My editor at Getty Images, Lauren Steel, approached me with a possible assignment to Rwanda in February 2009. I was quite open and excited about the pitch since I’ve always wanted to work with a non-profit and felt aligned with the mission and goals of the Agahozo Shalom Youth Village. Getty Images was able to contribute some money for part of the cost of airfare while ASYV covered the ground expenses.
As with most shoots involving youth, this trip was illuminating. Learning about the Rwandan genocide, not just from historical records but from personal accounts of the orphans and staff, was emotional. What struck me was everyone’s ability to live their lives with so much grace and hope for the future. They were full of energy and m
usic.
Though acknowledging the events of the past, the students all embraced what was ahead. Their lives were now devoted to becoming better students, better individuals and better citizens.
The benefit which followed in May was a success. I was glad to see that the images I contributed were liberally utilized from the invitations, IDs and posters. Throughout the evening the monitors played the entire week’s take as well as on the theatre size screen onstage. There were twice the number of expected in attendance and the organization raised over half a million dollars.
This is a great example of how the right imagery helps nonprofits connect with supporters, and shows that a great picture can be worth far more than a thousand words!
All of us at Getty Images are honored to work with many nonprofits around the world, through assignment work like Marvi’s, and by offering special pricing on imagery from our collections for their communications, websites and events.
The nonprofit resources area at http://www.gettyimages.com/community , has more about how nonprofits can use the power of imagery for their work.