarage going to different countries to find out where the need is and how they can contribute in fulfilling those needs is a remarkable mission. Their ability to invest with a long-term vision in mind, the empathy with which they think and operate and her [the leaders] amazing quality of listening touched and impressed everyone at Vatsalya.”
Jaimala Gupta, Executive director and founder: Vatsalya

“When I was working with NGOs overseas we had some photographers come out to visit our projects, but it always seemed that their visit could have made a lot more impact both in-country and back in the USA. But what’s different with the concept of SalaamGarage, is now the combination of messages and images have the chance to resonate with a much wider audience and bring attention to underserved populations around the world.”
Adam Sirois, Coordinator of the Office of Global Health at the New York University College of Nursing / Former Country Director, International Medical Corps

PAST TRAVELERS:

(from Amanda Koster’s blog, while leading the SalaamGarage trip to Vietnam 1/2010)

dong ha, vietnam.
where i am sitting there ‘was’ a war going on.

the soil is very red here. it has a hi iron content. there are bombs in this soil. explosives which are still killing people, maiming people, blinding people, etc. people who have/had nothing to do with any conflict between north and south vietnam, or the united states or anything. kids who went out to play, thought a ‘bombie’ (cluster bomb) was a toy and kicked it. they may loose their site, legs and arms while their friends die right beside them. this is how it happens.

today i interviewed and photographed a few landmine survivors and victims (there is a difference here).

i am meeting these folks, seeing these places, learning about how things are now, post war. things are good and bad.

yesterday, january 15 quang li told me 14 people have died this year in quang tri province from explosives.

blair (exec. director of peacetrees vietnam) said it will take over 200 years to clear all the explosives in the soil in vietnam. over 200 years. 200 years. how long will this war last exactly?

besides iron i imagine there is a lot of blood as well. the soil here is very red here.

(By Conrad Chavez) I visited India as part of the first SalaamGarage team, which visited Vatsalya in 2007. I was impressed to discover that Vatsalya does not merely rescue street orphans, but is a caring community that transforms them into educated, productive persons with job skills. On our pilot trip, each of us was encouraged to interact with the community in a way consistent with our skills and abilities. I photographed the children, their classrooms and activities, and the work of the dedicated staff. Back home, our trip team mounted photo exhibits about our visit to raise awareness of the work of Vatsalya, and to help jump-start more SalaamGarage trips.

Current SalaamGarage teams commit to developing more specific projects with the organizations they visit, and I also felt I could do more than just show pictures. So I kept my eye open for a future opportunity to help Vatsalya. In 2011 Vatsalya announced a project to fund the building of a new, expanded school. I thought that the new school’s fundraising campaign could benefit greatly from having a visible, accessible presence like we often see in US fundraising projects.

The Facebook page created for Vatsalya by Caroline Poiner pointed the way, reminding me that we can use our experience with cutting-edge social media to support the goals of organizations in developing countries who may not yet be aware of the latest online opportunities. I proposed creating a web page specifically to promote the new school and that would also provide a way to donate in just a few clicks, which is how so many of us in developed countries now prefer to shop, pay bills, and donate to charity. I hoped that Vatsalya could direct potential donors all over the world to such a page, and that it would have an easy “Donate” button on it. Vatsalya director Jaimala Gupta connected me with the US fundraising organization Edge of Seven, which guided me to the online service they use for instant Web donations (crowdrise.com). I then created a fundraising page (bit.ly/vNewSchool), telling the story of the new school project in text and photographs.

Why did I choose this particular project? I saw an opportunity to fill a need, and realized that a relatively small investment of my time could bring significant benefits to the new school project. I am happy with the results: Vatsalya is able to to raise worldwide awareness of the project by frequently linking to the page from sites such as Facebook, and four weeks after the launch of the donation page, online donors have contributed over $2200 with several more weeks of fundraising still to go. Please consider donating to this important project; visit crowdrise.com/VatsalyaNewSchool or bit.ly/vNewSchool.

To see my photo essay of Vatsalya Udayan from the 2007 trip, please visit conradchavez.com/udayan.

Come back with us to Vatsalya this fall! SalaamGarage is returning to India, and Vatsalya: click here for more info.