Photographers Without Borders - The Tripty Project
Last fall, I was faced with a dilemma, whether I should volunteer for a project with Photographers Without Borders. At that time, a lot of excuses where coming up in my "logical brain" to not apply, what if I don't raise enough funds, how dangerous is it, is it safe, its going to be so hot etc. etc. I chose to apply anyways despite all of that, for a project in Bangladesh because thats where my roots are and if I had take an assignment like this, there is no place better in the world. I was ecstatic when I found out that I was selected for the Bangladesh assignment with the Tripty Project, however I had no idea that it would have such a profound effect on my life and how I looked at it. Right from the get go, it felt like being a part of something that was bigger than myself. The first day working with Tripty Project in Dhaka, we visited a girls orphanage in Mirpur. I can never ever forget the hospitality and the love that these kids showed me that day, they were so excited to have us spend time with them (and my fluent Bangla helped), that they wanted to take pictures with us instead of being photographed. They hosted us for lunch, took our autographs, drew an almost lifelike portrait of me amongst other activities. That day I realized that despite living thousands of miles away from these kids, we are all the same, and I want to help these children reach their highest potential in life through my photographs.
Over the next several days, we had a lot of fun photographing in four cities in Bangladesh. This gave us the opportunity to photograph in a lot of unique places, like fashion shoot on a boat in the middle of the river, a brick factory, a shipyard, a busy marketplace in old Dhaka and the Arts Faculty of Dhaka University to name a few. All in all, this was one of the best experiences of my life and I never want to stop. My utmost gratitude to Photographers Without Borders and the Tripty Project for making me such an integral part of this amazing project. I have truly been blessed to be able to make a good number of friends for life through this project. I also want to take a moment to thank my parents for being so supportive and letting me follow my dreams, not too many people in my position have the freedom of choice that my parents have provided for me. Love you Mom and Dad!
The Tripty Project is an ethical environmentally friendly fashion brand. Their goal is to create unique sustainable ethical items that tell a story by merging traditional handicraft with contemporary design. they aim to provide a more transparent supply chain, better informed consumers, and benefit local female artisans. To find out more about them (and order their amazing product) go to www.tripty.org.
To find out more about Photographers Without Borders and their projects, go to www.photographerswithoutborders.org. If you are thinking about how to change the world with photography, look no further. Thank you to everyone who helped to make this dream a reality.