Supply the Love: Haiti
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.
Sharon in Haiti
I enjoy taking pictures, and appreciate having the memories of family, events and nature. So when I saw an article in the paper about Print the Love and an opportunity to provide an instant picture to people in an impoverished country, I was pretty excited. At that time, I was planning to travel to Haiti on a medical mission trip with people from my church, Cross of Glory Baptist in Hopkins. Therefore, I applied to Print the Love and was very happy to be accepted.
The medical check-ups were performed for children that were part of a program in which sponsors provide money that send children to school and help care for their physical, spiritual and emotional needs. There were 14 of us comprised of doctors, nurses and support people (like me) from the US and Canada.
In addition to the check-ups, we had a Bible school program with stories, singing, crafts, and, for the first time, a picture taking station. I found a nice place to take the pictures just outside the church we were in, and we added a sticker that said, “Jezi renmen ou” or “Jesus loves you”. The children were very excited to get their picture taken, and throughout the day we could see the children looking at their picture time and time again.
The church was next to an orphanage, so we had several children checking out what was going on. This initially put me into a difficult situation, because I did not have permission to take pictures of the children from the orphanage. Fortunately, before the end of the day I was able to get permission to take their pictures, too. Word spread quickly, and the kids just kept coming! This was definitely a bonus to be able to share this gift with even more children.
Then something else unexpected happened. That day we had about eight translators for our group. One of them came over to me and timidly asked if he could have his picture taken. I said, “Of course”! I realized very quickly that this was very important to him. He stood so proud as he posed for the picture. This led to all the translators getting their pictures taken. Some of them were quiet and proud, others were somewhat giddy. All were very appreciative.
For me, someone who has probably had hundreds of pictures taken of me over the years, it made me pause to appreciate the joy a picture can bring to someone’s life. Thank you to Print the Love for making this an option to people around the world.
