Have a digital camera you don't need? Consider donating it to our new photography project with children from a small village in Northwest Argentina.
The Project: WichiWater
We take your old cameras and put them in the hands of Wichi children from villages all around the Salta province. They'll take photos of their lives, themselves. They'll have some fun. Then they'll share their photos with you when we post them online. You get to see them smile.
Who Are We?
First, there is the Wichi community of northwest Argentina, Salta and Jujuy provinces. A group of indigenous people who live all over the region. Often their villages do not have a clean water supply. Many times they do not have enough food or even clothing. They do have a rich culture and language that is such an important part of Argentina.
Then, there's me and Noah who are in the process of forming an arts & education non-profit that uses social media to connect artists internationally in order to do good in this world. WichiWater is our second major project. More info on the first coming soon.
Maximiliano Mura: a multi-talented Argentine photographer originally from Buenos Aires province but living now in Salta. As you can see, the photos in this article were taken by him during a recent visit to Formosa, a Wichi village about ten hours from Salta.
Ana Soruco: nutritionist and person with absolute heart of gold. She has been working with members of the Wichi community to help bring food, water, clothing and awareness to the people there.
(We stayed with Ani and Maxi when we first found ourselves without a home.)
Elio Néstor Fernández: founder of Idioma Wichi, a group dedicated to preserving Wichi language and culture. He is our main connection to the communities around the region.
Through WichiWater, the people of this unique group will share their culture, language and lives as we all work together to bring clean water to their communities.
What We Need?
Your functioning digital cameras. Any kind. Any age. It's ok if they don't have all their parts or are scratched and dented. They don't need all the accessories. If the camera has it's own specific batter, it's best that that be working. Cameras should be in basic working order. Fixing cameras is prohibitively expensive here in Salta, and it would be a shame to bring them all the way here and not be able to use them.
How To Send Your Cameras?
If you are in NYC, I will be there for the first and third weeks of February 2011.E-mail me and we can arrange a time to meet.
If you're not in New York or we can't figure out a time to get together, you can mail the cameras directly to our Atlanta mailing address. They should arrive on or before February 12, 2011.
Leigh Shulman
c/o Jane Steele
5505 Roswell Road, Ste 300
Atlanta, GA 30342
I will be in Atlanta for a few days before and until February 12. Any cameras that arrive before that day, I'll bring back with me to Argentina. Any cameras arriving after, we'll continue to collect and find another way to transport them to us at a later date.
También recibimos tu cámara donada en Salta, Argentina. Comunicarse a: jujenita@gmail.com
