Eduardo said, “the woman I interviewed is Santosh Kanwar, she’s 26 with 4 little ones – Anshuman, Radha, Deepika, and Abnishiek. She touched me as deeply as it gets when she answered my question ‘what has been the biggest change for you since you joined the women’s self-help group?’ She said that she had finally learned the first names of all the women in her village. Up until then they only knew each other as so and so’s wife. Step one on the path to independence – identity.”

Santosh Kanwar photo by Eduardo Sciammarella

Santosh Kanwar photo by Eduardo Sciammarella

-Maggie Soladay, India 2009 trip producer

This week I added the September 2009 Rajasthan India trip!

Rajasthan India is a peaceful fascinatingly beautiful region in Northwestern India.  Evidence of the the mighty Rajputs is everywhere in temples, palaces, and forts.  Our mission is to explore the region’s art, culture, food, and architecture, and while doing so, put our talents into creating powerful stories about NGO Vatsalya’s work in Jaipur.  Vatsalya runs a home called Udayan, 40 minutes from Jaipur, that is home to 54 orphaned, homeless, abused, or neglected children where we will all visit on our second day in Indai.  Vatsalya also runs programs to help women with micro loans, truckers with education on HIV/AIDS, slum children with an outreach van that provides education and games, as well as other programs that aid and sometimes save the lives of people of Rajasthan.

We will pick a start day soon for the 12 day itinerary.   I encourage everyone interested to pipe up now so you can be part of choosing our departure date and fine tuning the itinerary.

click here for the itinerary and story ideas.

I am so excited to build this group of travelers over the next months.  I am currently working as a photography editor for The American Lawyer magazine in NYC and having the best time getting creative within the limitations of time and concept when it comes to portraiture of powerful American Attorneys.  I am lucky to have a gig like this.  The publishing world is seeing huge numbers of lay-offs that have effected many of my friends.  But the economic crisis and the crisis that India and the people of Mumbai have been so devastated by recently need not be ignored.  Stay in it! You can help change the face of media as we know it now.    These events in our midst have inspired me to move faster towards my goal of creating stories that give unsung non-profits and ngos the attention they lack.

In the meantime I am planning a trip myself to Cuba for relaxation and some scouting around for a 2010 trip possibility to cuba…  stay tuned.

-Maggie Soladay

Join social documentary and commercial photographer Amanda Koster illustrate how her career has helped create what is now SalaamGarage.  Join her in dialogue around the value of collaboration between media makers, social media applications, and international non-profit organizations.

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Koster officially founded SalaamGarage in January 2007 in response to years of countless requests, “Can I Come With You” regarding her international documentary projects. As she saw people traveling, creating content, publishing and connecting through social media, she thought why not harness this activity to cause positive change through sharing intentional and authentic storytelling.

Her latest book “Can I come with you – Social documentary photography” can be found at: BennettHastings.com

SalaamGarage is an organization of individuals who travel to developing countries on behalf of cause-related NGOs. Koster brings enthusiast and profesional photographers, writers, and videographers to chronicle their journey and tell the story of aid and development work. There is a human being behind every photograph, and there is a story behind every human being. From organizations in the favelas of Rio to the rice fields of Vietnam, SalaamGarage is helping NGOs raise money and awareness. And on a larger level, SalaamGarage is raising consciousness amongst bloggers, amateur and professional  media makers and technologists.