Many thanks to InRegister Magazine for featuring and publishing some photos from my trip to Cambodia. It's an honor to be included alongside some of Louisiana's finest photographers.
Check out the article on their website here and if you're in South Louisiana go grab you one!
Thanks for stopping by!
*Claire
We had been walking for about an hour downtown when it hit me how much I don’t understand the depths and disguises of oppression. We met at Mcdonald's that evening to talk about the reality of what we were about to do…the goals, purpose, and how to be discreet so as not to bring attention to ourselves. I had never experienced praying to God in a way that made sure it didn’t look like that was in fact what we were doing. I come from a place, a city and a country where I can read my bible at a coffee shop and where it seems irreverent to not bow our heads when it’s time to pray. I was not in my city or my country though…I was in Sofia, Bulgaria. It was around 9:00 pm. And we were about to start walking the streets in order to pay attention to any activity that seemed like it could be a part of a dark, underground, high-grossing slave trade. We had set out, after praying with eyes open for our eyes to be opened, in order to notice women, men, and possibly children who are caught in the darkness of the Bulgarian sex slave trade.
The purpose? To add to a map and database any locations of possible brothels, clubs, hotels, restaurants or any place really that could have women enslaved, sometimes literally chained behind its walls, waiting for the night to get dark enough in order to be “brought to work.” When we first set out I figured we’d be looking for dark, hidden, grungy places even somewhat on the outskirts of the downtown area. In America if something is unpleasant we just zone it away or move away from it. We see it as something to avoid. I figured surely these are the places we’re talking about mapping out. An hour or so into our walk we passed what I consider the most beautiful part of Sofia. The St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is set in the heart of the city and is one of the most beautiful pieces of architecture I’ve ever seen in person. Right down the street is one of Sofia’s nicest hotels and I noticed as we walked by just how incredibly fancy the cars out front were. It was then that Beth, a missionary in Bulgaria, leaned over to me and pointed at one of these beautiful vehicles and said “see those cars?”…”they belong to politicians, leaders, those in power here.”…”see this hotel?...there are girls forced to be there even locked up in one of the hotel rooms. Users can walk up to the counter at this hotel and just ask for a girl and they’ll instantly get what they want.”
My time in Bulgaria was unlike the other trips I’ve had the honor of going on in the last year. Haiti has oppression screaming at you on every corner. After literally seeing a woman beat and spit on in the street, One can’t help but see oppression. Rwanda has a history of dark racism leading to a genocide that can’t be ignored and that permeates through each person’s story. In Bulgaria…the oppression became evident in the darkness of night outside a fancy hotel. Bulgaria’s oppression is subtle. You see it in the way a 20 year old girl is obsessed with the idea of coming to America because it is then that her life will be worth living. You see it in the way an entire country is speckled with the remains of communism on every corner, and you see it at 10:30 pm outside a 5 star hotel when it’s realized that all that separates you from the darkest of worlds...
is a wall.
Still…there is hope. There are those who walk the streets weekly to start relationships with these victims. There are those who have coffee with that 20 year old and invest in her weekly in order to bring good news. News that one day this disappointment and desire for escape will all be made right.
If you would like to give to the Mission to the World Bulgaria team visit www.mtwbg.com
We are now able to take donations for the work we do for Mission to the World. This will allow me to go wherever photography and video are needed for different teams around the world to photograph their ministries and the work they are doing. If you'd like to contribute to future projects like these please visit
Thanks for reading and for stopping by...More to come,
Claire
I recently had the privelage of photographing an annual fundraiser for Hope Ministries here in Baton Rouge.
Hope Ministries's mission is to
"Prevent homelessness. Promote Self-Sufficiency and Dignity."
They are located in north Baton Rouge, a part of Baton Rouge that is known for poverty and crime. They are right in the heart of this part of the city and offer help for families struggling financially in this area through programs that promote self sufficiency and dignity and directly involve the families in their rise out of poverty.
Hope has a food pantry, but unlike many food pantries, this is a "client choice" food pantry which is "a collaborative project that creates an atmosphere of dignity for clients and allows them to select food that suits their preferences and nutritional needs."
They also provide classes for those wanting to learn more about poverty in order to better understand the hardships involved and what real help in those situations looks like. Their unique mentoring program matches a family at-risk for homelessness with a mentor to help guide the family on their path to self-sufficiency. They also provide help with budgeting, finding a job, and connecting to one another within the community.
Each year Hope Minisitries has a fundraiser to inform the community of what they're doing in Baton Rouge and how the community can help. This year they had Kyle Maynard speak.
Kyle is a motivational speaker, author, entrepreneur, and athlete. Despite being born with arms that end at the elbows and legs near the knees, Kyle wrestled for one of the best teams in the Southeast, set records in weightlifting, fought in mixed martial arts, and most recently became the first man to crawl on his own to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa.
Kyle has traveled to five continents speaking about his experience as a Congenital Amputee and his goal each time he speaks is "helping each audience on their path towards reaching their highest human potential."
Kyle's talk was extremely inspiring. He talked about his motto "you're not dead yet..so don't quit" and that there is something in all of us that threatens us to think we can't do something. For him, it's the fact that he is a congenital amputee...for others of us it's our pride or someone once telling us we can't or our fears. He applied this to those in poverty and the hope that Hope Ministries encourages in their mission to bring people out of poverty with dignity..through the work of their own hands and in a way that connects them more fully to community while learning to be a faithful steward of what God has given.
You can view videos of Kyle's talk and footage from his climb up Mount Kilimanjaru at the following links.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czXTkNyzF98&feature=g-all&context=G2842901FAAAAAAAAAAA
Please consider giving financially to Hope Ministries or becoming a volunteer with them. You can help mentor a family, help stock their pantry, help families as they learn to budget, or help Hope in many other areas that connects these families to their community, hope and dignity in providing for their families, and changing the culture of their families to one of hope.
Visit Hope Minisitries's website at the following link.
You can give financially at this link:
http://hopebr.org/make-a-gift.html
Thanks for stopping by!
Please consider giving financially to Hope Ministries or becoming a volunteer with them. You can help mentor a family, help stock their pantry, help families as they learn to budget, or help Hope in many other areas that connects these families to their community, hope and dignity in providing for their families, and changing the culture of their families to one of hope.
Visit Hope Minisitries's website at the following link.
You can give financially at this link:
http://hopebr.org/make-a-gift.html
Thanks for stopping by!
Claire