Cameras For Africa

This is a request to give - faint of heart do not read on...

Just to give you a very brief background on this request, as many of you know my sister Carrie was in the Peace Corps in Mali, Africa. My sisters and I had the great pleasure of going to visit her and meeting her Malian family and friends. One very special friend she made was Yah. Yah helped Carrie assimilate and understand the culture, taboos and the language while becoming her dear friend.

Yah's story is very typical worldwide. She was fifteen when her family arranged a marriage for her to a man that already had a first wife. She had to honor the family’s wishes, give up her dreams of school and go with him and his family. She had a little baby girl Hawa. Her husband is now deceased and she had the choice to stay with the husband’s family or go back to hers.

Our family has "adopted Yah and Hawa" and every Christmas we are now donating money to help her. Carrie will be going back to Mali to visit Yah in June and she will also be taking a class in Uganda for her nursing degree. Upon her return, she is hoping to bring some much needed medical supplies. If you have any interest in helping with this cause, let me know and I can send you the list.

One way for Malians to make some income is by going around village to village and taking pictures of families. They charge for the film prints.

If any of you have any old, working film camera's that you are ready to part with, we would LOVE to take them off your hands. Feel free to donate some film as well. With this donation, consider yourself a venture capitalist minus the monetary ROI. But think of the spiritual ROI which FAR OUTWEIGHS the monetary. This is a great way for you to help people start a valid business in a 3rd world country to help support their families and do good for others themselves! It’s just win-win all around.

Please leave a if you have any interest in getting rid of a camera you never use, donating film, donating any medical supplies or just simply throwing a couple bucks our way for shipping costs. At that point, we can then work out the logistics of getting them to me for Carrie.

The deadline to comment is MARCH 31, 2009.

May the Lord bless you abundantly for your help!

"Everyone has the power of greatness. Not for fame, but greatness. Because greatness is determined by service." - Dr. Martin Luther King

Love always,
Ericka Hawkins, Carrie Thom & The Thom Family