Supply the Love: Cambodia
In 2017 we launched Supply the Love! We supply the camera and film and you supply the love. We would love to have you be an ambassador of Print the Love! If you are traveling to an under-resourced community anywhere on the globe in the next year and would like to participate in spreading random photo kindness to the local people, lets chat! Together we can make a difference! Application is online.
The Supply the Love program is 100% supported by donors. If you are not travelling, you can still donate funds towards the camera and film for those who are.
As part of the program, we ask that ambassadors write a short description of their experience. All the words are their own.
Check out other self-trekking ambassadors’ experiences on our blog! Like Sharon in Haiti, Laura in Israel, Nathan in Puerto Rico, Allison in Kenya, Kelsey in Guatemala, Anne in Tanzania, Dan in Malawi, Krystal in Argentina, Cindy in Haiti, and more!
Lea in Cambodia
To me, having the ability to make a person smile is one of the most satisfying experiences. This is the reason I chose to go into the dental profession, and why the opportunity to be a Print the Love Ambassador was so rewarding.
As I began my journey in Cambodia, I brought my instant camera with me along the main river in Phnom Penh. I was shy and a bit nervous to walk up to strangers who spoke a completely foreign language. Luckily, my younger sister accompanied me and had the wonderful idea to take a picture of herself and show the locals how the camera worked with hand motions. With that we walked up to a family: a dad, mom, and five year old girl in a voluminous pink dress. We motioned to the camera, asking permission to take a photo of the little girl. When we delivered the instant image minutes later, the entire family had huge smiles on their face and at that instant my nervousness disappeared.
Minutes later, we had ten children swarming around us for a photograph. One at a time they each got their frames and were in awe. They stared at them before skipping along to their parents and friends to show off their new treasure. My sister and I were having a blast, we enjoyed providing happiness to these children. We realized the impact that these photographs had when we walked back down the river thirty minutes later and the photographs were still being held tightly as a precious possession. As we walked past the kids again, they all yelled “HELLO” and waved their arms energetically.
Although our target audience was children, we took frames of adults as well. One that stood out was an older lady selling fruits that noticed us taking pictures of children and tapped us on the shoulder to get in line. Without hesitation we were in position to take an image of her, and as we were walking up she applied lipstick and re-did her hair. After printing the photo, she examined the image with a beautiful bright smile and teary-eyed. This picture meant a lot to her.
Through this opportunity we learned a lot about the culture and people of Cambodia. They are very trusting, and most people were eager for the attention. We also acquired a few words in Khmer including: hello, may we take your picture, and thank you. While taking pictures of the children, we counted 1, 2, 3 in Khmer. The kids laughed at our accent, and joined in with the count down!
We also used this opportunity to make friends with other foreigners. We were asked many times what we were doing. With excitement and enthusiasm we shared with them Print the Love and the amazing impact that it is having on developing countries. While in Kampot, a small city on the coast, we met an older man who was taking a polaroid of a server in a café and handed her the film. We approached him and asked him what he was doing, and he explained that he enjoyed spreading smiles with the simple task of taking pictures. We began talking about Print the Love, sharing our experiences and promoting the organization. We are hoping that as ambassadors of this amazing organization we are able to spread the word about Print the Love.
Overall, it has been a pleasure and honor to be a Print the Love ambassador. Not only did this experience allow my sister and me to influence a deserving population, we also took this opportunity to learn and grow. We will continue to highly recommend Print the Love and are looking forward to our next opportunity to serve as ambassadors again!
