As you all know, I love what I do. I'm passionate about creating art and storytelling through photography.
But something you may not know is that Bryan and I are passionate about adoption. And not only adoption, but getting birth families the resources they need to keep their families together-- orphan prevention.
We are not in a place to adopt now (we are living out of a bus haha), however we do feel like that does not limit what we can do to help with the orphan crisis.
So for my announcement!
This March, I will be heading to Uganda with The Archibald Project to use my camera to document stories about orphan compassion and prevention! We will be documenting two stories. One, the children in a babies home of Jinja. And two, a local women who by taking small business classes was able to start her own business and claim back her children from the babies home.
Why tell these stories?
The Archibald Project's purpose statement sums it up pretty well, so I'll let them take it away:
"We dream about a world where all children, even those deemed unworthy by society, have a chance to know love, feel touch, be given grace and mercy, and experience the love of a family. We desire that no child be without a parent(s), but the harsh reality is there are heart breaking circumstances that cause thousands of children to be orphaned every day. We do not think adoption is the complete answer to the orphan crisis, but there is no question that adoption is being used to save and change the lives of children. We have witnessed it firsthand, and we want the world to witness it with us.
We have seen a miracle adoption of a fourteen year old girl be completed just days before she was forced to the streets. We have seen parents travel to the ends of the earth to love a child that some considered unlovable. We have seen children who are underdeveloped solely because they are never touched. We have seen families spend thousands of dollars that they don't have to rescue a child they have never met. Our pictures have helped a family find and bring home a boy who is HIV positive.
All of the things we have seen are stories. Some stories are beautiful, some powerful, and some heart breaking, but all of these stories need to be told. We tell these stories. We use our cameras to advocate for orphans. We capture precious moments that stir the heart and inspire others to adopt. We show the world little faces still waiting for a family. We let the orphan know that their life and their story matter. We give a face to the faceless and a voice to the voiceless. We want the world to know that they exist and we will travel anywhere we are called in order see this purpose accomplished."
If any of this moves you or gets you excited in anyway, I would love a couple of things!
To know who you are! If caring for the orphan gets you wayyy excited, I would love to know that! There are so many ways to get involved in the orphan crisis and I would love to connect with you.
Follow our team! We will be documenting these stories in all different places, but to get all the info make sure to Like The Archibald Project on Facebook
Also, The Archibald Project has many beautiful stories already documented. Curl up on the couch and Check them out!
