Please note, the views expressed in this campaign do not necessarily reflect the views of the NGOs affiliated with it. They are merely beneficiaries of the work of an independent media practitioner.
Hi, I'm Daylin Paul. I am a photographer who's been working in Africa and Asia for the last 6 years. In my work I've covered stories on homelessness, natural disaster, environmental issues, education and healthcare for newspapers, magazines and NGOs. Recently I've been privileged to meet one of the most amazing human beings I've ever encountered, but I need your help to tell her remarkable story of hope and strength sensitively and completely.
I need to raise at least $2500 to cover the cost of living expenses, transport, a visa, the services of a translator and the acquisition of some new equipment to finish this story which has affected me like no other in my career as a photographer. So I'm turning to you, the people of the world, who deserve to hear this story as much as she deserves to tell it with integrity and honesty through photography and multimedia. In exchange, I'm offering items like the traditional bags that Karen women, like the woman in this story, use in their everyday lives as well as personal items that I use to do my work like bags and journals all made with a traditional Thai hill tribe twist. Your contribution will allow me to actually spend enough time with her to produce honest work, and it will enable the story of this amazing woman to go beyond the little village she lives in.
The Story
Maw (not her real name, but her title) is a Karen hill tribe woman living in a village in northern Thailand with her son. The Karen are one of many indigenous peoples that still live a traditional lifestyle in northwest Thailand and in southern Burma. Their traditional lifestyles mean that they are often cut off from modern conveniences and access to information which we take for granted.
About five years ago Naw became terribly and mysteriously ill and seemed to be on the verge of death when a volunteer from a local NGO, Rakdek, (also known as The Life Skills Development Foundation in English) helped her to get tested for HIV. The results came back positive, and she began a course of anti-retrovirals which literally brought her back from the jaws of death and allowed her to continue to care for her son.
Rakdek also helped Maw by buying her a pig which, though it may not seem like much, is a sustainable and appropriate form of income for Naw, who knows how to raise and breed pigs.
So every day, except Sundays when she and her son go to church, Maw walks many kilometers of fields, farmlands and hills around her village to find food for her pig before coming home to take care of her son, who is now a strong, healthy ten year old.
We hear so many stories about HIV where people are portrayed as victims suffering, but I think Maw's story is one of hope and strength. For me it's about how a mother's love and will to survive has given her the strength to not only recover from the brink of dying, but also to live a kind of physically challenging lifestyle that most "healthy" urban people would probably not be able to do for six days a week.
I have deliberately shot this story in such a way as to hide her and her son's facial features because of the social stigma that is often attached to HIV infection. It is this very stigma that I am hoping to challenge with this story while also promoting the excellent work that NGO's are doing with rural communities in Thailand to educate them about the realities of HIV in the modern world.
But the story is not finished…
Why this story is important
While Maw's story has become one very close to my heart, it has an impact that extends beyond both her or myself. If this work is completed and is exhibited or published it will be used as a tool to promote greater awareness about HIV in rural communities and also about the amazing work that Rakdek are doing to help people who live outside the scope of our modern influences. Many people living in cities and with access to television and the internet may know about the risks of HIV and how to get tested, but out in rural communities it's often the door-to-door work of these NGO's that make the difference between life and death, between family and orphanhood.
I will also freely give the finished project to The Life Skills Development Foundation who helped me meet her and whose website uses my work covering their projects in northern Thailand. They will be able to responsibly use it to further their cause in these isolated communities as both an educational and a fundraising/awareness tool.
Also, if i manage to reach the goal of $2500 at least 25% of the funds will be used to help Maw and her family and also the community action group whose volunteers found and helped her. If we can get more funds I can give more to their causes! The money will be managed and distrubuted through The Life Skills Development Foundation.
Additionally all of the gifts I am sending to contributors will be bought from local Thai small businesses, coffee famers and craftspeople.
What I need
Funds raised here will help me to cover the costs of visas, transport, accommodation, gear and a translator as I hope to spend at least two more weeks with Naw and her son during the months of April and May 2013 and visit them again in the future.
My goal of $2500 will provide:
* a rental motorbike to travel out to her village
* accommodation
* a trip to a neighboring country where I can get a visa to stay in Thailand for long enough to complete this project
* a camera with a video function and a sound recorder so I can make a reflective and immersive multimedia piece
* the cost and shipping for the various rewards I'm offering.
* the 25% donation to Maw and to the community action group in her village
This is the bare minimum I need to finish this project. Every dollar extra makes it easier for me to make this a reality.
What you'll get
The rewards I'm offering for financial support are in one way or another all connected to the fascinating hill tribe minorities in Thailand, of which the Karen are just one. The hill tribes all have their own unique cultures and languages and are renowned for their skill with handicrafts like weaving and working with bamboo and teak. I will also send financial backers prints of their favorite images from the series as well as things like journals and coffee which, as a photographer, I find indispensable to my work. You can take a look at the wonderful perks on offer here on my blog.
How you can help
Of course a financial contribution of any amount would help, but even if you don't have money to spare you can still help by spreading the message on your social networking services like Facebook or Twitter or just old-fashioned word of mouth.
Should I reach the target I need to complete this story I will be posting updates which you can follow on my blog. My website is temporarily down.
Also, you don't have to donate the amounts specified in the column on the right, you can give however much you feel comfortable with. Even a dollar helps!
Thanks so much for your time, if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask me by making a comment (either public or private) which I will respond to asap.
Daylin
