Victor's Photos

Ugo took this photo of Victor, me and Yulissa.

Victor, 11 years old, captured some wonderful images of life around Salem in Mindo, all on his own with his first access to a camera donated by one of you! I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

I have lessened the resolution on these photos as I have had some complaints that it's taking too long to download this blog, let me know what you think.

Jonas, the very capable leader of Salem Mindo with his children.

Not sure how Victor took this shot, I didn't rotate it. Turned the camera upside down?? Who does that??? Good photo!

Doing homework.

Karen, also from Germany, takes good care of the children along with Jonas.

He's not feeling too well.

Janet, my friend from CT, taking the children to the plaza for photos.

An innocent passerby that Victor asked to pose for him.

Paula works at Salem, too, and is from Mindo.

Victor popped into this store to take her photo.

Not sure who these people are, but a part of Mindo life that I don't have access to.

Another happy child!

Slideshow of Salem International in Mindo, Ecuador.

I put together a slideshow of some of the many photos taken by the children of Salem with the donated cameras. A few of the photos are mine, but mainly the children have captured wonderful images of themselves, the buildings some of them call home, and the surrounding area. Jonas and Karen are the very caring people who take care of the children along with Paula, a young woman from Mindo.

The Children of Salem International in Mindo

The children of Salem International, the German foundation that cares for 12 children on a boarding basis, and another 24 on a day care after school everyday schedule, loved the cameras. They took to them right away and the biggest challenge was keeping them charged and the memory cards empty enough for them to fill them up again. Here are some photos I took of them and some they took of me and each other.

Taken by one of the children, Janet is on the right, a friend of mine from the states that was a big help.

The boy in the middle is deaf, he really enjoyed using the cameras and come up with some great shots.

The email that started it all.

Susan and Luis at their wonderful bed and breakfast in Mindo, Caskaffesu.

Hi Amy,

I heard from Gary and Karen that you and your husband are planning on coming to Ecuador in Dec., what fun! They also mentioned that you're looking for ideas for a photography workshop. We have an idea that we'd like to run by you. When one of the Peace Corps Volunteers who was here in Mindo was leaving to go back to the US, she gave us an older model digital camera that she had so we could encourage an 8-year-old (or so) kid in town to take photos. He's an orphan whose self-esteem is very slowly increasing with attention that we and others in town have been giving him. Alicia saw that he has an incredible eye for taking photos, so she left us in charge of supervising him with the camera. The thought occurred to us that if you could find funding for 5 or 6 simple cameras and give a workshop to the kids in the community, it would be an amazing experience for you as well as them. We thought the kids in Salem, a German-run organization that houses 12 of the poorest kids in town and has an after-school program for 20 others, would be the perfect group. They have constant, positive supervision; they have the fewest resources; and they're already together in an environment conducive to teaching/learning. This may be completely different than what you had in mind, but we thought it is worth putting the idea out to you. Also, just so you can see a few of photos Ronaldo has taken, we're attaching them. (You can see one of them below).

Take care and please say hello to Ian for us,

Susan & Luis

Photo by Ronaldo.

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Youth gain a positive self-identity through programs that target their interests.

El Ganar is another non profit foundation in Mindo that I will be volunteering with the donated cameras. They are an international and Partners of the Americas group involved in sports and other youth activities.

Downtown, really the entire town, of Mindo, Ecuador.

Shy but intrigued. I found it helpful to show the image on the camera screen after the photo is taken.

Cute kids everywhere.

Children of Mindo.

Mindo has around 2000 inhabitants and is generally a tourist destination, especially for birders. There is also river rafting, zip-lines and hiking in the cloud forest.

Here are some of the photos I took in Mindo when my son, Ian the birder, and I were there last winter.

Dog hanging out on a table in Mindo

Early on New Year's Day 2009