Contact 2011 - Figure & Ground

I've got an exhibit in the Junction as part of Contact this year.

My Contact Website is here

My Page on the Scotiabank Contact Website is here

Regular Exhibition/Store hours:
Monday: Closed,
Tuesday & Wednesday: 10-6 pm
Thursday to Saturday: 10-7 pm
Sunday: 11-6 pm

Tea Blendz Website

If you're in the area - please pop in. There are 22 other exhibits within a 5 minute walk.

My Blurb:

Figure, perception and experience. The details that draw our attention and form our perceptions. Our individual histories greatly influence and lead us to identify and attempt to put what we see and experience into context. We try to make our world make sense. These photos are about experiences and details in the natural and human made world around us.



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Stop Sending your Crap to Haiti and Africa

I wrote this post almost a year ago - in the Other Blog. It's a year later and people are still sending their crap all over the world.

The NFL is giving their mis-printed t-shirts to World Vision to send to "needy" people" (read why that's a stupid idea, here).

My friend working in Burkina Faso wrote the following in response to my posting that article on my Facebook wall:

"Finally (and quite ironically) someone makes sense of why stuff like that is retarded. I'm all for the school supplies and materials for clean drinking water etc because that stuff is frequently not available where needed. But you know even in Africa they have clothes.

Frequently what I see is clothing etc doesn't get 'given out' to the poor anyway. It gets sold - and often you'll see people who really don't earn much saving their money so they can buy a "white" shirt and they'll wear it til it's not recognizable as clothing. You can't imagine how many things I've seen here for sale with the tags from the stores still on them

Oh and by the way... there are LOTS of poor people who live in the US and Canada who could probably benefit from that without having to ship them half way across the planet. Why not give them to local missions instead?"




I know - we all want to help. But make sure the help you decide to participate in is aimed at making someone else's life better, not making you feel better.

"if the quality of an item is unacceptable in the donor country, it is also unacceptable as a donation"

Here's the post, updated a bit with information from the past year. And since this is now primarily supposed to be a photography blog, I'll update the photos and make things prettier than the original post - and I've added more links and resources at the end.

Happy V Day.

/<.

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I am always fascinated and frustrated by the number of people who feel the need to send their used shoes, sports equipment, and clothing to developing countries and those affected by disaster.

There is a seemingly endless stream of misinformed organizations that collect and send shoes and other goods to Africa (and now Haiti).

Everyone wants to feel and think that they're doing *something* for people "over there" - but what on earth makes so many people think that people in Africa need or even want their used shoes?

That their life would be SO much better if only they had some leather or vinyl on their poor African feet.

You know - they HAVE shoes in Africa.

Shoes are widely available. The reason some people don't have shoes is not because they can't get them if they wanted/needed them. The reason they don't have shoes is because their life and needs are so vastly different from the shoe-wearer's that shoes are simply not a priority.

Food and water are the priority. Feeding their families, medical care and treatment, disease prevention (sometimes, not usually), staying alive. Those are the things that are important.

If you're privileged enough and at a point in your life where you take the above things for granted - then the least you could do is help someone else achieve those things. Then maybe think about shoes. And you don't do that by spending money on shipping, packaging and fossil fuels to send your beaten up Nikes to Africa.



If you really have your heart set on making sure everyone in Africa has shoes - please don't send your shoes. Send money to an established organization based in that community so people there can buy shoes in the local market. That way someone in the market gets the money and someone gets shoes - it feeds the local economy - and the people.

Don't send your shoes - because then the local people who want shoes don't buy them from the local market. Imagine how pissed off and discouraged the local shoe dude is gonna get when he's got all these brand new shoes to sell and everyone is getting free/cheap beaten up shoes from North America?

But still - I think most people getting that shoe money would rather spend it on food, water and health care than on flip flops.

Prologue and Resources:

More on Donating shoes and other fads

Not all of Haiti was devastated by that Earthquake. Many parts of the island (and Dominica) did okay - and many parts had stuff they could have sold to the parts that were devastated. But instead huge amounts of (non-essential) things were flown in from all over the world.

After the Tsunami - more orphanages were built with donated money than there were kids to go in them. More (shoddy) boats were built, again with donated money, than were destroyed in the tsunami. One of the major "Dos and Donts" of donating is not to earmark funds - more great tips here.

I'm sure most who don't know me are wondering what gives me any authority to write such a post on such a subject. I don't have much, really. But probably more than most people reading this. Besides traveling to many developing countries - I have done a bit of time with a certain Canadian-based NGO. One of the ones that actually does some good - and started this site. Which I hope more NGOs will pay attention to and contribute to.