Make sense to you? Probably not. I didn’t have a clue until last week either. Here are the statistics…
There are 143 million orphans around the world. That’s 143 million children without parents and families to call their own. That’s a crisis and a tragedy.
One village in Kenya created 13,000 “X” keychains out of leather with the numbers 143 on them in a span of three weeks. They created each one by hand. They were delivered and handed out at Catalyst last week after we heard the incredible story of Jimmy Wambua, a Kenyan man who watched his 10 month old sister die of starvation in his mother’s lap. At age 8, he was sponsored by Mark through Compassion International.
On the stage, Jimmy and Mark met for the first time in 19 years and it has been called one of THE most powerful moments in Catalyst history. There was not a dry eye in the packed arena of 13,000 people. Not one. The impact of one person on the life of another was so powerfully felt in that moment that I think we were all changed in the moment we experienced it.
You can see for yourself… Jimmy begins to share at minute 3:45. Have tissue handy.
Each person at Catalyst received one of the keychains as a reminder and a challenge to consider the statistics… and to be open. To be open to whatever our role (my role) might be in alleviating or minimizing the number of orphans in the world. As I looked at my son tonight in blissful ignorance of the realities of other kids his age across the world, I realized how blessed he is. And how blessed I am to be living in this country where I have the resources to provide and care for him.
Today I wanted to capture an image of the “X” and my son. A picture of what I have and what he has. I told him the “X” had been made for him to represent other kids without families and that I wanted to take his picture to show them he got it. He was happy to help, even excited that other kids had maybe helped make it.
I should’ve checked my camera settings before getting him set up because something wasn’t right and with his short attention span I just had to go with it. I eventually changed to auto and used the flash because I didn’t have enough light. The real problem was I left the settings from last night’s show using a different lens. Duh. Hate moments like that. Lesson learned.
The bigger question I’m asking myself about all this is, what is my role? How will I make a change? More than improving my photography or building a business, how can I leverage what I do and the connections I have to impact the life of someone else in a profound and real way? If you’re asking yourself the same question, you can visit 143million.org to learn more. I’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas as well.
Manual: Page 43—Shutter Priority Auto. Took a few shots just for fun in shutter priority.
Images: Looked at fine art prints online by master Joe Buissink. He’s going to be speaking at Pictage PartnerCon in New Orleans at the beginning of November. I’m thrilled to hear him speak and in awe of the images he captures. Are you going to PartnerCon? Would love to see you there!
365-ers on Twitter: I’m going to start listing fellow 365-ers on Twitter so that you can follow them too. Hopefully we can support one another by checking out and commenting on each other’s images. It really does help to get comments and feedback, doesn’t it? If you’re a 365-er on Twitter and not listed here, leave your twitter handle in the comments and I’ll add you next time.
patofford
On Pinterest? 
