walk for the world

It's been awhile since I've been actively participating in an event rather than documenting it. Saturday was Heart Cry International's Walk for the World, going ten miles on foot to raise money for upcoming mission trips to Haiti and Uganda, with pledges by the mile. HCI is sending a team to Haiti in August and I am hoping to go as a volunteer documentary photog - I was blessed to get a few pledges. A big thank you goes out to everyone who supported my walk, as well as Heart Cry's efforts to start an orphanage in Port-au-Prince and continue fueling another in Uganda.



It was an amazing day. I documented, but it was different to be part of a group rather than looking always through a lens. If I can go to Haiti in August, it will be an exhausting experience, because I intend to do the work of a volunteer but document as a photojournalist. Saturday was a taste of what that would be like, I think - being around these people was amazing. I didn't push myself the same way I would on assignment because my focus was to walk, but I did make a few pictures I liked.


"This is totally a mom-love thing," said Nicole Homan as she carried her son, Abe, 6, on her back Saturday around mile three of Heart Cry International's Walk for the World in Mount Pleasant. Abe weighs approximately 60 lbs. and was adopted from Liberia several years ago. At that time, he was so thin and sickly he could not be supported by the orphanage, which contacted Heart Cry International's director, Carla Ives, asking if she knew anyone who could adopt and restore him to health. Carla's daughter, Nicole, and her husband, Matt, were freshly married and came to Carla, saying they felt called to make Abe their firstborn. Abe's actual birthday is unknown except for clues in his dental records, which indicate he is five years old. However, since he is tall for his age he is often thought older, so at his annual birthday party this fall, Nicole told him he could decide to be five, or six, and his following birthdays would reflect that in years following. Abe chose to be six. (Photo by Libby March)

I took a pretty big shine to Abe; he was such a smart, inquisitive kid, and he loved using my camera...I wish I'd've had one when I let him borrow mine, dawdling a block behind to snap frames of houses or cars or whatever struck his fancy. His story is indicative of differences that really can and are made, and I'm so glad I have the chance to rub elbows with people who make them.

For more photos from the day, click.